Byline: Scott J. Croteau

WORCESTER - A Grafton family has filed a civil suit in Worcester Superior Court against a city man they say injured their son in a January 2005 automobile accident even though the defendant was found not guilty of criminal charges stemming from the collision.

The young man injured in the accident - Anthony Bourassa, now 20 - walks with a cane and undergoes rehabilitation regularly as a result of the crash, said his lawyer, Anthony M. Salerno.

The civil suit filed demands a judgment against Michael Vassar, 37, of Worcester. Mr. Vassar was cleared of all charges in July 2006.

According to the civil suit, the family has spent about $350,000 for medical expenses, and more medical fees are expected.

Mr. Bourassa "has an extended statute of limitations because he was an incapacitated person," Mr. Salerno said. "We still wanted to file the suit in a timely fashion because of the potential of (Mr. Bourassa's) recovery."

Mr. Vassar has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Vassar, then 34, was arraigned in Central District Court on April 19, 2005, and charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and single counts of driving negligently so as to endanger and driving negligently and while under the influence of alcohol or with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher and causing serious bodily injury stemming from the accident at May and Mason streets on Jan. 16, 2005.

Mr. Salerno said that in a civil case, one has a much lower standard of proof than in a criminal case. There has to be proof without a reasonable doubt in a criminal case. In a civil case, the plaintiff must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, negligence by the defendant.

Police alleged in their reports that Mr. Vassar was driving a 1996 Ford Taurus west on May Street about 2:15 a.m. Jan. 16, 2005, when it collided with a 2000 Dodge Neon at May and Mason streets.

Mr. Bourassa, then 16, was driving the Neon with Effie Harrington, then 16, of North Grafton, in the passenger seat. Both were injured in the accident. Police reports alleged Mr. Vassar was driving drunk and speeding.

A July 2006 motion filed by Mr. Vassar's lawyer at the time, Scott E. Mahoney, listed reasons the state failed to prove its case against Mr. Vassar and sought a finding of not guilty. The motion was allowed by a judge.

The motion stated that no field sobriety tests were performed, there was no evidence of blood-alcohol levels either by Breathalyzer or blood tests, and "no reliable evidence was presented that the defendant's (Mr. Vassar) consumption of alcohol diminished the defendant's capacity or ability to drive safely."

The motion further stated that "there is no reliable evidence that the defendant's actions caused serious bodily injury to someone" and no evidence "that the defendant's actions directly and substantially set in motion a chain of events that produced the serious injury in a natural and continuous sequence." The motion also said Mr. Vassar was not identified in court as the driver of the vehicle.

Mr. Bourassa suffered a broken pelvis, a collapsed lung, a bruised kidney and a fractured skull, and had his spleen removed; he also had severe head trauma as a result of the accident, according to the civil suit.

He was treated at St. Vincent Hospital and then was transferred to the intensive care unit at UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus, where he remained for several weeks.

Mr. Bourassa was later transferred to the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston.

"The family has incurred tremendous costs, both emotionally and financially, that they will never recover from," Mr. Salerno said. "We had to file an action to protect him and to protect any chance of recovery for them."