MD License, MMV Targets in O.C. Suits

The daughters of a Mission Viejo couple, killed when a suspected drunken physician collided head-on with their car, filed wrongful death lawsuits Friday claiming state and local officials failed in their duties to protect the public.

The lawsuits, filed on behalf of Karie and Shelbie Minzey, come nearly one year after their parents, Mark and Noreen Minzey, were killed on Santiago Canyon Road while driving home from a softball game, a tragedy that sparked an outpouring of support for the girls from their South Orange County community.

Karie Minzey, 12, a softball all-star, was critically injured in the crash.

Also injured in the crash were two passengers in the Minzey car, Danielle Rodriguez, 12, and her sister, Jacqueline, 25.

Ronald Joseph Allen, a 32-year-old Laguna Beach internist who specialized in treating AIDS patients, is waiting trial on two charges of second-degree murder and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in connection with the crash.

The wrongful death lawsuits, filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court, are the latest court action by the children through their legal guardian. They are suing the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the Medical Board of California and South Coast Medical Center, which treated Allen for alleged suicidal tendencies about a month before the collision. The Minzeys also filed a fourth lawsuit against Chrysler Corp., maker of the Dodge the parents were driving.

In the suits against the state agencies, the family alleges that DMV and medical officials should have known Allen was a danger not only to himself, but to others, and acted sooner to revoke his license to drive and to practice medicine.

The suits allege Allen had been involved in at least three prior traffic accidents while under the influence of drugs and alcohol between April, 1992, and June, 1993. The fatal crash occurred July 11, 1993.

With his medical license intact, Allen was able to prescribe himself drugs that contributed to the crash, the suit against the Medical Board alleges.

A spokeswoman with the Medical Board of California said Friday she had not yet seen the lawsuit, but denied any wrongdoing or liability for the collision.

“While again sympathizing with the Minzey and Rodriguez families, we continue to insist that Ronald Allen alone is responsible for this tragedy,” board spokeswoman Candis Cohen said.

A lawyer representing Danielle and Jacqueline Rodriguez said they plan to file similar suits Monday against the DMV and Medical Board of California.

DMV officials have also denied any wrongdoing, saying Allen was driving with an invalid license at the time of the crash.

In two previous accidents before the fatal crash, Allen had been driving with an Illinois driver’s license, authorities have said. After his license was taken away by Laguna Beach police in June, 1993, he applied for a California driver’s license 10 days later and was given a temporary permit, according to the DMV.

DMV officials allege that Allen failed to disclose that his Illinois driver’s license had been revoked when he applied for the permit.

In the lawsuit filed Friday against South Coast Medical Center, the family alleges that officials failed to follow proper procedures and released Allen prematurely after he was brought to the hospital in a suicidal state about a month before the crash. Allen was taken to the hospital after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the suit.

Hospital officials could not be reached for response Friday evening.

Attorneys for the Minzey children also filed on Friday a product liability lawsuit against Chrysler, alleging the Dodge the family was driving was unsafe and failed to hold up as it should in the crash, contributing to the deaths and injuries.

Chrysler officials in Michigan could not be reached after the lawsuit was filed late Friday.

The Minzey and Rodriguez families took their first legal actions in Superior Court in December, filing civil lawsuits against Allen seeking $30 million in damages. The suits allege Allen was intoxicated by drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash and was fully aware such conduct could have “deadly consequences.” Those lawsuits also name National Car Rental System Inc., which rented Allen the Chevrolet Lumina he was driving.

On Friday, the Minzey family amended the earlier lawsuit against Allen to include accusations of professional negligence, alleging the doctor should have not prescribed himself medication knowing he was going to be drinking and driving.

Allen, who is being held at the Orange County Jail, declined a request for an interview this week.

His lawyers have contended that the murder charges are excessive in the criminal case. They say Allen was suffering from severe financial problems, stress and depression at the time of the head-on crash. Just hours before he got behind the wheel of his car that afternoon, they say, he learned his father had died.

The latest round of civil court action comes after a difficult year for all involved.

Karie Minzey, who nearly died in the crash, moved with her sister Shelbie, now 16, to live with an aunt and uncle in Georgia. Shelbie was not in the car when the crash occurred.

Karie is recovering and can walk, but still has a tube attached to the back of her head to relieve pressure and swelling in her brain, her lawyer said. She also must go through rigorous physical therapy and rehabilitative work for her injured knee and wrist.

“She’s certainly going to have problems the rest of her life,” Johnson said.

Karie was back in a Georgia hospital Friday, recovering from reconstructive surgery to her face and forehead, her aunt, Jeanine Posey said from their Marietta, Ga. home.

There will be other surgeries to come, and the seventh-grader’s medical expenses as of May had surpassed $600,000, according to court papers.

“It’s not easy for them,” Posey said of her nieces. “They miss their mom and dad. But overall they’re doing pretty good.”

Meanwhile, Danielle and Jacqueline Rodriguez, who were treated for their injuries and released from a hospital the day of the crash, are better physically, although the emotional trauma remains, according to their lawyer, Gary Moorhead.

“Psychologically, they’re just trying with their parents to cope and talk things out,” he said. “It’s been hard on them. They were best friends with the Minzeys.”

Moving forward with the civil suits has been slowed because of the pending criminal case against Allen, Johnson and Moorhead said.

“We can’t get a lot of the information,” Moorhead said. “That’s why it’s been a tedious process so far.”