Recovering Damages After an Accident With a Drunk Driver
In New York as elsewhere in the nation, drunk driving is a major cause of serious and sometimes fatal accidents. Aside from being criminal behavior, driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while ability impaired (DWAI) is considered negligence, which can trigger civil liability to accident victims. Proving the driver’s condition is thus essential to recovering damages.
A driver’s conviction of DUI or DWAI serves as compelling evidence that the driver’s impairment was a significant factor in causing the accident. The victims attorney can work closely with law enforcement and prosecutors to ensure that DUI or DWAI charges are pursued and that a conviction is obtained.
However, the driver’s condition may not have been the only factor. Proving that an accident resulted from drunk driving or drug-impaired driving requires a thorough investigation. Evidence such as field sobriety test results, breathalyzer or blood test results and eyewitness accounts can be critical. Surveillance footage or dashcam recordings might also provide direct evidence of erratic driving behavior that aligns with impairment. The challenge lies in isolating these factors from other potential causes of the accident, which means correlating the driver’s impairment with the accident’s circumstances and minimizing or ruling out other plausible causes.
In addition to the driver’s liability, New York’s dram shop law can hold a bar, restaurant or other establishment liable for damages if they continued to serve alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron who then took the wheel of a car and caused an accident. To succeed in a dram shop claim, it must be shown that the establishment served alcohol to the driver despite their obvious intoxication and that this action contributed to the accident.
The New York doctrine of comparative negligence also comes into play. In any car accident case, if a victim is found to have been partially at fault, their compensation may be reduced proportionally. For instance, if it is determined that the victim — as the driver of another vehicle in the crash — was speeding or otherwise not following traffic laws, their damages could be diminished. The victim’s automobile injury lawyer is challenged with showing that intoxicated driver’s actions far outweighed any other cause of the crash.
If an accident involving a drunk driver causes a fatality, the decedent’s personal representative — such as the executor of his or her estate — can bring a wrongful death and/or survivor action against the driver and the establishment that over-served the driver. The damages recovered typically go to the estate beneficiaries and/or to surviving members of the victim’s family.
If you have suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, the lawyers at Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP in St. James, New York can help you win compensation from everyone responsible. To arrange a free consultation, contact us online or call us at 631-360-0400.