OKLAHOMA CITY – Jim Stewart won the Bronze Star for his military heroism but lost his military career because of someone else’s negligence.
Stewart, an Oklahoma City resident, called to active duty after the 9/11 attacks. He gave up a successful business to serve his country, and he never looked back or regretted his decision.
Stewart survived the deserts of Iraq but was seriously injured while driving in Oklahoma. He had been home from deployment only a few weeks when a tractor-trailer truck did not stop on Interstate 40, totaling three cars, including his. The truck belonged to a large out-of-state corporation.
Stewart had to have back surgery as a result of the wreck and suffered a traumatic brain injury. The biggest casualty, however, was his military career. The Army discharged Stewart, putting an end to the military service that made him so proud.
“Due to the injuries that Jim got in that wreck, he lost his physical health as well as our way of life,” his wife, Michelle, said, adding that the couple’s four children lost the father “that he was.”
Jim Stewart now is in constant pain. His condition and loss of his military service has forced his family to change its plans and postpone its dreams.
The Stewarts are speaking out against Senate Bill 863 so Oklahomans will know how it goes against the Constitution, the very Constitution that veterans and military personnel have sworn to defend. Moreover, should SB 863 become law, the out-of-state corporation whose driver injured Jim Stewart will get a free pass to do whatever it wants without fear of accountability.
B 863 caps noneconomic damages at $250,000. It has passed the Senate and awaits a House committee vote.
“SB 863 is taking away our rights to have a jury decide what is fair and right in determining damages to our family,” Michelle Stewart said. “My family and I understand sacrifice. My husband was activated in 2003 as a reservist and deployed to Iraq in 2004 while I stayed home with our four children. He gave up a business to serve our country and do the right thing. It was not a difficult decision (for him).”
SB 863, she said, tramples on the very rights her husband fought for. “It clearly puts profits of Big Business ahead of the rights of the people, and that is not what this country was founded upon,” she said.
Michelle Stewart thanked Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, for his courageous stance against the bill. A highly decorated retired Army colonel, Russell was one of three Republican votes against SB 863 in the Senate.
“I dare any senator to pick a member of his or her staff or family to take my husband’s place and suffer what Jim goes through every day, and will go through for the rest of his life, in exchange for $250,000,” she said.
