Drunk driving is an extremely risky — and frustratingly common — decision that puts public safety and health at risk. Every year, thousands of accidents across Georgia stem from drunk drivers, many of which prove to be deadly.
When you or a loved one has been hurt by the careless and dangerous actions of a drunk driver, it can feel like you have no options. Between medical bills and lost income, on top of other expenses, you may be facing a mountain of damages.
The good news is that you have legal recourse. An Atlanta DUI accident lawyer can represent you and help you recover as much as possible through your injury claim.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm has represented thousands of injured Atlantans like you, and our only goal is to help you get back towards as normal of a life as possible.
Schedule your free, no-obligation case review with an Atlanta drunk driving accident attorney near you when you call (404) 777-8800 or contact us online.
Why You Need An Atlanta Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
A 2021 study revealed that over 13,000 people died that year from drunk driving accidents across the U.S.
The loss of lives, injuries, and damages that these accidents cause inflict a major loss of quality of life to victims all over. At the very least, drunk drivers must be held accountable for their negligence. So, what’s the way forward?
You can decide to represent yourself if you suffered damages from a drunk driver. However, it is not always the best recourse because you can make mistakes as a result of your inexperience. DUI accidents are often complicated and can tend to involve serious injuries with major medical costs. Employing the services of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney can boost your chances of receiving the highest amount of compensation possible.
When you choose to work with the CEO Lawyer, you can count on the following advantages:
It’s Cost-Effective
Pursuing legal action in the case of an accident can prove difficult because of financial constraints. Conducting investigations to determine fault is expensive and time-consuming, as is the act of requesting medical experts who can testify as to the severity of your injuries.
The good news is that you can obtain legal representation that costs you nothing up-front. The CEO Lawyer Atlanta attorney team will not charge you until you’ve won your case. We even offer free case consultations so you can seek justice even when you have no money in your pocket.
You Protect Your Opportunity for Maximizing Compensation
With a drunk driving accident attorney, you stand a better chance of holding the guilty party accountable for all damages you have suffered. Driving under the influence (DUI) accident lawyers can help file a claim against insurance companies to allow you to receive compensation for costs related to the following:
- Emergency medical care
- Ongoing rehabilitative and follow-up care
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages (in cases that go to trial)
Claimants who have little to no experience dealing with insurers or estimating their losses can leave many forms of damages unaccounted for. Our attorneys work hard to estimate the full value of your claim and reduce the chances that you have unpaid expenses in the future related to your DUI accident.
You Prevent a Potential Case Dismissal
The drunk driver’s insurance company can refuse to settle your demands. They may even try to pre-empt your chances of succeeding in a lawsuit demanding compensation by immediately requesting a summary dismissal from a judge.
In such a situation, we can appeal their denial and work against any efforts to have your lawsuit dismissed. A DUI lawyer makes sure that everything possible is done to maximize the chances that the at-fault party takes responsibility for their actions.
Types of Drunk Driving Accidents an Atlanta DUI Accident Lawyer Can Handle
When someone consumes alcohol, it affects the mind and body. As such, the ability to think and make sound judgments is temporarily suspended.
Those effects are why accidents that could have been avoided by a sober driver could turn into severe collisions at the hands of a drunk driver.
Here are some common types of accidents that occur because of alcohol-impaired driving:
Head-On Collisions
As a result of the effect of alcohol, drunk drivers often have difficulty maintaining their lane. Some might even be found driving in the direction of oncoming traffic, which can lead to a head-on collision.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions usually occur because of the recklessness associated with drunk driving. Intoxicated drivers are not in the right frame of mind; as such, they don’t pay proper attention to the road.
For example, a drunk driver is less likely to provide proper spacing between vehicles, and they will be slower to react when braking is needed. As a result of this carelessness, they can drive too close or hit other vehicles from behind.
Rollover Accidents
Drunk drivers generally do not take heed to safety precautions. This negligence means that they typically have less control of their vehicles, which increases the possibility of rollover accidents.
If the car hits a curb or if they are speeding too fast around a curve, it can roll over. A side-impact collision can also cause a vehicle to roll over.
Rollover accidents are common with drunk truck drivers. Trucks have a higher center of gravity, and because of this, they are more prone to cause or be involved in rollover crashes.
Common DUI Accident Injuries
Many factors can affect the type and severity of the injuries sustained because of drunk driving. These factors include the nature of the road, the nature of the collision, the driving speed, and how drunk the at-fault driver was.
Below is a list of common injuries that can stem from drunk driving incidents:
- Back and spinal cord injuries
- Neck injuries
- Skull fractures
- Sprains
- Brain damage
- Broken bones
- Internal bleeding
What to Do as a Drunk Driving Accident Victim
It’s a daunting experience to be a victim of an accident. Nonetheless, the priority is always to get back on your feet as soon as possible.
Here are some steps you can take to get back to your normal life quickly:
Get Medical Help ASAP
Your first priority when you are a victim of an accident is to make sure your health is back to normal. If you are too wounded at the scene of the accident, do not attempt to move. It is advisable to wait for onlookers to call an ambulance to assist you.
Reach Out to the Police
If you sustained injuries because of the accident, it is vital to call the Atlanta police to report the incident. Make sure to note any obvious signs of drunkenness by the other driver, including slurred speech, alcohol odors, bloodshot eyes, and an inability to maintain lanes or obey traffic signals prior to the accident.
Georgia has zero tolerance for drunk driving, so you most likely have the law on your side. Do not leave the scene until the authorities arrive. Waiting allows the police to assess the situation, which makes it easy to get a police report on the incident.
Secure Evidence
As much as possible, make an effort to document the outcome of the accident. Even with the law in your favor, you’ll need strong proof for your claims.
You can get evidence from witnesses. Also, you can take pictures of yourself and preserve the clothes or footwear you wore when the situation happened.
Call a Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
A DUI lawyer is probably one of your closest allies when an alcohol-impaired driving accident occurs. They afford you the opportunity to get hold of the drunk driver if you find difficulty doing so. They also help you to pursue compensation for property damage, emotional distress, and bodily harm sustained.
Facts to Know About Drunk Driving Accidents
There is nothing fun in being a victim of DUI accidents. However, it is vital to be informed of the various dynamics that can exist and what the Government of Atlanta is doing to reduce these accidents.
Here are some facts to keep in mind about alcohol-impaired driving:
The Drunk Driver Might Not Be Solely at Fault
Although it is never right to drive under the influence of alcohol, a drunk driver might not be the only contributor to the accident. It could be that another driver was negligent or that you violated a traffic law that led up to the crash.
For your claims to be sustained, you might need to prove that the incident could have been avoided if the drunk driver had been sober.
You Can Pursue a Claim Against Other Parties
You can legally sue a drunk driver who causes harm to you or your properties. However, other parties might be held accountable for the incident.
As long as you can prove that they failed at their duty of care. They can include:
- The driver’s employer (if driving on-the-clock)
- The vehicle’s owner
- Other drivers involved in the accident
- The manufacturer of a defective vehicle or car part
There Are Sobriety Checkpoints In Atlanta
1.6% of adults in Georgia have admitted to driving after having too much to drink. One of the strategies that have been employed by the Government to mitigate DUI accidents is the provision of sobriety checkpoints.
Sobriety checkpoints are completely legal and can be useful to reduce the number of fatal accidents caused by drunk driving. These stations typically conduct simple breath or sobriety tests to catch drunk drivers.
What About Car Insurance?
Your car insurance will be unlikely to pay anything because the accident was not your fault. That leaves the drunk driver’s insurance policy. By state law, motorists are required to have $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person and $50,000 per collision. You can buy more coverage, but since this is not required and the premiums will be higher, many people don’t do so. Insurance carriers are not allowed to refuse coverage due to drunk driving, but they may refer to pay punitive damages. (Punitive damages are awarded in some cases where the defendant’s actions are considered especially egregious, with the intent to punish the offender. In many cases, they are not awarded anyway.)
If you’re currently facing a mound of medical bills for your accident injuries, you can probably see where this is going. The other driver’s insurance may be insufficient to cover your medical expenses, let alone your lost wages from missing work, car repairs, pain and suffering, and other issues caused by the accident. And that’s assuming the drunk driver was insured. If you have uninsured motorist coverage, your own policy may cover some of your damages, but again you may run into policy limits.
If you’re struggling to pay for treatment, car repairs, and other expenses, the best course of action is to contact a drunk driving attorney in Atlanta and ask for a free consultation. They can walk you through the options for pursuing a claim and getting the compensation you deserve. Depending on the particulars of your accident, there may be several options:
Your Atlanta drunk driving lawyer may negotiate with the insurance company to get a larger settlement if there is sufficient coverage. They may also negotiate with the insurance carrier if they are refusing to pay your claim for some reason (not uncommon with insurance companies).
If there is not sufficient coverage, you may file a civil claim against the drunk driver.
Proving Negligence and Fault in Court
In most personal injury cases, the plaintiff (the person seeking compensation) must demonstrate that the defendant was negligent and at fault for the accident. This may seem clear-cut – the other driver was drunk, of course, it was their fault. Right?
In many cases, this is true, but it still needs to be proven in court. There may also be another wrinkle – comparative negligence. Georgia is a comparative fault state, which means that if the plaintiff is found to be more than 49 percent at fault for the accident, they won’t receive any compensation. If they are found to be partially responsible by less than 50 percent, their award will be reduced by the amount they are found responsible for. So if you are found to be 20 percent responsible for the crash, your compensation will be reduced by 20 percent.
Now, you’re probably wondering how you could be 20 percent responsible when the other driver was drunk and crashed into you. Again, in many cases, the plaintiff has no responsibility. However, the other driver’s insurance company will be looking for an excuse not to pay your claim, and the other driver’s attorney will be looking for ways to defend them. It is not uncommon for the insurance company or the defendant’s legal team to look for ways to blame the plaintiff. Sometimes they may uncover that you also made a mistake – maybe you were going a few miles over the speed limit, maybe one of your lights was out, etc. They may claim this contributed to the accident.
Fortunately, they will still need to prove that claim in court. In many cases, we find that the plaintiff’s actions had nothing to do with the crash. For example, having a headlight out has nothing to do with another driver rear-ending your car.
Even if your actions did contribute to the accident, that doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t receive any compensation. The jury may not be very sympathetic to a drunk driver. They may find that you were only 10 or 20 percent responsible for an accident if you were going a few miles over the speed limit. If this happens, you will still be entitled to most of the full recovery. On the other hand, if you were vastly exceeding the speed limit or driving recklessly to the point that even a sober driver likely couldn’t have avoided the crash, the jury may find you were mostly at fault, and you will get nothing. In such situations, consulting with a seasoned drunk driving accident attorney in Atlanta is crucial to protect your rights.
It’s also important to prove that the other driver was under the influence. Again, this may seem obvious if the police report states they had a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.08% or more. However, in this case, the driver will probably be charged with DUI, and the attorney for their criminal case may argue that the test was inaccurate, the testing equipment wasn’t properly maintained, the chain of custody on any blood samples was poor, and other common DUI defenses. If the driver is found guilty anyway, this will be helpful for your civil case. However, if they aren’t found guilty, or if their BAC results are excluded from evidence in the trial, that doesn’t necessarily mean your civil case is doomed. The burden of proof for a civil case is lower than for a criminal case.
Either way, your attorney will need to gather evidence against the other driver. This may include doing some or all of the following:
Interview witnesses to the accident who can explain what happened. These can be people who saw the accident or those who saw the driver shortly before the accident and can attest that they were drunk.
- Looking over photos of accident damage to your vehicle.
- Studying the police report on the crash, which usually includes info on field sobriety tests.
- Listening to the 911 call or calls.
- Going over any admissible evidence from the criminal trial, such as BAC tests.
- Getting your recollection of the accident. In particular, they may ask if you recall seeing the other driver weaving or driving erratically prior to the crash.
What If the Other Driver Was Under the Legal Limit?
If the BAC was legally obtained and admissible, it could be used in the civil trial even if the BAC was lower than 0.08.
What About Evidence in Social Host Liability Claims?
If you are pursuing a claim against a business or homeowner on the grounds that they served or sold alcohol to someone who was noticeably drunk, you will need to prove that they did so knowing both that the person was drunk and that they were likely to drive soon. Often this can be difficult, as it is hard for a bartender or owner to know how all their patrons plan on getting home. Many establishments have policies of taking patrons’ keys if they drink too much and strongly promote calling a cab or ride-share.
This applies to homeowners as well. Let’s say that someone’s teenager throws a party, breaks into the liquor cabinet, and all their friends get drunk. Then one drives away from the party. If this teenager causes an accident, you can’t sue the parents if they genuinely didn’t know about the party or drinking. However, if the parents knew their minor child planned to offer alcohol to another minor – even just one other person – and you can prove it, then you might be able to sue the parents under Georgia’s social host liability laws.
Evidence in social host liability claims is usually in the form of witness testimony, such as from other people at a party or bar who observed how drunk the driver was. In some cases, social media posts may also be used as evidence. There are often multiple people posting at parties, and the driver may appear quite intoxicated in one of these videos uploaded shortly before an accident.
In the event that your claim is successful, the other driver’s insurance will still be expected to pay the claim according to the limits of the policy. However, you may collect additional and punitive damages from the social host.
Get Started With a Trusted Atlanta Drunk Driving Accident Law Firm
Nothing is more assuring than having legal support that’s got your back and your best interest at heart. The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm understands the state’s laws and can help sniff out any tactics insurance companies might employ to reduce your claim payouts.
Our team of Atlanta car accident attorneys are here to serve. Let us help you build a strong legal defense while you heal.
Your trusted drunk driving accident lawyer in Atlanta is just a call away. Reach out to us today at (404) 777-8800 or contact us online for a free, no-risk case evaluation!
