Texas residents can hardly have avoided the recent media coverage of the death of a player for the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Brown, 25 years of age, lost his life in a car accident in the early morning hours of a recent Saturday. The crash occurred just hours before the team boarded a plane for their scheduled Sunday game. The loss has been felt throughout the country as his life and death have become the focus of intense media coverage. A criminal trial seems likely, and a wrongful death suit could very well be on the horizon.
Brown was a passenger in the vehicle that crashed; the driver was a teammate, Josh Brent. Police believe that Brent was driving drunk and speeding when he lost control of his vehicle. The car hit a curb and flipped upside down. When emergency responders arrived at the scene, Brown was found unresponsive. Police have charged Brent with intoxicated manslaughter, and a $500,000 bond was set in the matter.
As the case moves to trial, the family of the young man killed in this crash will continue to grieve their loss. Brown was expecting the birth of his child, a daughter, at the time of his death. His mother told the media that the extended family is prepared to support the expectant mother and child, and that she will grow up knowing what her father was like through their memories.
In cases such as this, when a death appears to have been caused by the negligence of an intoxicated driver, many Texas families chose to move forward with a wrongful death lawsuit. For this family, a successful wrongful death action could help them to recover the earnings that this young football player would have achieved during the expected course of his career. That money would go a long way toward supporting the child that is on the way, and in covering other costs associated with the family’s loss.
Source: TheState.com, “Cowboys player’s attorney: $500K bond excessive,” Schuyler Dixon, Dec. 8, 2012
