Drunk Driving Accidents
Fair Oaks Personal Injury Attorney – 888.338.0872
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that roughly
one-third of all
fatal car accidents involve a drunk driver, and that about 1% of all American drivers will
be arrested for drunk driving each year. Despite the prevalence of this
serious problem, simply being hurt by an intoxicated motorist does not
guarantee injured parties any form of compensation. If you have been struck
by a drunk driver and suffered injury and damages, you have to file a
claim yourself in pursuit of justice and financial compensation.
Swartz Fogy Law Group and our Fair Oaks car accident lawyers are here to
help you set things right after a drunk driver causes you or the ones
you love serious harm.
Reasons people choose our law firm for legal assistance include:
Let our team of compassionate injury attorneys in Northern California know
what happened, and we can tell you what you should do next. All you need to do is
contact us at your convenience and schedule a free initial consultation to begin.
Forms of Compensation in a Drunk Driving Claim
The primary objective of your drunk driving accident claim will be asserting
that your injuries were caused by the other driver, not necessarily that
that driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash. In focusing on proving
liability, you increase the likelihood of getting the compensation you
need. Proof of intoxication, however, will certainly help the validity
of your claim.
Damages you may be able to collect include:
- Medical bills
- Repair costs
- Lost wages
- Emotional trauma
If it can be proven through convincing evidence, such as police reports
and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level test results, that the other
driver was drunk, you may even be able to pursue punitive damages. A court
can award punitive damages when the person who is liable for an injury
was breaking the law in a way so egregious, it should have been known
by that person that the injury of someone would soon follow. Drunk driving
is a common example of a crime that can trigger punitive damages in related
injury claims.
California Dram Shop Laws
When a party host or bartender continues to provide alcohol to someone
they know will be driving an automobile soon, they could become liable
for resulting damages through what is known as dram shop laws. In California,
dram shop laws are notoriously restrictive and it is quite rare for a
court to use dram shop laws to hold a host or bartender accountable in
drunk driving cases. Essentially, there must be hard proof that the person
serving the drinks had malicious intent by “over-intoxicating”
the patron or guest. If you think dram shop laws could be relevant to
your case, let our Fair Oaks personal injury attorneys know, and we can
help you determine if that legal avenue will be worth exploring.
Passengers Injured by Drunk Drivers
Many people who are hurt by intoxicated motorists are actually sitting
within the same vehicle as the driver. As a passenger willingly riding
in the car of a drunk driver, you can still seek damages but you could
be found partially liable, especially if there is evidence that suggest
you knew absolutely that the driver was drunk. The same can be said if
you were actually the person who gave that driver alcoholic beverages.
Get Started On Your Claim with Confidence
No matter the extent of your injuries or the complexities of your drunk
driving claim, you can rely on our Fair Oaks car accident attorneys to
manage it all on your behalf. We want you to rest comfortably and focus
on recuperation, not the details of a legal claim. You will not be left
in the dark, though; we make a conscious effort to always keep you up-to-speed
and get you involved as much as you would like to be.
Use a
free online case evaluation form to tell us what happened.