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Drinking and
Driving Accidents
A Personal Injury
Case Study
This case study demonstrates many important legal issues regarding
drinking and driving accidents. We'll review the accident,
liability,
injuries, settlement
negotiations, and the final case resolution.
The Accident...
Ms. Drinker was at a Mike’s Tavern, a local bar in the area, after work
with several of her co-workers celebrating a recent promotion. Barry
the bartender continued to serve her despite the fact that she was
visibly intoxicated. Her co-workers also continued to buy her
shots, all recognizing that she was inebriated.
Ms. Drinker looked at her watch and realized that it was getting late,
thanked her co-workers and left. No one offered to drive her
home. Ms. Drinker entered the interstate traveling in the
wrong direction and hit a semi-truck head-on, dying on
impact. The semi-truck overturned and the driver was ejected
from the cab,
paralyzing him from the waist down.
Liability...
There are currently variations of a statute known as
the Dram
Shop Act in 38 U.S. states. This statute holds bartenders and
tavern owners responsible
for serving alcohol to patrons when they are known to be visibly
intoxicated or simply, when the bartender determines
subjectively that
the patron has had too much to drink. The process of determining
liability under this statute varies from state to state.
In Ms. Drinker's state however, this statute has been outlawed. The
courts found that it unlawfully places liability upon business owners
and their employees for the acts of grown adults. Therefore,
in this alcohol related accident there is no liability
for Mike’s Tavern or
Barry.
But what about her co-workers? No. There is almost always no
affirmative duty to rescue a person, make them stop drinking or offer a
ride home. There is often an unfortunate distinction
between moral and
legal obligations in cases involving drinking and driving accidents.
Injuries...
A head-on collision with a semi-truck caused extreme life-threatening
injury to the semi driver and killed the drunk driver. Ms.
Drinker died on impact due to traumatic injury to her entire body
(considering that head-on collisions cause vehicles to be crushed on
impact).
Also, when a driver is ejected onto a highway, the
injuries can be severe including trauma, broken bones, head injury and
sometimes death.
Negotiations...
Clearly Ms Drinker, the driver of the vehicle traveling the
opposite
direction on the interstate, is at fault. The semi is under no duty to
deviate from the oncoming vehicle to avoid collision.
In this drinking and driving accident case there were two suits:
One was a worker's
compensation claim. Most
states are compulsory meaning that
employers are required to carry workers comp insurance.
Because the truck driver was working in the scope of his employment
when permanently injured, he submitted a worker’s compensation claim.
This was also a personal
injury claim against the driver. Even though
she was deceased, the truck driver still submitted a claim against her
insurance company and her estate, since the policy limits of $100,000
were insufficient to fully compensate him.
Final
Settlement...
The workers compensation carrier determined that he was 90% permanently
disabled. They also modified his work requirements allowing him to
perform the dispatch function which he was able to do comfortably from
an ergonomic desk in his wheelchair.
In the personal injury arena, the truck driver settled with the
decedent’s insurance company for $100,000, however this was
insufficient to satisfy his medical bills which totaled $330,000. He
hired an attorney and sued her estate for $1 million. He received a
judgment which he collected when her estate was settled.
His medical bills were covered by his insurance company. However
through indemnity
(an agreement stating that, if there is a settlement, the insurance
company will be paid back for the money they spent on his medical
bills), they expected reimbursement of $270,000 which he
paid from his settlement proceeds. He also paid his attorney
the contingecy fee of 40%, or $400,000.
Important
Points...
- Clearly it is not a good idea to get behind the
wheel with any
measurable amount of alcohol, but especially not when legally
intoxicated (which in most states is .08%). Drinking and driving
accidents
can alter the lives of several people and can even take your
own or others.
- Variations of the Dram Shop Act in 38 states
can hold bar
owners and bartenders (and even hosts of private social gatherings!)
legally responsible if a patron
becomes intoxicated and subsequently injures themselves or others.
Check your jurisdiction for the relevant statutes.
- If an insurance policy is insufficient to
satisfy a claim for
damages, the negligent party can be sued personally for an alcohol
related accident or other personal injury.
-
Sometimes you need to hire an
attorney to get the results you are
entitled to. In any personal injury case involving wrongful death or
permanent
disability it is essential
that you hire an experienced attorney.
Return
from Drinking and Driving Accidents to
Auto Accident Claims
Return
from Drinking and Driving Accidents to Personal
Injury Settlement Guide
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