Personal Injury Lawyers For DUI Accidents

In 2005, alcohol-related accidents resulted in 1,719 deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This figure represents 39 percent of all traffic deaths. In fact, more than 500,000 Americans retain personal injuries annually in drunk driving accidents.

The only way to stop other people from drinking and driving, aside from jail, is to make them pay. If you have a loved one who was injured or died in a DUI-related accident, contact an attorney to file suit.

Driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol is negligence and all actions should be taken to hold the negligent party liable for any loss or death that occured as a result of the accient. A driver who becomes intoxicated and chooses to drive puts every other driver on the road at risk of injury or death, filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit can make them pay for their lack of compassion for human life.

The criminal courts court system can punish a drunk driver who caused the accident, but that does nothing to compensate the victim or the victim’s family of a drunk driver. .

What is a Dram Shop?
Dram Shop and Liquor Liability
The term “Dram Shop” refers to a drinking establishment such as a bar, lounge or restaurant or anywhere alcohol is purchased and consumed on the premises. The law with a Dram Shop is that the bar can be liable for letting people drink and drive.

Dram Shop Acts differ from state to state, but most impose a liability on persons or drinking establishments that illegally sell alcohol. The law includes selling alcohol without a license, selling to someone less than 21 years of age, serving someone under 21 or selling to someone obviously intoxicated. If a person or persons are injured or killed, the establishment may be held legally responsible for any compensation that is due to the victims of the accident.

If this includes a loved one injured under Dram Shop law, contact legal counsel to file a claim and hold the bar liable for negligence. The bars need to take the keys of people who are obviously drunk.

Injuries from DUI accidents can include:

• broken bones
• head/neck/spinal cord injuries
• brain injury
• wrongful death

Some Other DUI Statistics

• About three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.
• Every 30 minutes, someone dies in an alcohol-related crash.
• Every two minutes, someone is injured in an alcohol-related crash.
• A driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 or greater is seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash than a driver who has not consumed alcoholic beverages.
• A driver with an alcohol level of 0.15 or greater is about 25 times more likely.

Potential Recovery
Again as most personal injury lawsuits from personal injury attorneys, the compensation can be in the millions because of the severity of the injuries or even death.

A drunk driver seriously injured another motorist in a 2007 collision, and a Skagit County jury has concluded the Washington State Patrol and Whatcom County must pay $5.5 million for not doing enough to stop the drunk driver.

The car accident in Washington State happened on Highway 542. A drunk driver crossed the centerline and slammed head-on into a car driven a 22-year-old woman. The woman suffered severe injuries to her legs, pelvis and wrists. With already 13 surgeries since, she is expected to need many more. The Washington State Patrol and Whatcom County were named as defendants.

The personal injury attorney noted that the drunk driver had been sentenced on a prior drunk driving charge and was required to have an alcohol interlock installed in her car. However, according to the lawyers handling the case, the Whatcom County District Court Probation Department failed to follow up on the installation.