[September 12, 2009] Sheriff's deputy awarded $7 million for injuries in motorcycle accident Tweet SEATTLE, Sep 12, 2009 (The Seattle Times - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- A King County, Wash., sheriff's deputy who lost a leg and suffered other severe injuries when his motorcycle was struck by a drunken driver will receive a more than $7 million settlement from insurers of the bar that served the driver and the company that employed him, the deputy's attorney said Friday. Donn Potteiger, 58, who was riding his personal motorcycle home when the crash occurred, took a medical retirement as a result of his injuries, said Everett, Wash., attorney James Hill. Potteiger had worked Seattle's Torchlight Parade before heading home. He was struck about 1:35 a.m. on July 29, 2007, when the driver of a pickup, Roberto Cedeno, drove out of a Kenmore, Wash., tavern parking lot. Potteiger suffered an injury to his right leg that was so severe the leg had to be amputated. He also suffered a head injury, torn aorta, lacerations to his spleen and liver, a burst colon, shattered pelvis and fractured femur. Cedeno, a roofer from Arizona whose blood-alcohol level was 0.31 percent, nearly four times the 0.08 percent legal measure for intoxication, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in November 2007 after pleading guilty to vehicular assault. In 2008, Potteiger sued Cedeno for negligence, as well as the owner of the Cozy Inn Tavern and the bartender. The suit alleged Cedeno was served alcoholic beverages while apparently intoxicated. The pickup Cedeno was driving was leased by Gorman Roofing Services, an Arizona company not named in the suit. The company carried two insurance policies on the truck. Under the settlement, Potteiger will receive the maximum $1 million in insurance coverage on the truck, as well as the maximum $5 million in additional coverage for any acts of negligence by a driver of the vehicle, Hill said. Cedeno didn't need to be working at the time of the crash for the coverage to apply, Hill said. Potteiger also will be paid the maximum $1 million insurance coverage for the owner of the tavern and the bartender, along with $25,000 from Cedeno's auto-insurance policy and $100,000 from his own underinsured-motorist policy. The settlement totals $7.125 million. No admission of fault was made by the tavern or the Arizona company. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) Potteiger's life was "literally ripped apart" because of the crash, but he has maintained a remarkable attitude, Hill said. Potteiger, who lives in the Lake Stevens, Wash., area, holds no ill will toward Cedeno and hopes he learned from his mistake, Hill said. An avid runner, cyclist and outdoorsman before the crash, Potteiger is seeking to regain those activities and also making plans to return to Africa as part of his passion for traveling, Hill said. "If he sets a goal for himself, he is going to achieve it," Hill said. ___ (c) 2009, The Seattle Times. Visit The Seattle Times Extra on the World Wide Web at http://www.seattletimes.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]