$200K Punitive Damages Verdict in Drunk Driving Accident Being Fought by Plaintiff's Insurer

Teen gets punitives of $200K from drunk

A Harrisonburg lawyer is battling to keep the $200,000 punitive damages he won this fall for the victim of a crash caused by a drunken driver. The verdict was returned Oct. 31 by a jury in Rockingham County, one of Virginia’s most conservative jurisdictions.

Defense lawyers argue the unusually high verdict of nearly $281,000 is out of proportion to the victim’s damages and the wrongdoing of the defendant. Motions to set aside or reduce the verdict or to hold a new trial are pending.

In the 2006 accident, defendant Karl Kratzer sideswiped one vehicle, causing it flip over, and then travelled across a wide median strip to collide head-on with the plaintiff’s car. Asked at the scene if he had been drinking, Kratzer reportedly told the trooper, “Oh, hell yeah.” His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.32 percent.

Kratzer had two previous DUI convictions. At trial Kratzer admitted that he still drank alcohol, still drove his car and had no desire to seek treatment.

The plaintiff, a high school student who was 16 at the time of the accident, escaped serious injury. Her medical bills totaled only about $760, including charges for nine chiropractic visits. She was able to return to athletic activities at school after the accident.

Her chiropractor testified, however, that the accident aggravated the victim’s scoliosis condition and the injury would require another year of chiropractic treatment at a cost of $10,000.

After a two-day trial, the jury awarded compensatory damages of $80,764.98 and punitive damages of $200,000.

“We would have taken $75,000 to settle,” said plaintiff’s counsel, Brian K. Brake. He reported that, before trial, the defendant’s insurer (Allstate) offered its limits of $50,000 and the plaintiff’s UIM carrier (Cincinnati) offered an additional $5,000. The difference between the offer and demand was enough that Brake determined to try the case.

A verdict as high as $280,000 with only $800 in medical expenses came as a surprise. “I think most people would say it’s much larger than anybody – including my partners – thought I would get,” said Brake.

Harrisonburg is not known for generous juries. “If you ask defense attorneys in Virginia, I think they would put Rockingham County as among the most conservative venues for awards,” Brake said.

In their briefs demanding reduction of the award or a new trial, the defense lawyers focused on the hefty punitive verdict. They noted that Kratzer had served a 30-day jail sentence, paid his fines and costs, attended VASAP as ordered, and has a restricted license through 2010. They also argued that Kratzer, who earns $15.80 an hour, has no realistic ability to pay the punitive award.

“[T]he verdict goes way beyond the bounds of proper punishment, and is so out of proportion to the injuries suffered, to suggest that it is not the product of a fair and impartial decision,” wrote Earlysville attorney Terry Lynn, counsel for the UIM carrier.

Noting that the compensatory damages were more than seven times the medical specials, the defense argued that the jury improperly jacked up the compensatory award to punish the defendant. “Plaintiffs are not allowed to obtain a double recovery through compensatory and punitive awards. That is what has occurred,” wrote Charlottesville attorney John W. Zunka, Kratzer’s counsel.

The briefs filed by the defense counsel also attacked the plaintiff’s evidence. The chiropractor’s opinion that the accident worsened the girl’s scoliosis and caused the need for future treatment was “smoke and mirrors,” wrote Lynn.

The motions to set aside or reduce the award will be heard by Rockingham Circuit Judge James V. Lane.

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