When you are involved in an accident with a driver who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you have a right to collect compensation. You can file a lawsuit against the drunk driver and collect the money you need to pay for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy and there are some additional factors to consider in drunk driving accidents. Understanding what a DUI crash victim’s rights are is crucial to collecting the money you need to recover.
Criminal Action vs Civil Action
After a DUI accident, the drunk driver will likely be arrested and charged with a crime. The police may interview you and ask you for details of the accident and they will collect a BAC from the drunk driver. Because drunk driving is a serious crime that can result in jail time, the police report and investigation is critical to their case. However, it is important to know that criminal action is different from civil action. Eve though the police may file their report and charge the driver with DUI, that does not mean that you automatically get compensation.
Even though criminal charges are filed, you still need an experienced attorney on your side to help you collect the compensation you are entitled to. Your lawyer will need to investigate the accident and build a case that is designed to prove fault. Even if the driver was drunk at the time of the accident, if you were also to blame for the crash, you may not recover all of the money you need. In addition, if the driver was uninsured or underinsured, you may not be able to recover enough money to pay for all of your injuries. Your car accident attorney will help you during this difficult time and will be a strong legal advocate for you and your family after your accident.
Further Reading: One Concussion can cause Long-Term Structural Brain Damage
DUI Accident Compensation
For your DUI accident lawsuit to be successful, your attorney will have to prove three main things:
- That the driver owed you a duty of care (all drivers owe this duty to the other drivers around them)
- The driver violated that duty (by driving drunk this duty is violated)
- You were injured and sustained financial losses and expenses because of this injury
If your lawyer can successfully establish these three elements, you may be able to collect compensation to pay for medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering and more. In some cases, you may also be entitled to punitive damages.
Contact Our Pueblo Car Accident Lawyers
If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident, we can help. Call Pueblo attorney Smith & Smith, today for a FREE CONSULTATION – (719) 544-0062. We know how to investigate DUI crashes to obtain maximum compensation for our clients. We also know the tricks insurance companies will use to reduce your payout and protect their own assets and we fight hard to seek justice for our clients.
