A U.S. District Judge has denied the lawyers for UGS Corp.’s request to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit that holds them liable for an employee who became intoxicated at work and ended up causing a car crash.

In November, 2009, one man was given the greenlight to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the employer of a drunk-driver who killed the man’s wife and both of his sons in a drunk-driving car accident.

Our firm’s car accident lawyers in San Diego are always saddened when we hear of a reckless driver — who’s poor choices with drugs and alcohol — takes the lives of other people on the road.  It goes beyond the pain and suffering of a minor personal injury because this man lost his entire family to a the DUI accident.

On May 3, 2005, the person in question left his place of employment, UGS (now Siemen’s), and got into his car.  Here’s where it gets fishy.  According to the man’s wrongful death lawsuit, the company knew he was drunk at the time he left the premises for an appointment — a frequent occurrence during his time with UGS.

Traveling at 70 mph, with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .43, the man in question slammed his car into another one driven by the deceased wife — who was transporting her two children through Farmington Hills.  Michigan’s legal limit is .08 and the man in question was arrested for DUI, amongst other charges.

This wrongful death lawsuit is now holding UGS responsible for the deaths of the three family members, but the attorneys for UGS say no visible signs of intoxication were witnessed by employees on the day.  The lawyers also claim that the man’s appointment was not part of his employment, so his company can therefore not be held liable for the car crash.

Our firm’s San Diego car accident lawyers know that the man can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  We hope that his actions will serve as a reminder that we all need to do our part to prevent drunk-driving accidents from occurring in the future.

Please feel free to call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced drunk-driving accident attorney.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.  No fee if no recovery.