Lawsuit filed against alleged drunk driver in fatal crash

June 29--Parents of a teenager injured in a fatal vehicle collision are suing accused drunken driver Michael Gann, who already faces alcohol-related criminal charges in the crash.

The lawsuit by Jeffrey and Jennifer Osborne in Vanderburgh Superior Court seeks compensation for their son Kurt Osborne's injuries as well as punitive damages.

It cites negligence by Gann for allegedly causing the March 14 accident. Gann, 38, was traveling south on University Parkway when his vehicle crossed the grass median into the northbound lanes and stuck a vehicle driven by Kurt Osborne, according to police.

Logan Brown, 15, died in the crash, which also injured Kurt Osborne and Hannah Miller, 15. Osborne, who is now 17, was initially unconscious and received a serious head injury.

Richard Hawley, the Osbornes' attorney, said the main purpose for filing the lawsuit while criminal charges are pending against Gann is to open a dialogue about financial compensation. He said the Osbornes have accumulated more than $100,000 in medical bills so far.

"His major injury was a brain injury," he said. "He is still going to cognitive rehabilitative therapy and he has shown some improvement. He is at an age where they are hopeful he will eventually regain all his abilities, but that may be a year or two out."

The problem, Hawley said, is that Gann's insurance policy caps what it will pay to all victims in a single incident at $500,000.

That means that at some point it will have to be decided how to divide that sum between the Brown, Osborne and Miller families.

"It's kind of an ugly situation in that there is not enough coverage to compensate any of these families," Hawley said. "There is little justice. We are still in the dark about a lot of things. The legal process hopefully will lead to some answers."

Attorney Dan Tuley, who represents Hanah Miller and her family, said she is still recovering and receiving outpatient treatment after being hospitalized twice for injuries from the accident.

"We are still investigating the accident from a number of perspectives," Tuley said.

Attorney Mark Phillips, who represents the Brown family, declined to comment.

Gann, 38, is charged with causing death while operating a motor vehicle causing death with a blood alcohol content equal to or greater than 0.15 percent; and two counts of operating a motor vehicle causing serious bodily injury with a blood-alcohol level equal to or greater than 0.08 percent.

He also is charged with leaving the scene of an accident for reportedly striking a parked vehicle at a gas station before the fatal collision.

Gann will next appear in Vanderburgh Circuit Court at 1 p.m. Sept. 4. He is on electronic monitoring with daily alcohol testing while his case is pending. Last week Magistrate Kelli Fink ordered that Gann can travel from home to work but cannot drive and must still comply with all home detention conditions.

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