Prepared exclusively for clients of the Haymond Law Firm.
I awoke suddenly to the sound of the telephone ringing. It was 2:00 a.m. I glanced over at my husband's side of the bed and noticed Steven wasn't there. He was usually home from work by 12:45 a.m. It was Hartford Hospital on the phone.
Hospital Staff: Is this Mrs. Steven Everett of 19 Pine Street?
Mrs. Everett: Yes
Hospital Staff: Your husband has been involved in a very serious accident, a head-on collision. You must come to the hospital right away. He's in critical condition. Are you alone?
Mrs. Everett: My two children are here.
Hospital Staff: Can someone drive you to the hospital?
Mrs. Everett: Yes, I can call my parents.
Hospital Staff: Mrs. Everett, do not come to the hospital alone. Don't speed. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Mrs. Everett: Yes, I said.
I hung up the phone and sat for a minute I took a deep breath and said a prayer, then I called my next door neighbor, Maura, to come over and stay with the kids. Next I called my Mom and Dad, and told them what the lady at the hospital had said. They said they would come and pick me up.
When Maura came over, we just cried together, I said, Well at least the police didn't come to the door. If the police come to the door, it's all over. Then I called Steven's brother, Alan, and asked him to meet me at the hospital.
The doctor met us in the hospital chapel. She sat me down and told me that Steven had been brought in by Life Star helicopter and had no vital signs. They tried for 20 minutes to revive him, but he didn't make it. I just looked at her and said, He's dead? She said, Yes, I'm very sorry. I looked up at Steven's brother, Alan, and went over to him and we both held each other and cried. I wondered how to tell our children. Josh ,10, and Abbey, 8, that their Daddy was dead.
By then it was 6:30 a.m., Josh was just getting up, so I told him to come into Abbey's room because I had to tell them both something very important. Abbey was still sleeping and I woke her up She sat up in her bed trying to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. Last night, when Daddy was driving home, another car was coming the other way when all of a sudden the other car crossed over and smashed into Daddy. I'm very sorry, but Daddy is dead.
Abbey started crying and Josh was fighting back tears. I held my two babies for a while, then I said they needed to get dressed. Lots of people would be coming over. A State Trooper stopped by with Steven's wallet. He said he suspected that the other driver was intoxicated.
I thought, Steven was killed by a drunk driver? You hear about it happening, but you never think it could happen to you. I learned later that the driver who killed my husband had been arrested three times for DWI and still had his license I was furious.
NOTE: This dramatic account is a true story. The names have been changed for privacy purposes. We at the Haymond Law Firm were touched by the inner strength and deep faith of our newly widowed client. Her husband had been the family's primary breadwinner. Our job was to replace the financial security Mr. Everett would have provided his family had he not been killed.
First, we sued the drunk driver and recovered the full limits of his insurance policy. Unfortunately, it was not enough to fully compensate Mrs. Everett for her loss. The drunk driver. His name was Ryan Short.
After his first arrest for drunk driving, the charges were dropped when he completed the Alcohol Education Program. The second time his license was suspended for six months. Then Ryan was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated a third time, but prior to the court date the arresting officer was shot and killed, Ryan was had no other assets.
We hired an undercover private investigator that learned that the bar had served the drunk driver while he was already intoxicated. We sued the bar and recovered the full amount which the law provides. But it still was not enough. We found that by stacking the under-insured motorist coverage on the Everett family vehicles, we could recover the compensation that Mrs. Everett deserved. By hiring an expert economist, we were able to determine the economic value of Mr. Everett's work which needed to be replaced. The allowed to plead guilty to reckless driving and his license was suspended for only 30 days.
A month after his license was restored; Ryan Short arrived at a Pub in Colchester around 8 pm. with two friends. The three of them split two pitchers of beer- Then they ordered and drank several individual glasses of beer. Finally, Ryan was served a drink called a "Mind Eraser". It's a shot of Kahlua, a shot of vodka, and a splash of club soda. Her husband was less than three miles from home when Ryan Short crossed the center line and struck him head on. Ryan Short's blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was 228, more than double the legal limit.
With the funeral over, I hired the Haymond Law Firm to handle the wrongful death action against the other driver. Economist proved that, based on Mr. Everett's work and personal history, he would have provided a secure home for his family and a college education for his children. Continued resistance from the insurance company made this case very difficult, but we insisted upon a full recovery, There was, of course, no way to replace this loving husband and father, but the economic loss could be recovered.
The final settlement gave Mrs. Everett a significant sum of cash for her immediate needs, a tax-free income for life, and a college trust for the children.
*Some names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality. While we can't guarantee the same results; we can assure you the same effort.