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A jury in Texas awarded the family of two drunk driving victims over $300 billion in their lawsuit against the bar that served the driver. It is the largest personal injury award in U.S. history.
59-year-old Tamra Kay Kindred was driving with her 16-year-old granddaughter Aujuni Tamay Anderson on November 12, 2017. As Kindred was going through an intersection, Joshua Delbosque ran a red light and slammed into her car. All three were killed in the crash.
It was determined the Delbosque was drunk and had a blood-alcohol level of .263, which is more than four times the legal limit.
The family of Kindred and Anderson filed a lawsuit against Beer Belly's Sports Bar, which served Delbosque 11 alcoholic drinks before he left. The lawsuit accused the bar of overserving Delbosque, in violation of Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission regulations.
"Beer Belly's clearly was trading money for the safety of their patrons and the public by continuing to serve an obviously intoxicated customer," said John Flood, lead lawyer for the family, according to KTRK.
"There is no justification for alcohol servers to blatantly ignore TABC rules designed to protect the public, which was the cause of these tragic loses," Craig Sico, another attorney for the family, added.
After a short trial, the jury decided to send a message and handed down an award of over $301 billion to the family. They do not expect to see the money because the bar has gone out of business after having its liquor license suspended in 2019.
Sico told CNN that he hopes the historic judgment will spur change in the industry and help prevent another tragedy in the future.
"If bars and restaurants are required to carry insurance for this, then Insurance carriers would have oversight from that industry helping to make sure this does not happen again," he said.