$1.3 Million Personal Injury Settlement for Widow of Husband Killed in South Carolina Car Accident
The widow of a Columbia, South Carolina municipal worker who was killed in a 2005 car accident has been awarded a $1.3 wrongful death settlement, according to a story in the Columbia Tribune. Regina Greenplate’s husband Clay died after a late November 2005 head-on collision in which Martha Miller’s SUV crossed into the path of his vehicle. Tests later revealed that Miller’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was above the legal 0.08 percent limit in the state, and Miller was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
On Monday, a judge officially approved this personal injury settlement for the wrongful death of Clay Greenplate, who worked at the Columbia wastewater treatment plant. According to its terms, Regina Greenplate will receive $510,066.82, and each of the couple’s four children will get $90,000 to purchase an annuity to pay for college expenses. The remaining money will go to attorney fees. Attorneys for Regina Greenplate and the insurance company declined comment on the case.
When Miller pleaded guilty in February 2006, Regina Greenplate detailed the pain that the accident had caused her family during a victim impact statement. The story detailed Greenplate as saying that her husband was her “soul mate” and that Miller had ripped her heart. Upon entering her guilty plea, Miller said that she wished she could change what happened and expressed her remorse for the accident.