In certain cases, drunk drivers can be held liable for damages over and above what they are insured for under their auto liability coverage. Depending upon your injuries and the losses involved, it may be possible to recover additional damages from a drunk driver's excess or umbrella policy, or from your own uninsured/underinsured (UIM) coverage. Additionally, if the drunk driver that hit you was under 21 years of age or was visibly intoxicated when served alcohol, the bar, restaurant, social/private host or liquor store that served or provided liquor to them can be held liable, as well, under Washington's dram shop law. At the law office of Carter & Fulton, we hold drunk drivers financially accountable for injuries and fatalities they cause in drunk driving accidents.
If you've been injured or have lost a family member in a drunk driving accident, contact personal injury attorneys Carter & Fulton today and schedule a free consultation to discuss your case and learn how we can help you.
Holding Drunk Drivers Liable
In drunk driving injury accidents, criminal charges are almost always filed. As a result, a drunk driver will appear in court and may claim to have changed his or her ways, providing proof of enrollment in an alcohol counseling program. Our attorneys may decide to attend the hearing of the drunk driver that hit you to see if any such claims are made, or obtain the criminal file records for use in the civil personal injury action. Often in such cases, using a private investigator or old-fashioned investigation by one of our attorneys, we locate the witnesses necessary to document the fact that the drunk driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash and/or visibly intoxicated while being served liquor by the bar, restaurant or liquor establishment.
Dram Shop Liability and Drunk Driving Accidents
In the state of Washington, a bar, restaurant, or liquor store can be held liable for injuries and deaths caused by a person they served alcohol to who was visibly intoxicated at the time. Here, eyewitness statements, bar tabs, credit card receipts, and security camera footage can be used to recreate a timeline of when a drunk driver was served, how much he or she drank, and whether others observed slurring of speech, an unsteady gait, or lack of motor coordination. Oftentimes, an alcohol expert witness will also be retained to testify about alcohol's effects on driving behavior.
In drunk driving accident cases involving a driver under the age of 21, the person or establishment that served the drunk driver may also be liable, regardless of whether the person was visibly intoxicated at the time.
Contact Snohomish County Washington Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys
Drunk driving injury accident claims are, in many ways, special kinds of cases that require knowledge of how to prepare and present them. At Carter & Fulton, our lawyers have years of experience in helping injury victims recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering after a serious accident. To schedule a free consultation and discuss your case, contact drunk driving injury accident attorneys at Carter & Fulton today.
