California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
A personal injury judgment of 4.9 million dollars has been awarded against Barron Hilton, the brother of Paris Hilton, for causing a Malibu car accident. The judgment orders Mr. Hilton to pay 4.6 million dollars for pain and suffering to a gas station employee who was struck by Mr. Hilton’s vehicle, allegedly while Hilton was driving drunk.
According to reports, Mr. Hilton was driving erratically in Malibu, including on the wrong side of the road on Pacific Coast Highway, before pulling into a gas station where he struck Fernando Tellez with his Mercedez-Benz. Mr. Hilton’s blood alcohol level at the time of the car accident in Malibu was .14%, which is significantly above the .08% limit in California.
Due to the circumstances, Mr. Hilton was ordered to pay $225,000.00 in punitive damages to Mr. Tellez, as well as $71,000.00 for interest on the damages. With payment for past medical bills and loss of earnings, the total judgment amounts to $4,600,000.00.
Mr. Tellez, the victim, had to have numerous surgeries for his serious injuries and he was unable to work for a significant amount of time. According to the Los Angeles Times, Hilton pled no contest to the criminal DUI charge but did not admit fault for the Malibu pedestrian accident.
In personal injury cases with serious injuries, it is very important to have an experienced Malibu personal injury attorney on your side. Our personal injury lawyers handle Malibu car accidents and pedestrian accidents. We are available for a free consultation for anyone injured in an accident in California.