Suit filed in car crash death…
Waukesha - A wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit was filed Wednesday against Mark Benson, the former physician charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle in the death of popular teacher and Associate Principal Jennifer Bukosky, her unborn child and her 10-year-old daughter.
In filing the lawsuit on behalf of the victims' families a week and a half after the fatal crash, lawyers said they acted quickly because they feared Benson would hide or transfer his assets.
In the lawsuit, they are asking a Waukesha County circuit judge to freeze Benson's assets, contending the action is necessary because a police officer overheard Benson tell his wife he would shift assets out of his name.
That phone conversation occurred, according to court records, on April 25 after Benson was taken into custody following the crash.
Judge Kathryn W. Foster is scheduled to consider at 1:30 p.m. Friday the request for a restraining order and temporary injunction that would prevent Benson from transferring his assets.
"We've got a defendant who's talking about divesting himself of his assets. We thought we should move fast," said attorney Robert Habush, whose law firm, Habush Habush & Rottier, filed the lawsuit for the families of the victims. " . . . He's worried about a judgment in excess of his insurance coverage," said Habush.
The criminal complaint filed against Benson, 55, of Summit, says that Benson told his wife he would "sign over all his property to them" and "get a public defender."
The Wisconsin Wrongful Death lawsuit does not contain information regarding the value of Benson's assets.
But Waukesha County property tax records show Benson's home on Lower Nashotah Lake is assessed at $866,100, about 68% of its actual value.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money for the deaths of Jennifer Bukosky, her unborn daughter, Sophia, and for the injury of Deborah Gibbs, 10. It was filed by Michael J. Bukosky, Jennifer's husband, and Deborah Gibbs and her parents, Michelle A. Gibbs and Daniel B. Gibbs.
The suit says Benson was negligent because he was operating under the influence of intoxicants and traveling at a high speed when his SUV slammed into the back of Bukosky's car.
According to police and court records, Bukosky's vehicle was stopped about 3:30 p.m. April 25 at a traffic signal in the northbound lane of Highway 67 at Pabst Road in Oconomowoc when it was struck by Benson's sport utility vehicle.
Bukosky, 39, of the Town of Oconomowoc, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 10-year-old daughter, Courtney Bella, died April 26 from her injuries. Bukosky's son, Zachary Bella, 12, was released from a hospital after being treated for his injuries.
Deborah Gibbs, of Summit, was seriously injured in the crash and recently was released from Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
Insurers named, too
In addition to Benson, named as defendants in the suit are Progressive Classic Insurance Co. and Navigators Insurance Co., which according to the lawsuit, insured Benson's vehicles.
Benson's attorney in the criminal case, Dean A. Strang, said it is likely that one or both of the insurers will assign attorneys to handle the civil suit and a civil lawyer from Strang's office also will be involved.
Benson is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on the criminal charges on May 16. He is being held on $1 million bail.
According to the criminal complaint, Benson was under the influence of oxycodone, a painkiller; Ambien, a sleep aid; and Xanax, used to treat anxiety. He had consumed one oxycodone tablet and four or five tablets each of Ambien and Xanax on Friday morning, the complaint states.
Just two days before the accident, Benson had pleaded guilty to a 2007 drunken driving offense, his third, in Brookfield. He was ordered April 23 not to drive and was sentenced to 75 days in the county's work release jail, but was given until May 9 to report.