Dram Shop Lawsuit Timeline

Answer:

When folks walk in to talk to us about their potential lawsuit against a drunk driver who caused a collision that injured them in Idaho, one of the important questions they ask is how long it’s going to take. It’s a natural question, and the answer to that is it depends. It depends on a number of things about the case. It depends on the scope of the damages that the drunk driver in this collision in Idaho caused you, for one. It also depends on the amount of insurance or assets that person has available. Finally, it depends on whether or not there is an addition to the claim against the drunk driver— for example, if there’s a claim against a social host or a dram shop, a commercial seller of alcohol, who sent the driver out on the road, obviously intoxicated. Each of these things is an important part of the evaluation about how long the case will take.

Of course, your damages component is another big piece of it. What actually happened to you? What medical care do you need? How long is your medical care going to take? What are your future medical needs? All those things have to be evaluated. If the damages are small, the case can end relatively quickly. If the damages are complex and large, and there’s a claim that has to be proven under Idaho’s dram shop statute against a bar or a social host, the case can actually take quite a while.

These are things that are very fact-specific involved, as well. What actually happened in your case? What exactly is going on, who the defendants are and how they’re operating, all those things are going to come into play in determining the length of time for any case against a drunk driver in Idaho or any case against a bar in Idaho. The best answer to figure out what’s going to happen in your situation is to give us a call so we can discuss the facts of your situation.