Personal Injury Law

St. Louis area police officer will face lawsuit

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Updating a story we commented on earlier, a Sunset Hills police officer is being sued for wrongful death in connection to an accident on March 21 that killed four people, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The suit alleges that Christine Miller, 41, was drinking heavily at a bar before driving the wrong way on Dougherty Ferry and allegedly causing the accident.

Criminal charges were filed against Miller last week. She faces four counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and one count of second-degree assault stemming from injuries suffered by the other car?s driver who survived the wreck.

The passengers in the car were all natives of India and most were students at Eastern Illinois University. The four that were killed were Anusha Anumolu, 23; Satya Chinta, 25; Anita Veerapaneni, 23; and Priya Muppavarapu, 22. Nitesh Adusumilli, 27, was the driver and lone survivor of the second car.

O?Leary?s Restaurant is also being sued in connection with the accident, according to the Post Dispatch. The suit claims that the bar?s employees continued to serve Miller alcohol after she was intoxicated and did not prevent her from driving.

When a personal injury attorney feels a bar was negligent in allowing its customers to drive drunk, he might pursue a suit under ?dram shop law?. This area of law governs the liability of liquor stores and bars when their patrons have alcohol related car accidents. Each state handles this area of law differently, which is why it?s important to hire an experienced Missouri car accident lawyer. Under Missouri law, for a dram shop case to be successful there must be proof that the person who later caused an accident was demonstrated significant impairment while at the bar.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on June 16, 2009 (boomark / email).