Sonnenschein partner Paul Glad is being sued over a March auto accident in Burlingame that resulted in a mother losing a leg.
The suit alleges Glad was under the influence of Oxycontin when he pulled into the handicapped space of a store, started getting out of his car without putting it in park, and rammed a group of parents and girls selling Girl Scouts cookies, pinning one mother against a wall.
San Mateo County Deputy DA Sean Gallagher said the office expects to decide whether to file criminal charges within the next week.
He declined to comment further or disclose details of the police report, citing DA policy.
The civil suit (.pdf) was filed against Glad on Wednesday by the victims, 49-year-old Holly Rogers, who lost one leg above the knee after both were broken, and her 8-year-old daughter, Caroline Schoustra, whose leg was also broken but is healing.
More after the jump.
The complaint, filed in San Mateo County Superior Court, alleges Glad had taken OxyContin earlier in the day. Glad apparently suffers from chronic back pain.
Glad did not respond to requests for comment. (A Sonnenschein spokeswoman said he’s in trial today.) He has been the managing partner at Sonnenschein’s San Francisco office for several years and chairs the insurance practice group.
Trial attorney John Gertler, a partner at Chavez & Gertler who represents the plaintiffs, said he has seen the police report but could not provide it or details from it at the request of the DA.
“I am confident Mr. Glad will not deny that he took OxyContin that day,” Gertler said.
The suit does not ask for punitive damages “yet,” he said. “The complaint includes the allegation that would support a punitive damage claim in our view, but out of an abundance of caution, we are waiting until further evidence is gathered through the litigation before determining whether to seek punitive damages.”
— Amanda Royal
nice blog
Posted by: Brain | September 23, 2009 at 04:48 PM