Theresa Lesniak was driving her car in a residential area on Marco Island in Florida, on Nov. 30, 2013, when a Nissan Maxima driven by Peter Ferreira slammed into her driver's side door.

Lesniak was killed instantly. Allegedly, the black box in Ferreira's car showed that he was driving 77 mph at the time of the impact, despite the fact that he was in a 30 mph zone.

Lesniak's two children, Jeanne and Robert, filed suit to recover damages for funeral expenses, their pain and suffering for losing their mother, as well as punitive damages from Ferreira. Their counsel alleged that Ferreira, who had allegedly consumed three beers and four shots of liquor in the four hours before the crash, was negligent and had recklessly sped through a stop sign before broadsiding Lesniak's car.

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Patricia L. Harman

Patricia L. Harman is the editor-in-chief of Claims magazine, a contributing editor to PropertyCasualty360.com, and chairs the annual America's Claims Event (ACE), which focuses on providing claims professionals with cutting-edge education and networking opportunities. She covers auto, property & casualty, workers' compensation, fraud, risk and cybersecurity, and is a frequent speaker at insurance industry events. Contact her at [email protected]