A public servant seriously injured in a fatal crash has been awarded nearly $300,000 after suing the drink-driver who smashed into a tree, but she would have received more had she not also been negligent.
Dannielle Benning was thrown from the front passenger seat of a car into the windscreen when concreter Jamie Richardson veered off William Slim Drive, in McKellar, and crashed in February 2014.
She spent a night in an induced coma and was away from work for seven weeks, having sustained significant injuries including a punctured and collapsed lung.
Ms Benning continues to suffer from migraines as a result of the incident, while her work capacity has been reduced and she has had to undergo surgery for ankle injuries that will be "lifelong".
Richardson returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.19 - nearly four times the legal limit - following the crash, which killed friend and back seat passenger Glenn Dunster.
A jury found Richardson guilty in 2016 of culpable driving causing death and culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm, and was eventually sentenced to three years and eight months in jail.
Ms Benning sued Richardson in the ACT Supreme Court earlier this month, arguing his negligence behind the wheel entitled her to damages.
Richardson claimed in his defence that Ms Benning, who was also intoxicated after drinking at the Lighthouse Pub in Belconnen, had "ripped" the steering wheel out of his hands and caused her own injuries.
Justice Michael Elkaim dismissed that assertion on Thursday, awarding Ms Benning a payout of $297,979.30.
In his judgment, Justice Elkaim described Richardson as "a most unimpressive witness" who "seemed to treat offences of drink-driving as more an indication of bad luck at being caught than having any element of the protection of road users".
He rejected Richardson's claims about interference with the steering wheel for a number of reasons, including that the concreter was much stronger than Ms Benning.
The judge also noted that Richardson was "not averse to lying", having initially blamed the crash on a "phantom driver".
However, Justice Elkaim determined that Ms Benning's injuries were not entirely Richardson's fault.
The judge found the woman was partly to blame given she was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, and because she had willingly travelled in a car controlled by a driver she knew was drunk.
As a result of Ms Benning's "contributory negligence", Justice Elkaim reduced the $458,429.69 payout he would otherwise have awarded by 35 per cent.
The nearly $300,000 amount settled on by the judge comprises money for general damages, medical expenses, economic loss and domestic assistance, as well as interest.
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