South Carolina Lawyer Blog
In a case that reads like a nightmare, a lawsuit asking for $10 million has been filed against a man who caused a car wreck in Anderson County on New Year’s Eve. According to the Anderson Independent-Mail News, it’s the third lawsuit against driver Robert Blair and his employer, Craft Construction, over the fatal three-car accident.
Blair, a construction company employee, was on his way to work on Dec. 31 at around 6:30 a.m. when he ran off the side of the road. Blair overcorrected and drove his company-owned Ford F-250 across the highway’s median, running it head-on into a car owned by a married couple named Andrew and Syblene McAbee. The McAbees died in the ensuing accident, as did Arlene Sorrells, Mrs. McAbee’s sister and a passenger in their vehicle. Blair survived, but witnesses reported that he was driving under the influence of alcohol, cold medicine and a prescription drug. He is currently awaiting trial on felony DUI causing a death. According to the newest lawsuit, filed by the husband and daughters of Arlene Sorrells, Blair’s co-workers were following in another vehicle.
Ten million dollars may sound like an ambitious financial request, but in this case, it may well be won. We don’t know any more about this case other than what’s outlined in the article, but everyone knows that driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs — even legal medications — is an irresponsible choice that raises the chances of a fatal accident like this one. If Blair is criminally convicted for the deaths and for driving under the influence, the civil cases will be even easier to win. And because Blair was driving an employer-owned vehicle to his job — with colleagues following behind — his company may well be judged liable for the results of his actions. If so, that would increase the potential recovery for the families behind these lawsuits.