Despite decades-long efforts on the part of the state, local, and federal governments, as well as countless nonprofit groups, drunk driving remains one of the leading causes of both fatal and non-fatal car accidents. Those involved in DUI accidents often face life-changing injuries. However, through a car accident lawsuit, accident victims may be able to obtain compensation for their injuries.

After a DUI accident, you may wonder how to hold those who are responsible for your injuries accountable for their actions. At the law firm of Console & Associates, we can help. For the past 25 years, we have been handling personal injury claims on behalf of accident victims and their loved ones. Console & Associates is a nationally known personal injury law firm with a reputation for excellence. When you allow Console & Associates to assist with your case, you can rest assured you are in capable hands.

Personal injury claims involving drunk driving accidents are similar to other car accident claims in many ways. However, certain issues are unique to drunk driving accidents, including:

1| Negligence per se:

In a typical personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff must present evidence to meet each of the four elements of a negligence claim. Those elements are:

  • Duty – Did the defendant owe the accident victim a duty of care?
  • Breach – Did the defendant violate the duty they owed to the accident victim?
  • Causation – Did the defendant’s actions cause the accident victim’s injuries?
  • Damages – Did the accident victim suffer legally recognizable damages?

However, in a drunk driving personal injury claim, an accident victim may be able to rely on negligence per se. Negligence per se is a legal doctrine that allows accident victims to take a shortcut when it comes to proving their claim. Rather than meeting all four of the elements above, if negligence per se applies, the defendant is assumed to be negligent, and the plaintiff only needs to establish that the defendant’s actions resulted in their injuries.

Plaintiffs can rely on negligence per se if each of the following is true:

  • There is a statute that defines a certain standard of conduct;
  • The defendant violated that statute;
  • The plaintiff is a member of the class the statute was intended to protect; and
  • The plaintiff suffered the sort of injury the statute was designed to prevent.

In the case of many drunk driving accidents, these elements are easily met, allowing plaintiffs to benefit from the doctrine of negligence per se.

2| Punitive damages:

Generally, there are two types of damages that accident victims can obtain if they successfully bring a personal injury claim: economic and non-economic damages. Both economic and non-economic damages are focused on making the accident victim “whole” again. 

There is, however, a third classification of damages called punitive damages. Punitive damages are intended to punish a defendant for their conduct and deter others from engaging in similar behavior. Thus, courts reserve punitive damages for cases in which a defendant’s actions were especially egregious.

Everyone knows the dangers of drunk driving, and it takes a total disregard for human life to get behind the wheel after having too much to drink. Thus, drunk driving personal injury cases are exactly the type of claims that may be appropriate for a punitive damages award. Punitive damages awards can be significant; however, depending on the jurisdiction, there may be limits on the amount of punitive damages awarded.

3| Insurance coverage:

Drunk driving accidents have the potential to result in severe injuries or even death. In such cases, the monetary compensation awarded to an accident victim or their family may be substantial. However, a large damages award is meaningless if there is no way to collect it.

In the vast majority of cases stemming from a drunk driving car accident, an insurance company will defend the case on behalf of the at-fault driver. This is because, under the terms of the at-fault driver’s insurance policy, the company agreed to cover certain accident-related costs in exchange for an insurance premium. 

However, insurance policies are only good up to the policy limit. It is not uncommon for a drunk driving accident to cause damage greater than is covered under the at-fault party’s insurance policy. Thus, it is crucial to identify all potential sources of compensation, including your insurance policies.

4| The effect of a criminal case:

Not only can a drunk driving accident result in civil liability, but drunk drivers may also face criminal charges. It is essential that accident victims understand the effect that criminal charges can have on a pending civil lawsuit.

The standard which courts use to determine civil liability is different from the standard used to evaluate criminal liability. An accident victim must establish a civil claim by a “preponderance of the evidence,” whereas criminal cases must be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt.” 

The practical import of this distinction is that accident victims can bring a personal injury lawsuit against a drunk driver even if the other driver was found not guilty of a DUI offense. In fact, an accident victim can pursue a case against another driver they believe to have been intoxicated even if the state never brought a DUI case against the driver. In this way, a civil case and a criminal case are unrelated.

Criminal prosecutions are not entirely irrelevant to civil claims, however. For example, if a drunk driver is convicted of a DUI offense, that conviction is public record and may help an accident victim prove that the defendant was drunk. However, to succeed in a personal injury lawsuit, an accident victim must also show that the driver’s drunkenness (or other negligent conduct) caused their injuries. Thus, just because a motorist is convicted of a DUI does not automatically mean that an accident victim will recover compensation from the drunk driver.

These four issues add to the complexity of getting compensation for DUI car accident victims. Some of these particulars, like the doctrine of negligence per se, may seem like they would make the process simpler—but that’s only true if you have enough legal knowledge to act on it. Similarly, if you don’t know how to seek punitive damages, identify all sources of insurance coverage, and effectively use any criminal charges against the driver as evidence for your claim, you could end up with less money than you deserve. 

Although you may see a DUI car accident claim as an open and shut case, getting all you’re entitled to is a lot more challenging than you may think. For complicated claims like these, an experienced attorney is in the best position to secure injured victims the full amount of money they deserve.