Jury awards nearly $9 million in Lancaster head-on collision

LANCASTER – A man who was severely injured by a drunk driver in a traffic accident in Lancaster in 2017 has been awarded nearly $9 million.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury reached its $8.9 million verdict Thursday, July 6, in the case brought by Victor Montez against Dennis Perez. MetLife insurance later intervened in the case behalf of Perez, who did not appear during the trial.

According to the lawsuit, Montez and his wife, Lisa Montez, were driving home from dinner on Avenue N on Jan. 13, 2017, when an intoxicated Perez swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into their car, leaving Mr. Montez with severe fractures and a traumatic brain injury. A field sobriety test given to Perez produced a breathalyzer reading of .101, well above the DUI standard of .08, the suit states.

“You could take one look at our client and know that he had a long and difficult road to recovery ahead of him,” lead plaintiff’s attorney Khail Parris said. “But if you asked MetLife, they would say his injuries weren’t that bad, and his life could return back to normal.”

MetLife experts hired for the case said Mr. Montez was partially responsible for the crash, according to Parris.

“The jury understood how ridiculous MetLife’s claims were and returned a verdict that ensures our client receives quality treatment for the rest of his life,” Parris said.

In an early court filing, an attorney for Perez stated in his court papers that his client struck a puddle of water and lost traction, swerving left into traffic.

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