Record Settlement Following Verdict in Drunken Driving Trial

Clifford Law Offices obtained a record $5.18 million settlement Wednesday against a Sioux Falls tire company involving a drunken driver who killed one person and injured three others.

The settlement is a record amount in the state of South Dakota for any tort case. It follows a record verdict of $7.5 million reached by a jury late last month.

Robert Clifford and Kevin Durkin of Chicago, nationally prominent trial attorneys, settled the matter today after trying the case before Judge Glen A. Severson in Sioux Falls. Wednesday's settlement represents the defendant's policy limits.

The previous automobile accident award in South Dakota was $1.2 million and for any tort case the record was $4 million. In Illinois, the similar record for any tort case is also held by Clifford Law Offices -- $28.2 million received for a 70-year-old woman injured in the DC-10 United Airlines crash in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989.

"The defendants never should have forced this man to go to trial in South Dakota," Durkin said. "The case should have settled without putting this family and the entire town of Sioux Falls through this ordeal."

An employee of Graham Tire Company of Sioux Falls, Jay Gunderson, was intoxicated at twice the legal limit when the company van he was driving hit the car in which Don Dickerson of Sioux Falls and his wife were passengers. Dickerson suffered permanent brain injuries and his wife, Diane, was killed in the collision. Clifford Law Offices represents Don Dickerson and his children as well as the estate of Diane Dickerson.

"The jury sent a message to the people of Sioux Falls and across the country that this type of reckless conduct will not be tolerated," Clifford said. "We attempted to settle this matter months ago, but the defendant had to be told by a jury what the right thing was to do."

Kathleen and Larry McMichael of Sioux Falls, also suffered injuries in the accident. Larry McMichael, the driver, owned and operated the Ford Mustang.

Gunderson left Nutty's Pub in Sioux Falls on April 22, 1995, at about 8:30 p.m. after having consumed up to 12 beers in four hours, according to plaintiff's expert. Gunderson had drunk in the company of several Graham Tire Company management officials.

The company's policy prohibited employees from driving company vehicles before or after work hours under the influence of alcohol.

Clifford Law Offices in Chicago is a nationally prominent firm concentrating in transportation, aviation, medical negligence, personal injury and wrongful death litigation.