Opinion ID: 1472722
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the accident and injuries.

Text: On May 13, 1988, Jeffrey Glass was nineteen years of age and resided with his parents, Doyle and Brenda Glass, in Waddy, Kentucky. He was employed as a parts salesman at Pierce Motor Company. That evening, he drove his 1980 Ford pickup truck to Stephen Shelburne's home in Shelbyville. On the way, he stopped at a liquor store and purchased some beer, which he iced down in a cooler in the back of the truck. He picked up Shelburne and the two proceeded to Bagdad, where they met Jeffrey's girlfriend, Kim Embert (now Hardin), and her friend, Heather Wentworth. The four left Bagdad at about 6:30 p.m. and drove to Georgetown where more alcohol was purchased. Kim Hardin testified that Jeffrey and Shelburne purchased some wine coolers for the girls and two more cases of beer, which they iced down in the cooler. The four then proceeded to a fairgrounds in Scott County where they attended a truck pull contest for several hours. Jeffrey admitted that he drank beer while driving from Shelbyville to Bagdad and that both he and Shelburne drank beer while driving from Bagdad to Georgetown. Kim Hardin testified that all four occupants of the pickup truck consumed alcohol during the trip from Georgetown to the fairgrounds, and continued to do so until they left the fairgrounds at approximately 9:30 p.m. As he drove the pickup truck out of the fairgrounds, Jeffrey almost rear-ended another vehicle and the girls didn't think that I should be driving. He agreed to permit Shelburne to drive the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, Shelburne made a wrong turn onto a narrow road and proceeded down a hill with a curve at the bottom of the grade. The vehicle apparently was going too fast for conditions. When Shelburne applied the brakes, the vehicle slid into a guard rail and turned up on its right side. Jeffrey was seated next to the passenger side door. When the vehicle rolled over, the weight of the other three passengers pressed against him and his right arm broke through the window and was severed when it was caught between the truck and the guardrail. Captain Willie Scott of the Scott County Police Department investigated the accident and interviewed Shelburne. Although he noted on his accident report that alcohol involvement was a cause of the accident, Scott did not arrest Shelburne, because he did not believe Shelburne was intoxicated. Shelburne told Scott he had consumed only two beers. Jeffrey's arm was surgically reattached by Louisville Hand Surgery specialists at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. However, despite several surgeries, he has never regained full function of his right arm and has little or no use of his right hand. He was unable to return to his previous employment and testified that he could perform only light work on his grandmother's farm. As of the date of trial, Jeffrey had incurred $82,168.75 in medical expenses as a result of this accident, of which $36,564.40 had been incurred with Jewish Hospital and $30,647.50 had been incurred with Louisville Hand Surgery.