Tennessee residents often hear about how strict the state’s laws on drunk or drugged driving are. However, at the same time they also hear about too many cases of an impaired driver seeming to get off without full consequences despite their reckless and negligent behavior.
Sadly, there may be yet another such example as the Supreme Court of Tennessee has recently handed down a ruling that opens up the chance that a drugged driver who killed an innocent woman may not spend time in jail. The case goes back five years when the defendant, operating his pickup truck under the influence of an opioid pain medication, stuck another person who ended up dying as a result of her injuries.
Originally sentenced to spend eight years in prison as part of a plea deal, the defendant lodged a successful appeal and was given a sentence of eight years’ probation instead. In turn, the state took the case to the highest court in the state and now a new sentencing hearing has been ordered. The defendant is an amputee due to a previous crash and this may have contributed to the appeals court’s willingness to grant him probation as he may have had a need to take the medication. For now, family members of the woman who was killed have to wait longer to see what level of justice might be served.
People who lose loved ones in accidents due to other people’s choices and actions may want to reach out to an attorney in Tennessee to learn how they might seek compensation for their losses.
Source: WATE.com, “New sentencing hearing in fatal DUI case for Clairborne County man,” November 4, 2017