Victim in crash seeks $10M in damages

An Alaska servicemember who was involved in a wreck near Rathdrum is seeking more than $10 million in damages from a car company and the Oldtown woman he blames for the crash.

In separate lawsuits filed in First District Court, Bradley S. Bliton, who was a 29-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force when he collided with a Ford Focus May 18, 2015, on Highway 53 near McGuire Road, accuses Fiat Chrysler of having faulty air bags in his pickup truck, that did not deploy, resulting in his injuries.

In another action filed the same day this month, Bliton, who was moving from Virginia to Anchorage as part of his duties when the wreck occurred, is also suing Jessica N. Lee of Oldtown for more than $10,000 in damages for allegedly driving her Ford Focus into his Dodge pickup while she was attempting to turn, allegedly causing the crash.

He is asking the court to make the pickup truck’s manufacturer pay him $10 million for the injuries and emotional distress he suffered resulting from the crash. Bliton, through his attorney, Erik P. Smith of Coeur d’Alene, is also asking for damages of $2 million for Bliton's wife, Shannon Bliton, who was not involved in the crash, but who was driving behind Bliton and watched it happen.

Since her husband’s wreck, Shannon Bliton has “experienced a great loss of companionship, advice and comfort that her husband is impaired from providing … due to his head injury,” according to the lawsuit.

According to state police, Bliton was eastbound in a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup around 9:30 a.m. when he collided with Lee, who was driving west in a Ford Focus and attempting to make a left turn onto McGuire Road.

Police said Lee failed to yield to oncoming traffic and clipped the Ram pickup, causing it to go into the ditch and roll at least once before coming to rest on its side. According to the lawsuit, the pickup truck’s airbags failed to deploy because gravel had entered the system from underneath the truck during the crash.

“Despite the severe impacts from the collision, none of the three Fiat Chrysler air bags deployed,” according to the suit. “The airbag sensors were disabled by gravel rocks impacting underneath the truck cab….”

Lee, 22, was transported by ambulance to Kootenai Health. Bliton, who was wearing a seat belt, was injured, but not hospitalized. According to his lawsuit, Bliton administered medical aid to Lee while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

Bliton is alleged to have suffered permanent injury to his head, neck, back and knee, and he was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury resulting in memory loss and chronic headaches, according to the lawsuit.

The suit, in District Judge Richard Christiansen’s court, was filed in Coeur d’Alene because the crash occurred in Kootenai County. Bliton has asked for a jury trial.