Drunk Bar Co-Owner Hits Another Vehicle at 60 Miles Per Hour, Kills One

Southfield, MI (Law Firm Newswire) April 15, 2015 – Two bar owners who regularly drank to excess at their establishment created an atmosphere where staff was afraid to call them on it or to stop them from drinking, leading to a fatal accident.

“By not stopping the one co-owner of the bar called JR’s Pub of Goose Creek (the Pub), John Haynes, Jr., drove while inebriated and ultimately killed Jane Tee, broadsiding the Tee’s vehicle in an intersection and pushing it hundreds of feet down the road,” outlined Daren Monroe, Michigan-based Litigation Funding Corporation representative. The accident took place in July 2014. Tee’s husband lived for a short while, long enough to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Haynes. Unfortunately, he died in February 2015.

Haynes also faces a felony criminal charge of driving under the influence resulting in death. That trial is not set to begin until Spring 2015. The estate of Mr. and Mrs. Tee is suing for punitive and unspecified other damages. Court records show Haynes had a blood alcohol level (BAC) of three times the legal limit
when he ran into the Tee’s vehicle. He was traveling at 60 mph without braking and the force of the impact pushed their car several hundred feed down the road. Jane Tee died in front of her husband.

The named defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit are Haynes, his bar partner, Ralph Hillburn and the Pub. The suit suggests the establishment is liable because it continued to serve Haynes, even though he was seriously intoxicated. According to the law,individuals must not be served any more drinks when in that state.

“This case does have an unusual twist to it, in that the plaintiff died after filing his wrongful death lawsuit,” said Monroe.“Had he lived longer, he may have been able to access litigation funding to help him financially cope with his serious injuries and the funeral and burial expenses for his wife.”

Mr. Tee would have been able to access his lawsuit loan within 24 to 48 hours after it arrived in his bank account and would have been able to pay his expenses immediately. Any money left over could remain in the bank to be used when he needed it. He would have been able to apply, as he had an attorney of record, able to provide the litigation funding company with an assessment of damages that might have been recovered through the courts or via a settlement.

Learn more at http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com