Posted on Friday, September 20th, 2019 at 6:40 am
When a Savannah woman, charged with Driving Under the Influence, ran a stop sign, she struck a truck. The driver of the truck was not injured. However, the woman was transported to a local hospital for treatment. If convicted, the woman could not only be facing charges for driving under the influence and failing to obey the stop sign, but also a civil suit to pay any damages for the man whose truck she struck.
Collecting Damages
As a result of the accident, you will be facing numerous expenses. Especially if the accident has left you unable to work, these expenses can quickly become overwhelming. The good news is that the law allows you to collect compensation for your expenses, including:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Anticipated future medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
Although the driver will be facing a criminal trial and other ramifications for his or her actions, you will not receive any compensation from these actions. You may be able to negotiate for compensation from the insurance company, but this amount is unlikely to cover all of your expenses.
If you are unable to obtain the compensation you need from the insurance company, you will need to file a personal injury suit in order to seek a larger payment. The law limits the amount of time you have to file your personal injury claim to two years from the date of the accident. This means that any time spent attempting to negotiate with the insurance company is also reducing the amount of time you have to file suit.
Proving Liability
Whether you collect from the insurance company, a personal injury suit, or both, you will need to be able to prove that the other driver was primarily responsible for causing the accident and that your injuries and expenses were a direct result of the accident. Since the other driver is being charged with driving under the influence, it may seem obvious to you who is at fault. However, your personal injury case is not dependent on the criminal case, which means that a DUI conviction does not mean you will automatically win the personal injury case. Nor does an acquittal in the criminal case mean that you cannot receive compensation for your injuries.
Although your personal injury case is not tied to any criminal proceedings, you can use evidence from the criminal case to help to prove that the other driver is liable. For example, if the other driver is convicted of driving under the influence, this is strong evidence for your case that he or she was at least partially responsible for the accident. However, you will also need other evidence to show that you did not cause the accident. Such evidence may include police reports, eyewitness accounts, and photographs of the accident scene.
Contact an Attorney
If you have been injured by a drunk driver as a result of an accident, contact the attorneys at Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C. right away. Your attorney will work with you to ensure that you receive the compensation you need to get back on your feet.
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