The fatal car accident in which world famous tennis player Venus Williams was involved in 2017 recently resulted in a settlement for the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the star. Although no criminal charges were ever filed in the case, the family of the deceased motorist proceeded with a wrongful death suit, citing negligence. Details of that claim have not been released, not has the amount of the agreed upon settlement. It is not unusual for civil cases to proceed even in the absence of criminal prosecution.
Williams’ accident occurred in June 2017 when the tennis player was driving her SUV in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The collision took place in a circular intersection when Williams had both the green light and the lawful right-of-way, as determined by Palm Beach Garden police. That law enforcement department was able to obtain video from the guard station of a nearby gated community. The video showed that Williams entered the intersection and traveled north, but then came to an abrupt stop when another vehicle turned in front of her.
After the other vehicle cleared, and Williams again continued north, her Toyota Sequoia was subsequently struck by a Hyundai Accent driven by Linda Barson. Barson’s husband, Jason, was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the crash and was injured as a result of the collion. Barson passed away two weeks later while still hospitalized. The total extent of his injuries was never publicized until the lawsuit was filed, which asserted that “severed main arteries, massive internal bleeding, a fractured spine, and massive internal organ damage” occurred.
After filing the wrongful death lawsuit citing negligence, Barson’s family planned to download information from William’s vehicle to be used in the course of the court case. Attorneys for Venus Williams filed to obtain a protective order, citing that they’d received less than 24 hours of notice that this action was to be undertaken. The judged determined that the vehicle could be searched and gave all parties access to download data from the crash from both vehicles that were involved. Those details were also never publicly released.
The value of the settlement is likely protected by a nondisclosure agreement and probably will not be revealed. However, the lawyers at the Lamber Goodnow law firm remind that research “suggest that auto accident victims that hire a personal injury attorney receive 40 percent higher settlements than those who chose not to hire an attorney.” Venus Williams has shown great remorse over the accident and will now demonstrate that grief financially.
