What are My Rights If an Intoxicated Driver Injures Me?
If the other driver’s negligence, including a mistake like driving while under the influence, caused your accident and injuries, you may be able to file a claim with their insurer or file a personal injury lawsuit against them. You can seek compensation for the harm you suffered in the past and what’s reasonably expected in the future.
Over the past 30 years, Castillo & Associates has supported many families recovering from the aftermath of an accident involving an impaired driver. The effects of a preventable accident on the victim and their families can be devastating. If you or a loved one’s injured because the other driver drank too much or drugs impaired them, we want to help. Call us today at 800-497-9774.
If this has happened to you or your family, you’re not alone. The state’s Office of Traffic Safety reports that in 2019 there were 1,187 impairment-related traffic accident fatalities and 27,333 injuries. That comes to nearly 550 injuries and deaths per week that year in California.
What Does It Mean to Be Impaired or Intoxicated?
When you seek compensation through a civil lawsuit or an insurance claim, the critical issue is whether or not the other party was negligent. Was the crash caused by a driver who wasn’t driving reasonably, or their vehicle was unreasonably safe?
There are many ways a driver could be negligent. They could be speeding, distracted, asleep, or violating the rules of the road by ignoring stop signs or lights, driving while intoxicated or impaired is another mistake that shows negligent driving.
What caused the impairment doesn’t matter. It could be alcohol, illegal drugs, over-the-counter or prescription medications, or a combination. What matters is whether they were affected by some substance and whether it was a factor when they caused the accident. They were so impaired they couldn’t stop their vehicle in time, they traveled faster than they should have or didn’t see you crossing the street.
Do Criminal Laws Play a Role in Personal Injury Cases?
If, after the accident, the other driver was arrested and convicted of a crime related to their driving, it can be used in a civil matter as evidence that they were negligent. There could be different accident-related charges, including:
- Driving Under the Influence: Due to alcohol and or drugs, the driver’s physical or mental abilities are so impaired they can’t drive as well as a cautious, sober person. This doesn’t require that a person’s blood alcohol level (BAC) be tested at a certain level, only other evidence of impairment
- Driving Under the Influence “Per Se”: The person is driving while their BAC was 0.08% or higher
A conviction of a driving-related crime is evidence of negligence in a vehicle accident civil action. This can be a DUI charge or reckless driving. The other driver may face many charges or may agree to plead guilty to a non-DUI charge like reckless driving as part of a plea bargain agreement with the prosecution to avoid a tougher sentence.
Any driving-related conviction can be used to show negligence, so which one doesn’t impact your claim, though the more serious the crime, the easier it may be to seek punitive damages. They are awarded in cases of extreme indifference to others’ safety or intentional acts. They’re meant to punish the guilty party for their actions. This can come up if the driver’s been convicted of DUI multiple times and caused previous accidents but continues drinking or using drugs and driving.
Must the Other Driver Be Convicted of a Crime for Me to Win My Case?
The burden of proof in a criminal case is much higher than in a civil one involving a vehicle accident. To be convicted of a crime, there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed it. To be found liable in civil court, the plaintiff needs only to show it’s more likely than not that the defendant’s negligence caused the accident.
The charges may be dismissed or not prosecuted because the evidence isn’t strong enough to meet the high “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of proof in a criminal case. There may be problems with how the defendant was treated or how the investigation was handled. A civil lawsuit can go forward with or without a criminal conviction if there’s enough evidence to meet the “more likely than not” civil case standard of proof.
Though a conviction’s not necessary, if there is one, it makes your case simpler, and the insurance company may be more willing to settle your case.
Will the Other Driver’s Insurance Cover an Accident Caused by Intoxication?
They usually do. Liability coverage is for accidents caused by negligence, not harm caused by intentional or criminal acts. An insurance company could claim the insured intentionally drank too much, but to deny a claim, they would need some facts that the driver intentionally caused the accident.
Following an Accident, Find an Experience Personal Injury Attorney to Recover the Compensation You Deserve
You may be entitled to compensation if you’re injured in an accident caused by a drunk or drugged driver. Castillo & Associates personal injury lawyers have more than three decades of experience with negligence cases, and we will protect your rights to the compensation you deserve. For a no-obligation consultation, contact the firm today.
Attorney Domingo Castillo handles workers’ compensation, personal injury, family law & immigration throughout Southern California from our 5 offices: Indio, Pomona, Riverside, San Diego & Cathedral City. We help clients file injury claims, obtain residency & citizenship, and we assist families through divorce, child custody and all family law matters.
