Are you suffering injuries from a drunk driver and want to know your next steps after a drunk driving accident? Read this article and call us.
Options Available in a Drunk Driver Accident Case
When there is a drunk driver who causes a car crash in Idaho and causes an injury to others, there are some options for the injured person about who they pursue and how. Obviously, the claim against the drunk driver exists, but, given that drunks cause substantial damage to people, sometimes that driver won’t have really enough insurance to cover or deal with the injuries they caused. Sometimes other people are responsible as well and they can be turned to for damages.
Idaho law recognizes that the server of alcohol can actually be held liable for the behavior of the drunk at times. If the server serves somebody when they are obviously intoxicated, and that person goes on to drive down the road and cause a collision, that server has liability to the injured person as well. Pursuing that person in Idaho takes complex, sophisticated, legal work and lots of investigative work to identify the right person to pursue on that claim.
If you are injured by a drunk driver, you want the right lawyers involved – lawyers with the experience to pursue all aspects of the case – to make sure that your compensation is complete and full after the injury caused to you by this drunk driver. We’re happy to talk to you about your claim. If you just give us a call, we can discuss, review, and evaluate your situation to help you make the best choice for your future.
Drunk Driver Investigation
One of the most frustrating issues in a claim involving a drunk driver who has caused a collision in Idaho is often figuring out where that driver consumed the alcohol. Idaho law allows a claim against a bar (called a dram shop, under the law) that over-serves a driver who goes out and injures somebody on the roadway. They also allow a claim like that against a social host, a private person who provided that alcohol. The question arises of where it was and how to figure it out. The person who knows that is the drunk. If that drunk is being prosecuted for the drunk driving collision in Idaho that hurt you, they’re not going to tell you. You need to have somebody involved in your case early who can use some persuasive tools and is hopefully working with the lawyers for the drunk driver to find out that information.
Why is all this so important? It’s important because you only have 180 days, from the day that the injury occurs, to put the dram shop or the social host on notice that you intend to pursue a claim against them for their actions in over-serving the drunk that hurt you on the roads of Idaho. Finding that out can be a very significant matter in making sure that you get full, fair, and complete compensation for losses imposed on you by this drunk driver in this collision. This can be a very difficult process, and the sooner the process starts, the better. I encourage you to give us a call as soon as possible so we can make sure that we can protect this aspect of your claim against the bar.
Choosing a Lawyer For a Drunk Driver Accident
If you’ve been injured in a collision with a drunk driver in Idaho, you want to choose the lawyer who will take care of you the best. How do you know who that is?
There are a number of things you can do when you’re trying to evaluate the right lawyer for your claim against a drunk driver. One of the things you want to do is look at that lawyer’s background. Are they real trial lawyers or do they just claim to be personal injury lawyers but have no trial experience? Do they have verdicts that have been rendered by a jury that show that they have done a great job representing their clients? Do they have appropriate accolades from inside the profession? Have other lawyers acknowledged them and invited them to organizations, like the Inner Circle or the American College of Trial Lawyers, and said they’re somebody whose skills are high and recognized within the profession? Do they have reviews online from real clients who have had real experiences with those folks and provided the appropriate amount of care to people who they’ve chosen and agreed to represent? It’s an evaluative process.
The last step in that evaluative process is to talk to the lawyer about your injury case against the drunk driver in Idaho. Are you comfortable with that lawyer? Is that somebody with you can have an ongoing long-term relationship, who is committed to your best interests, and who understands that you deserve full and fair compensation for all the losses that this drunk has imposed upon you? You start that process by evaluating people’s backgrounds and resumes and finish that process of choosing your lawyer by talking to the lawyers. Give us a call. We’re happy to talk to you and sit down and meet with you so you can understand whether or not we’re the right attorneys to take care of you.
Drunk Driver Doesn’t Have Insurance
One of the sad things about collisions with drunk drivers is you’ll find out that they often— particularly chronic drinkers— don’t actually have auto insurance. They cause a collision, they don’t have any money, they don’t have any auto insurance, but you have been damaged and you’re suffering injuries from this collision with the drunk driver. What are you going to do?
There are two potential options available to you in these situations. The straightforward one is one you could’ve done a long time ago to take care of yourself and that’s to get uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is insurance that you buy on your own car that protects you if an uninsured person causes damage to you. It’s relatively cheap, and we encourage you to buy as much as you can reasonably afford. It’s really important coverage, but it’s an optional coverage so you don’t have to have it. You need to reach out to your insurance agent in person. We’re happy to talk to you about it, if you want to call us and talk about it.
The other option is the potential dram shop claim against somebody who served the drunk and sent them out on the road obviously intoxicated. If that dram shop claim exists, whether that’s against a bar or a social host (i.e., somebody who has served them at their house), you need to put that bar or social host on notice within 180 days. Getting a lawyer involved early in any case involving a drunk driver is a very important thing for somebody injured in a collision with a drunk driver in Idaho.
Call us. We’re happy to talk to you about uninsured motorist coverage, about an uninsured motorist coverage claim, or about your dram shop or potential dram shop case. We’re at the other end of the phone.
Were you injured in a motor vehicle crash in Boise and have questions about what to do after a drunk driving accident? Contact our experienced Boise Dram Shop Liability Lawyers at Hepworth Holzer today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
We are committed to helping individuals and families throughout Idaho navigate the world of personal injury litigation as quickly and efficiently as possible. Let us get results for you and your family.
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