Venus Williams Wins Emergency Court Order with Regard to Evidence on Wrongful Death Case

A court in Florida has granted tennis player Venus Williams an emergency court order preventing the plaintiffs from taking evidence from two vehicles involved in a fatal car accident in connection with a wrongful death lawsuit that has been filed against Williams. According to a report in The Daily Mail, the tennis star filed a request for the court order fearing that crucial evidence could be lost if data was taken from the vehicles.

The wrongful death lawsuit against Williams was brought by the family of Jerome Barson. His wife, Linda, was driving a car, which t-boned Williams’s vehicle at an intersection in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on June 9. A police report placed the blame for the crash on Williams because she was stopped at the intersection when the other driver, Linda Barson, had the right of way. Jerome Barson died two weeks after the crash from injuries he had sustained in the collision.

Ongoing Investigation

According to court documents, the family’s lawyer provided Williams’s legal defense team with less than 24-hour notice that they were going to inspect and download data from the vehicles. Williams’s attorneys sought the protective order demanding that the evidence not be collected until the court establishes a procedure for doing so. Williams has not yet filed her response to the wrongful death lawsuit that was filed June 30.

Williams is currently playing in the Wimbledon tennis championships in London. She broke down during her post-match press conference when asked by the media about her involvement in this fatal crash, saying she has been devastated and heartbroken by it. The accident remains under investigation and Williams is not facing any criminal charges yet. Her attorney said police estimated the tennis player was traveling at about 5 mph when struck by Barson’s car.

He called it an “unfortunate accident.” He also said Williams entered an intersection on a green light that turned red during her turn, but was struck at the intersection. However, the police report faults Williams for block the other vehicle’s right of way. Police also say there was no evidence Williams was impaired by alcohol or drugs, or that she was distracted at the time.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Wrongful death cases are civil actions, which means that the defendant is found “liable” by a court of law based on evidence of negligence. While a criminal case punishes the alleged wrongdoer, a civil case could result in monetary compensation for the family of the deceased. We hope the facts come out in this case and justice is served.