Personal Injury Blog

Paris Hilton’s Sibling to Pay $5 Million in Damages in a Car Accident Lawsuit

July 28th, 2011
Paris Hilton's brother involved in a car accident lawsuit

Hilton's brother ordered to pay $5 Million in damages to a gas station attendant.

Paris Hilton’s brother, Barron Hilton has been ordered by a Los Angeles jury to pay $5 million in damages in a car accident lawsuit to a man, who was seriously injured in a drunk driving accident involving the hotel heir.

The accident occurred in 2008, when Hilton was driving the wrong way down the Pacific Coast Highway.  He pulled into a gas station, and immediately struck an employee.  The man suffered serious injuries.  The victim, Fernando Tellez filed a car accident lawsuit against Hilton, claiming that his injuries had left him disabled.  He had to undergo multiple surgeries for treatment of his injuries.

Hilton at first claimed amnesia saying he did not know how the accident occurred, and that all that he remembered was sitting on a bench on the gas station after the accident.  He also denied that he had been driving the car, but witnesses at the scene testified otherwise.  Witnesses also testified that he’d been driving the wrong way down the Pacific Coast Highway before turning into the gas station.  Tests conducted after the crash found that he had been driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of .14% at the time, which is close to twice the legally allowed limit.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury has now ordered Hilton to pay Tellez $4.9 million in damages.  The damages in a car accident lawsuit cover his medical expenses, pain and suffering as well as loss of earnings.  They also cover $225,000 in punitive damages, and $71,000 in attorneys’ fees.

It’s no surprise to Los Angeles car accident lawyers that intoxicated driving is often associated with wrong way driving.  Among the many effects of alcohol is that it increases the possibility of critical driving errors.  Driving down the wrong way on a busy highway is one of the worst possible driving mistakes a motorist could make.

Alcohol use impairs a person’s ability to drive safely.  Alcohol dulls your senses and delays response times, making it harder for you to react appropriately then you have to make a sudden driving decision.  Alcohol also impacts your judgment abilities and motorists driving under the influence often fail to judge other motorists’ speed and other factors accurately.

One of the more serious consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol is that it increases feelings of recklessness and encourages sharing of inhibitions.  A person driving under the influence may engage in reckless driving practices even if he’s otherwise a safe and responsible driver.  Reckless driving practices can include driving at excessive speeds, tailgating, and weaving between lanes.  Alcohol also gives a driver a pleasant buzz that can make him aggressive and overconfident, increasing the possibility of a road rage incident.

 

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