Can I Pursue Compensation for a Car Accident Caused By a Drunk Driver?

 Posted on February 28, 2020 in Motor Vehicle Accidents

In all states, it is illegal to drive or operate a vehicle when you are intoxicated or your blood alcohol content (BAC) is more than 0.08. Unfortunately, that does not mean that everyone refrains from doing so. According to the Connecticut Judicial Branch, there were around 8,390 DUI cases that were recorded in the state in 2018. It is well known that driving while you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol is dangerous and puts both you and everyone else on the road at risk. Alcohol-related car accidents can result in serious injuries to others and damage to their property. If you have been injured in a drunk driving accident, you have options for obtaining compensation. These include:

Suing the Driver

The first thing you could do is to attempt to obtain compensation from the driver or the person who caused the accident. In Connecticut, you can demonstrate fault for an accident by showing that the driver was acting negligently when the collisions occurred. If a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, this is usually sufficient to prove negligence.

Suing the Establishment

Another option for receiving compensation is to pursue a claim under the Connecticut Dram Shop Act. This is a law that allows a victim of a drunk driver to hold the establishment from which the alcohol was sold responsible for the accident. To pursue a claim under the Dram Shop Act, you must be able to prove that the establishment sold alcohol to the driver when he or she was already intoxicated and that the intoxication of the driver was the proximate cause of the accident in which you were injured.

There are limitations to the Dram Shop Act, however. You are only permitted to recover up to $250,000 in a suit under the Act. You also have specific time limits in which you can recover under Dram Shop liability. You are required to notify the owner of the establishment that you plan to pursue a claim within 120 days of the incident or within 180 days for incidents that resulted in a person’s wrongful death or incapacitation.

Speak With a Hartford, CT Car Accident Attorney Today

Any car accident can be serious, but alcohol-related car accidents are likely to be even more serious and damaging than others. If you have been in an accident with a person who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, get in touch with the Woolf Law Firm, LLC today. Our skilled Connecticut personal injury lawyer has years of experience assisting clients in pursuing compensation for injuries caused by other people’s negligence. To schedule a free consultation, call our office at 860-290-8690.

Sources:

https://www.jud.ct.gov/statistics/DUI/DUIOutcomes_2019.pdf

https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_545.htm#sec_30-102

https://www.jud.ct.gov/JI/Civil/Civil.pdf