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$1.3 MILLION GOES TO INJURED WOMAN
IOWA CITY - A young Omaha, Neb., woman has received what is believed to be the highest settlement ever reached in Iowa under provisions of the state's dram shop law. Insurance companies representing two Iowa City businesses have awarded $1,332,500 in damages to Karen Curtis, 27, and her husband, Teddy, for injuries suffered by Mrs. Curtis in a traffic accident Aug. 31, 1978, on Interstate 80 in Cedar County. A suit seeking over $4 million was filed in Johnson County District Court Oct. 5, 1978, and had been scheduled to go to trial the week of July 23. Negotiations toward an out-of-court settlement were undertaken, however, before the trial began. The agreement was reached Monday afternoon and the original suit was dismissed. Payment was received today. Mrs. Curtis suffered a broken neck early in the morning of Aug. 31 when the car in which she was riding collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Ronald Stuhr of Tipton, according to the suit. Stuhr, who later pleaded guilty to a charge of drunk driving, was driving the wrong way on Interstate 80, the suit said. As a result of the crash, Mrs. Curtis is permanently paralyzed in both legs and has partial paralysis in both arms. Her husband and their three children, Kelli, Melissa and Tina, suffered minor injuries. Stuhr was hospitalized for treatment of facial injuries. The suit, filed by Cedar Rapids attorney Tom Riley, claimed that after Stuhr became intoxicated at the Fieldhouse Tavern in Iowa City, he and a companion drove to a Quiktrip convenience store in Iowa City where the companion bought a six-pack of beer. Stuhr then dropped off his companion, allegedly left Iowa City and was driving on the wrong side of I-80 when the collision occurred, according to the suit. Riley, who indicated medical and hospital bills for treatment of Mrs. Curtis' injuries exceeded $80,000 prior to her release from the hospital, said the $1,332,500 settlement paid by the insurance companies for the tavern and the store is the highest amount either by a settlement or a court award in a dram shop claim in Iowa. In addition, he said, it is one of the highest in the nation. Under Iowa's dram shop law, a person who suffered bodily injury, property damage or loss of support as a result of actions of an intoxicated person may seek damages from parties which sold intoxicating beverages to the point that the individual became intoxicated or after the individual already was intoxicated. A former member of the Iowa Senate, Riley observed that "Iowa has an enlightened attitude with regard to the rights of victims to sue taverns or others responsible for serving too much alcohol to a patron. "It is ironic that if Mrs. Curtis' injuries had occurred a hundred miles earlier in her trip, she would have been barred by a state legislative body from receiving adequate compensation for her injuries." The family was returning to Omaha from a vacation trip to Michigan and shortly before the crash had been driving in Illinois. In that state, said Riley, "the maximum amount Mrs. Curtis could have received for her horrible injuries is $54,000, a limit imposed by the Illinois Legislature, probably as the result of pressure from the tavern-keepers lobby." The major portion of the settlement agreed to this week was paid by insurance companies for the tavern, said Riley, since the fact that Stuhr did not make the purchase of the six-pack of beer made the liability of the convenience store questionable under Iowa law. Stuhr's insurance company previously paid Mrs. Curtis the $25,000 maximum single person coverage benefit which Stuhr carried, according to Riley, and an additional $5,500 for damage to the car and injuries to her husband and three children. Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C.
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