What are you entitled to if you are injured by a drunk driver in a car accident? #

Basically the steps are almost all the same, except when it comes to damages, there’s an extra aspect to it.
Those claims or lawsuits are usually worth a little bit more money, while I say a little bit, probably a lot more than your standard car accident.

Let’s assume you get rear-ended by a drunk driver, so, you are still entitled to get property damages paid by either his or her insurance company if they had it at the time of the collision, or your underinsured motorist coverage if they were not insured at the time of this collision. So, back to your damages.

Number one! #

You still are entitled to property damages.

Number two! #

You are still entitled to your medical bills.

Number three! #

You are entitled to your lost wages.

Number four! #

You are entitled to pain and suffering.

In addition to those four that you’re entitled to, even if the driver was not drunk.
You are now also entitled to punitive damages against that driver if that case goes in front of a jury and they decide because of his drunk driving he should be made an example of, and he should be punished.
Therefore the punitive damages aspect of a drunk driving claims.

Insurance companies try their best to resolve those before lawsuits file, sometimes we have to file it and push it all the way through.
They end up paying on them, anyways because at the end of the day the cards are stacked against them if the vehicle was driven by the at-fault party also driven by a drunk driver.

Is the drunk driver automatically at fault if an accident happens? #

And, the answer is no, he’s not!
Let’s assume you driving down the road and you rear-end a vehicle that stopped at a stop sign.

Whose fault is it?

Well, it’s your fault but let’s assume the driver that you rear-ended was drunk. Can we fault him for anything in this instance? The answer is, no, we can’t!

Therefore, they’re not automatically at fault. It gets trickier the deeper we go into it. So, let’s assume you are using your cell phone, driving down the road, you blowers red light, and you t-boned somebody, whose fault is it?

Well, turns out it’s your fault! Let’s now assume that the other driver was drunk at the time of this collision.

The question is, is he at fault? He may be because Missouri is a pure comparative fault state, so that drunk driver may carry a little bit of the fault.

Let’s assume he saw you coming down the street and he’s still proceeded to enter the intersection.
So, a little bit of fault can be attributed to him.

Could he have avoided this collision? #

For the fact that he was drunk, it’s a fact question for a jury to decide. So, the short answer to the question, is the drunk driver automatically a fault if there’s an accident?
The answer is no.

We still need to prove that there was some negligence on their part.

If you have any questions call me at 314-352-6800. Thank you!

Bajric & Ramic Law Office
Nedim Ramic – Auto Accident Lawyer – Personal Injury Attorney