The week of February 6, 2012, William H. Brittain, II received a defense verdict in a wrongful death case pending in the Circuit Court for Chilton County, Alabama. The case arose out of a single car accident that occurred on the late afternoon of July 23, 2009. The decedent and the Defendant, who were long-time friends, had been drinking alcohol at a lake cabin on the afternoon of the accident. They returned to Clanton, Alabama, where the decedent’s car was parked. The decedent was too intoxicated to drive back to Maplesville; therefore, the Defendant proceeded to drive. The Plaintiffs’ expert toxicologist testified at trial that at the time of the accident, the Defendant’s blood alcohol level was a minimum of .22.
While traveling on Alabama Highway 22 between Clanton and Maplesville, the Defendant lost control of the decedent’s vehicle in a curve. According to the testimony of the State Trooper, the crash retrieval system revealed that at the time the Defendant lost control of the vehicle, she was traveling 68 mph. The vehicle proceeded to roll over, and the decedent was ejected from the vehicle and ultimately died as a result of the accident.
After a three day trial, the jury deliberated for approximately 10 hours before rendering a verdict in favor of the Defendant.