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At Goldstein and Bashner we take the time to help you understand what choices you have when you are injured in an automobile accident. Get our FREE report "How to Hire the right Accident Lawyer".

It happens all over Long Island and the entire metropolitan area. Drinking and driving causes hundreds of thousands of injuries and fatalities per year. Nobody can ever question that the drunken driver is responsible. However sometimes there are other responsible parties.

In a case filed in Michigan Thomas Wellinger, who had been sent from his office at UGS Corp. to seek medical attention, drove his vehicle at 70 mph into a car driven by Judith Weinstein, killing her and her two sons, ages 9 and 12. The cases questions weather a company can be held liable for the actions of an intoxicated employee. We know that under the Dram Shop Act a bar or other business can be held responsible to third parties for who are hurt from intoxicated patrons. What about an employer that knows his employee is drunk.

In the Michigan case Wellinger supposedly left work just hours before the accident. He was told at the office that day he was not performing successfully at UGS Corp., now the defendant in a liability lawsuit. After informing Wellinger of his poor performance, officials at UGS Corp. allegedly allowed him to get in his car and drive to an appointment, knowing he was drunk. The ultimate question is whether a company can be held liable for the actions of an intoxicated employee. UGS would like you to say "no," but the answer is not yet determined. Attorneys for UGS have spoken out against the behavior of Wellinger, who is serving a 19 to 30 year sentence in jail. The company has made it clear, however, that it believes Wellinger is solely responsible for his actions that tragic day.

We will wait and see how the case turns out. Clearly if the employer knew that its employee was drunk and was about to drive and did not do anything to stop him or her then there should be some responsibility. We will follow the case for updates.

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