Drunk driving accidents can be devastating, causing serious injuries, emotional trauma, and repercussions that last for years. If you have suffered an injury after being in an auto accident with a drunk driver, you deserve compensation to support you through your recovery. When you contact a Lake Charles drunk driving accident lawyer from Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers, we will work closely with you to hold those at fault responsible, as well as help you recover a settlement for your property damage and serious injuries you have suffered.
Contact our office for a free consultation with a drunk driving accident lawyer to get started on your case today. We will discuss any questions you may have about your auto accident and work towards your case’s best outcome within the Louisiana court system.
Injured in a DUI Accident? Let Our Law Firm Pursue Your Injury Claim
When you are injured in an auto accident caused by a drunk driver, the road to physical, emotional, and financial recovery can feel overwhelming. We will walk you through the process of securing financial compensation for your injuries, from gathering evidence, to filing and negotiating an insurance claim, and even representing you in civil court if you decide to file a personal injury claim.
Our goal is to support injury victims so that they can focus on recovering from their injuries while we work towards justice against the at-fault party. Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers have experience handling car accident cases and will calculate your current medical bills, establish any medical expenses or future medical treatments that may be necessary, and work to secure a fair settlement amount. Insurance companies are incentivized to offer the lowest possible payouts, but we work with you to get fair settlements that acknowledge the full damages of your accident.
If insurance refuses to negotiate or denies your claim, you may file a personal injury lawsuit, which can help recover more than just medical expenses. Our car accident lawyers in Lake Charles have served clients throughout the state of Louisiana and recovered millions in compensation for victims and families of car accidents, fatal auto accidents, and other personal injury cases. Contact our office for more information and a free consultation to get started.
Drunk Driving Accidents
In 2022, drunk drivers caused 29% of all car crashes in Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. According to that same report, 267 people in 2022 lost their lives in a car accident involving an alcohol-impaired driver.
Driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) are two terms that describe impaired driving after the consumption of alcohol. The blood alcohol concentration of a driver cannot be more than 0.08%, which is the liable amount allowing prosecution under Louisiana Laws Revised Statute §14.98. If a drunk driver contributed to your car accident injuries, you have the right to pursue a settlement that covers your medical bills, property damage, and other losses. Hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer gives you the best chance at securing compensation for your injuries and the damage done by an impaired driver.
Types of Injuries Caused By Drunk Driving
In the United States, about 37 people die every day in drunk driving accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. If you are involved in a car accident, you should seek medical attention. A visit to a clinician will help you identify any hidden injuries and can provide helpful documentation to connect your injuries with the accident, which is important as you and your legal team build your claim.
Types of injuries caused by drunk driving accidents include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Soft tissue injury
- Amputations
- Organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Broken bones and fractures
- Whiplash
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Disfigurement
- Wrongful death
Any of these injuries can cause substantial medical bills, physical and emotional challenges, and create hardship for you and your family. Working with a car accident attorney from Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers can help you to secure compensation for these hardships. We have worked with hundreds of individuals and families to recover millions of dollars. Let us represent you and fight for the justice you deserve.
Types of Car Accidents Caused By Drunk Drivers
Under Louisiana Law, driving under the influence of alcohol is considered a serious offense. This reckless driving behavior can cause a variety of types of car accidents, including:
- Broadside collision – Usually caused by a drunk driver ignoring stop signs or signals and advancing into an intersection, colliding with the side of another vehicle. Due to the lack of structural support in the sides of vehicles, these often involve some of the most devastating injuries.
- Head-on collisions – Often caused when a drunk driver falls asleep or passes out behind a wheel, causing the car to cross the middle line or median and drive into oncoming traffic.
- Hitting an object – Drunk drivers often crash into objects such as retaining walls, crumple zones in medians, and electrical poles, which may not injure parties other than themselves.
- Rear-end collisions – Commonly caused when an alcohol-impaired driver fails to react quickly enough and does not notice stopped traffic in front of them.
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents – Drunk drivers experience impaired vision and are less likely to notice details such as pedestrians crossing in a crosswalk or cyclists using a bicycle lane.
- Wrong-way wrecks – Intoxicated drivers may not notice or understand traffic signs to realize they are driving the wrong way on an exit ramp or on a one-way street.
Effects of Driving Under The Influence
Intoxicated drivers are a danger to everyone on the roads because they are in an impaired mental and physical state. Alcohol intoxication can create a state of altered judgment, which increases the chance of engaging in risky behaviors, according to a publication from the National Library of Medicine. Alcohol impairment is also connected to a lowered ability to concentrate, loss of coordination, and impaired vision. All of these impairments diminish a person’s ability to drive responsibly.
A drunk driver is a negligent driver. Altered judgment does not mean a driver is not responsible for their actions. The choice to get behind the wheel is theirs alone, and they deserve to be held accountable for their actions. When a negligent driver causes an accident with severe injuries or fatalities, pursuing a personal injury lawsuit can be a way to hold the at-fault party responsible for their actions and acknowledge the pain and cost that you and your family have suffered.
The Importance of Hiring a Drunk Driving Accident Attorney
When you work with a Lake Charles car accident lawyer, you will have an experienced legal team behind you to support your car accident claim. If you or a loved one was injured or killed in an accident with an intoxicated driver, hiring a drunk driving accident attorney can improve your chances of fair compensation.
Car accident claims can be difficult to calculate, especially when there is a severe accident or injury involved. The worse your injuries are, the greater the chance that you will require extensive future care, such as follow-up visits, physical therapy, and in-home care. In addition to medical expenses, you also have the right to pursue property damage, lost wages, and non-economic losses, such as a monetary settlement for chronic pain and the suffering you sustained.
Our legal team will work to gather evidence against the at-fault driver, including police reports, medical records, accident scene photos and videos, eyewitness testimonies, and any other evidence that can support your car accident claim. Should it be required, we may also bring in specialists who can reconstruct the accident with detail to show the court what happened. No matter the details of your case, your Lake Charles car accident lawyer from Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers will listen to your unique case and support you in securing a fair settlement.
Punitive Damages for Drunk Driving Accident Victims in Louisiana
In car accident cases that show extreme negligence, a judge may issue punitive damages in addition to compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. Punitive damages are not monetary compensation for any specific financial losses you may have sustained in a drunk driving accident. Instead, punitive damages attempt to make an example out of the liable party by forcing them to pay a substantial fee on top of damages and any potential sentencing.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are typically associated with acts of malice, oppression, or fraud, but they can also be applied to drunk driving accidents that show extreme indifference towards the safety of others and reckless disregard for human life. Due to their non-compensatory nature, punitive damages are not awarded in an insurance case settlement but only in civil lawsuits filed in court.
Under Louisiana Law, Article 3546, Punitive Damages may be awarded by the court in limited circumstances with the goal of deterring similar actions in the future. In general, punitive damages are typically limited to ten times the amount of the compensatory damages awarded in the case. Punitive damages are awarded to the case and it is up to the courts if the money will go to the injured victim or to another party. Other Types of Financial Compensation Available
Injured victims can receive two types of compensatory damages within their insurance settlement request, economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are losses that are associated with a financial sum and can be backed up with bills, receipts, and other documentation. Economic damages are calculated based upon bills that have already been incurred and possible future expenses associated with your injury. Examples of economic damages can include:
- Medical expenses
- Hospital stays
- Medical devices
- Mental health counseling
- Physical therapy
- Property damage
- Car repairs
- Lost wages
Non-economic damages are losses that are harder to quantify as they are not directly tied to a monetary sum. Your car accident lawyer will work with you to calculate these, taking into consideration past cases, precedents, and the testimony of specialists to provide a solid case for these amounts. Examples of non-economic damages can include:
- Chronic pain
- Mental anguish
- Loss of reputation
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional distress
- Decrease in quality of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Permanent impairments and disabilities
Working with a drunk driving car accident attorney can help you calculate a comprehensive amount to compensate for all losses, now and in the future. Make sure that you get the settlement that you deserve to support your recovery.
Contact The Experienced Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys At Lee Hoffoss
If you or a loved one has been involved in a drunk driving accident, it is important to get started on your case as soon as possible. The statute of limitations puts a deadline on your claims and evidence degrades over time. Do not delay. Our legal team will listen to your case and guide you through the next steps of the legal process.
Contact our Lake Charles office on the phone or online via our contact form today to set up a free, no-obligation case consultation.