A Maple Grove, Minnesota woman recently received a personal injury award of $401,065 for injuries sustained in a single car collision.  She was injured while riding as a passenger in a car that crashed when the driver fell asleep.  The crash occurred in St. Paul.

The woman was represented by personal injury attorney Douglas Schmidt of the Schmidt Salita Law Team.  Schmidt presented evidence that the Maple Grove injury victim was riding with a relative on a return trip from Chicago.  During that trip, she had repeatedly warned the driver that he appeared to be nodding off, falling asleep.  She asked him to pull off.  He refused.  The collision occurred when he finally fell asleep and the car left the roadway and crashed into a barrier in St. Paul.

This was yet another case of a car accident caused by sleep impairment.  Statistics produced by the National Sleep Foundation show that 60% of respondents admit to having driven a motor vehicle while drowsy or sleepy.  Nearly 40% admit to having actually nodded off while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.  4% admit to having caused a collision because they dozed off.

Schmidt comments that drowsy or sleepy driving behavior is a serious problem.  “Pull off and take a nap instead of putting the public at danger!!!”