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Motor vehicle accidents caused by intoxicated drivers account for $44 billion in costs each year in the United States. A DUI accident victim lawyer understands how difficult it can be to recover from injuries sustained during an automobile accident. Suppose you or a loved one suffered an injury in an accident caused by a drunk driver. In that case, consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you understand what to do and assist you in seeking financial compensation for your losses.
Our team at Arash Law has decades of collective experience representing clients who suffered personal injuries during motor vehicle accidents. Contact Arash Law to schedule a free initial consultation, during which we can discuss the facts of your case. You can also call us at (888) 488-1391 to learn more about how we can help victims pursue compensation.
State laws and the United States Constitution protect the rights of criminal defendants, such as drunk drivers who cause car accidents. In these cases, injured victims may not know how to uphold their rights to seek damages. Although a criminal defendant may be guilty of driving while intoxicated, the injured victim is not guaranteed monetary compensation without taking legal action through a civil claim.
An order for the criminal defendant to pay restitution may not be in an amount that is insufficient to pay medical bills. In some scenarios, the convicted driver lacks the financial means to pay restitution.
However, injured victims have other avenues available to pursue compensation. An injured victim struck by a drunk driver may have grounds to demand financial reimbursement by filing a personal injury claim.
What Should I Do If An Intoxicated Driver Injures Me?
You may be confused and in pain after an intoxicated driver injures you. In such a scenario, it could be helpful to take certain actions after suffering any type of injury in a motor vehicle accident with a drunk driver:
- Remain at the accident scene and contact emergency personnel. Stay at the accident scene until help arrives and contact 911. Wait for first responders. You can also insist that an officer create a police report. Even if you think you have insignificant injuries, having the police generate a report can benefit your case. Although you cannot use this report as evidence in court, insurance companies often rely on it to assess the other driver’s liability if they were drunk or violated some other traffic law.
- Obtain photographs. Documentary evidence is vital to your case. If you are not too injured to take photographs, take pictures of your bodily injuries, the automobile, and the accident scene. If you take photographs of the accident scene, it will document important elements such as the weather at the time of the incident. Specific information that you may not notice right away can often come to light when examining a photograph. By taking pictures of your damaged automobile, you can demonstrate the severity of the impact. Photographs of yourself and any injured passengers can document the injuries suffered in the motor vehicle accident. Also, photographing or recording the other driver can help you document the physical and mental condition of the driver at the time of the incident.
- Talk to witnesses. Talk to the witnesses near the accident scene and obtain their telephone numbers and email addresses. Some officers may not interview every witness at the scene of the accident. By creating witness statements, you can help verify that the police report includes all valuable evidence that may help your case.
What Should I Do After The Motor Vehicle Accident?
When you suffer a bodily injury during a motor vehicle accident, prioritize your physical and mental health. Seek immediate medical treatment after suffering an injury in an automobile accident. If your physical symptoms worsen, seek additional medical treatment or consult a doctor. Obtain medical records, take notes, and keep all receipts of payments you make for your medical treatment.
Additionally, call or write the insurance companies relevant to the motor vehicle accident. Every driver involved in an automobile accident must contact their own insurance company. Call or write your insurance agent and explain to them how the accident occurred. Ask the insurance agent what type of coverage applies to the motor vehicle accident.
Contact the other driver’s insurance provider. By doing this, you are giving notice of the motor vehicle accident to the insurance company. Failing to notify them could be used as grounds to deny your claim.
Should I Retain An Attorney For My Intoxicated Driving Accident Claim?
If you’re unfamiliar with the claims process or are dealing with significant injuries after a crash, it could be helpful to retain car accident lawyers for your intoxicated driving claim. The drunk driver’s insurance company will likely want to settle before any case proceeds to trial, but you may find it challenging to review the settlement offers you receive if you don’t understand the full extent of your losses.
A lawyer can help you with these matters. Contact a California personal injury law firm if you are unsure how to retain a personal injury attorney. Call us at (888) 488-1391 to schedule a free case review.
Why Should I Work With A Personal Injury Attorney?
If you work with a personal injury attorney, you could receive assistance with handling mundane tasks like requesting medical records, adding up medical bills, and filling out important documents. This could give you more time to focus on your physical recovery. By bringing your drunk driving accident case to a personal injury attorney, you could thus get help managing the burdens associated with filing a personal injury claim.
A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can offer you the following:
- Knowledge of the potential amount of monetary compensation for your injuries and how to pursue a settlement that closely reflects that estimate.
- A thorough understanding of insurance policies and what is needed to identify all applicable coverage for your claim.
- Knowledge that an injury lawyer can help you file all legal documents on time, with the goal of them being accurate and complete.
- Extra documentation, investigation, and analysis of the case facts.
How Can I Estimate The Value Of My Drunk Driving Accident Case?
If you seek financial compensation for your injuries, add your non-economic and economic damages together with any punitive damages that a court may award, in rare cases, to punish grossly negligent conduct.
Economic damages include vehicle property damage. If your car was totaled, the compensation you pursue for property damage might equal the fair market value of the automobile. If the vehicle was repairable, then the property damage would be the cost to repair the damage to the automobile. Economic damages also include medical expenses such as medical treatment, physical therapy, and surgeries. Additionally, future lost earnings, lost earning capacity, and lost wages can be factored in when computing economic damages.
Non-economic damages are typically the pain and suffering or emotional trauma experienced by the injured victim. Loss of consortium damages are also included in non-economic damages, and this refers to the loss of the companionship, love, and support provided by a spouse.
The value of each case is unique because the factors listed above are never identical from case to case. Your automobile accident lawyer can help calculate every element of your damages, the estimated total of which could be relevant to settlement negotiations.
Elements Relevant To Settlement Amounts For Intoxicated Driving Accident Cases
The Nature Of Your Injuries
The degree to which you suffered bodily injury is one important element when analyzing the potential compensation you may pursue. To seek compensation for your physical injuries and psychological pain and suffering, you must prove that the intoxicated driver was responsible for your injuries.
Categories Of Treatment
Any medical treatment you receive to alleviate your injuries is necessary to establish the nature and extent of your injuries. Detailed medical records and statements by physicians can help prove that you received necessary medical treatment for your bodily injuries. Physical records and oral statements can provide substance to your claims for medical bills and the psychological suffering you endured.
Missing Work And Lost Wages
Injured victims of drunk driving accidents may be able to pursue financial compensation for any lost wages and time missed from employment. Document any time off work that was a result of your injuries. Suppose you suffered an injury that caused you to be unable to return to your profession or perform the type of work you did before the accident. In that case, you might be able to seek financial compensation for loss of earning capacity.
Property Damage
Property damage costs can include expenses related to replacing or repairing your automobile. These could also be recoverable if the damage occurred during a drunk driving accident. In particular instances, you may have the right to file a claim for the costs of proceeding to trial with the drunk driving accident lawsuit.
Pain And Suffering
Pain and suffering are non-economic damages and therefore cannot be easily quantified. It is more difficult to calculate pain and suffering because it requires understanding all the facts related to the accident. Accident victims could seek pain and suffering as compensatory damages for physical and mental suffering caused by the drunk driving accident.
Specific injuries are unique, and settlement amounts may vary depending on the number and nature of injuries suffered by the victim. Also, jurors and other observers may react differently to different types of physical injuries. Accident victims need to be able to articulate the pain and suffering they endured during and after the drunk driving accident.
Contact an auto accident attorney if you or a loved one suffered an injury during a drunk driving accident. Call us at (888) 488-1391 to schedule a free initial consultation during which we can discuss your case.
Drunk Driving Accidents And Establishing Liability
Establishing liability means proving that the drunk driver had a duty of care to drive an automobile reasonably. The four elements of negligence are duty, breach, causation, and damages.
After establishing that the drunk driver had a duty of care, the attorney must show that the driver breached their duty. An attorney may introduce evidence that the driver was drunk when the accident occurred. If the driver was intoxicated while driving a vehicle, they were breaching their duty of care, and anyone injured as a result of that driver’s conduct may have grounds to seek recompense.
Some jurisdictions have laws related to negligence per se, which means that proving that a driver was intoxicated can be used to establish a breach of duty. The drunk driver may attempt to establish that some intervening force contributed to the accident. If they cannot, the drunk driver may be held liable for your injuries.
Why Do I Need To Retain A Personal Injury Attorney?
One way to protect your rights and pursue financial compensation for the injuries you suffered during a drunk driving accident is to retain a knowledgeable personal injury attorney. You may need additional evidence to prove that a driver was intoxicated, and an accident lawyer can investigate your case. Additionally, an attorney can help obtain documentary evidence of intoxication by subpoenaing records of restaurants and bars where the drunk driver may have been drinking before the accident.
Retaining a personal injury attorney means you will not have to request medical records, conduct depositions, or gather physical evidence alone. When you retain an attorney, he or she will complete all of these tasks for you. Additionally, a personal injury attorney can help represent you and negotiate a settlement with insurance companies on your behalf.
How Do I Seek Financial Compensation With A Personal Injury Attorney?
The first thing you must do is seek medical treatment for your injuries and follow up with additional physical therapy and rehabilitation appointments. Next, contact an experienced personal injury attorney. Additionally, document the accident by taking photographs, videos, and audio recordings.
A personal injury attorney can negotiate on your behalf and handle the filing of your claim to meet any applicable legal deadlines. You must file your legal claims before the statute of limitations expires. California has a two-year statute of limitations period for personal injury actions. The statute of limitations starts to run from the date of the drunk driving car accident. Some exceptions may shorten or extend this time frame in your case, which you can discuss with one of our lawyers.
Contact Our Firm For A Free Initial Consultation With Our California Personal Injury Lawyers
Contact our law firm to schedule a free initial consultation during which we can discuss the details of your case. The attorneys at Arash Law have decades of experience helping injured clients seek compensation for losses incurred in drunk driving accidents. We represent clients throughout California, including cities such as San Francisco, Riverside, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sherman Oaks. Call our team at (888) 488-1391 or contact us online to schedule a free case evaluation with a California personal injury attorney.
