Every day in the United States, an average of 32 deaths are caused by intoxicated drivers. That’s one fatal DUI crash every 45 minutes, in addition to DUI crashes that injure and cripple every few seconds. Lawsuits against those drivers are good, to punish bad conduct and spread the word— don’t drink and drive! One of my first major cases was filing a lawsuit against a driver distracted by smoking marijuana at the time he ran a stop sign. Driving high killed two children. Another of my early cases was a jury verdict against a woman who hurt a child by side swiping another car while drunk. Although the child’s medical bills were under $1,000, the jury verdict against the drunk driver —that I actually collected for the client— was $137,500. In both cases, the lawsuits spread the word that driving high and drunk driving was more expensive than just a fine.
If you or a loved one is hurt by someone driving under the influence, let me file a DUI accident lawsuit. Georgia law encourages juries to not only grant money damages for injuries, pain and suffering, but also extra money damages called punitive damages against drunk drivers to punish the drunk driver and to make a public example that will discourage others from drunk driving. Juries, not just police and prosecutors, discourage all kinds of crime by awarding damages when criminals hurt others.
In Georgia, a social host, restaurant or bar providing alcohol can also be sued for providing alcohol to drivers, so you need a lawyer to ensure you are paid fairly. Most cases against DUI drivers are settled because the insurance company for the drunk driver knows juries give verdicts to punish the drunk driver. When an insurance company decides to profit by insuring a repeat drunk driver on the road, the insurer took the risk and must pay for selling insurance to that drunk driver. Please call and tell me how you were hurt, whether by a drunk driver or anyone committing a crime.