Car Accident Attorney Wins $27M Settlement for Family of Child Severely Injured When Police SUV Struck Their Car at High Speed

By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on December 20th, 2019

A California family has reached a $27 million settlement from Sacramento County after a sheriff deputy’s SUV smashed into the family’s car as the sheriff’s vehicle drove at high speed without activating its emergency lights and siren in July of 2017. The crash severely injured the family’s then-10-year-old daughter, who suffered permanent brain damage in the wreck.

The child, Julian Awad, who is now 12, was riding in the backseat of her family’s Honda CRV on Fulton Avenue at Pope Avenue around 12:20 a.m. on July 14, 2017, when it was struck by the sheriff’s SUV as it was driving to a call without its emergency lights or siren on, according to a Dec. 19 story by The Sacramento Bee.

The Honda was being driven by the girl’s father, Raed Awad, at the time of the crash. The girl’s mother, Nevin Awad, was also in the car along with two other siblings who were passengers. The Honda was struck in the passenger side by a sheriff’s SUV that was being driven by Deputy Sean Steen, who was rushing to a call in response to a bar fight in progress, the story reported. The SUV was traveling about 84 mph at the time of the crash, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys, while the posted speed limit on the street was 35 mph.

The family’s Honda started to make a left turn at the three-way intersection when it was struck by a marked sheriff’s patrol SUV heading north on Fulton Avenue, causing a violent collision, dash cam video showed,” according to the story. “Neither direction of Fulton Avenue at that intersection is controlled by a stop sign or traffic signal.” The crash was monitored by a dash cam in the sheriff’s SUV, which provided evidence to investigators.

The settlement, which is the largest lawsuit in the county’s history, will be paid by the county and its insurance companies to provide continuing care for the child, who suffered a massive closed-head injury in the crash. She will require 24/7 living care for the rest of her life, according to the family’s attorneys.

In a civil lawsuit filed by the family in December of 2017, they alleged that the sheriff’s deputy “negligently travel(ed) at a high speed well in excess of the posted speed limit, while responding to an alleged crime in progress,” causing the crash, the story reported.

A collision report by the California Highway Patrol confirmed that the sheriff’s SUV caused the collision by speeding, noting that Section 20156 of the state vehicle code “does not relieve the driver of (an emergency) vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons,” according to the story.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

When you need a car accident injury attorney, we here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of vehicle crash, slip and fall, workplace injury or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Talk to a Philadelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer by calling 215-914-5471 or toll-free at 1-866-907-2231 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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Listen to Court Radio every Sunday at 7 a.m. with me, attorney Dean Weitzman of MyPhillyLawyer, on Philadelphia’s Old School 100.3 WRNB, Boom 103.9 or on Classix 107.9 WPPZ FM. Listen to Court Radio online or on the radio every week for the latest on legal topics and to get answers to your legal questions. In addition to addressing the topical issues of the day, we’ll answer caller questions on a wide range of legal issues.