Jury awards ex-stripper $100K for DUI wreck

[February 04, 2010]  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- A Jefferson County jury has awarded a former stripper $100,000 in a lawsuit in which she claimed the club that employed her failed to stop her from driving home after her on-the-job drinking.

Patsy Hamaker of Bessemer was injured in a wreck after leaving work at The Furnace on Oct. 17, 2007. She said she can no longer dance because of her injuries.

Hamaker said the club disregarded its own safety rules when it let her drive home that night. Attorneys for the club argued that employees tried to keep Hamaker from driving away.

The Birmingham News reported that the jury award made Tuesday is for compensatory damages. No punitive damages were awarded.

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Information from: The Birmingham News, http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/

[Associated Press]

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