Getting hurt in an accident can be very angering, especially if the car that hit you was driven by someone who was under the influence. Here is what you should know about injury liability in these circumstances.
Unfortunately, people are sometimes injured by drunk drivers, and we’ve had a bunch of those cases. Many times, these drunk drivers don’t have a lot of insurance coverage and, as the injured party, you say, “Okay. What am I going to do in that situation?” Well, the answer to this question follows the investigation process. If we can pin down where the person was drinking, we may have a cause of action against that bar or restaurant called a “dram shop cause of action.”
Injury Liability | Dram Shop Cause of Action
If the establishment does carry dram shop coverage, that may offer another avenue that we can pursue in our efforts to obtain complete compensation for your injuries; however, the standards for proof in those cases are very difficult to meet. You have to show that the person was being served, even when the establishment knew they were intoxicated. Other dram shop cases, such as those when they’re serving an underage person, are “easier.” If a 20-year-old is in a bar and gets drunk, that case is much easier to prove because it’s clear that an underage drinker shouldn’t have been drinking in a bar, as opposed to one in which the question is, “Oh, was that guy intoxicated when I served him that last drink – or not?” Those cases are more difficult.
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Injury Liability | Criminal Defense
We also find that dram shop coverage is not something every bar carries because it is quite expensive. We want to get involved early and do our best to figure out where that person was doing their drinking. That’s the perfect time to do it because, many times, the person who caused the injury has a criminal case going. Sometimes the criminal defense lawyer is willing to cooperate with you as a plaintiff’s attorney because, being forthcoming in helping the injured person get compensation for their injuries might help his client at the end of his case, when it comes to sentencing time in front of a judge.
If you have been injured by a drunk driver and think that the bar may be responsible for injury liability, please call our Hamburg injury lawyers to receive a free confidential case evaluation.