How Drinking And Driving Can Lead To Punitive Damages

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How Drinking And Driving Can Lead To Punitive Damages

If a drunk driver ends up colliding with your vehicle, there's a good chance that the driver might be facing serious legal penalties as a result of the car accident. However, just because the driver will most likely end up in prison, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't seek compensation for your injuries afterward. You may even receive punitive damages. However, there are some obstacles you might encounter after a drunk driving accident.

Understanding Punitive Damages

Drunk driving personal injury claims can be very complex. However, one of the advantages of filing a drunk driving personal injury claim is that you will sometimes be awarded punitive damages. These are additional damages on top of the damages you normally receive to cover medical expenses and lost wages. 

The insurance provider may refuse to adequately compensate you for your injuries. Therefore, you could sue the insurance provider in court. However, the company may do everything they can to support their client and disprove that the motorist was engaged in drinking and driving. When you can prove that a DUI played a role in your accident, you'll have a much easier time proving in court that the other party was negligent. 

Determining the Punitive Damages

You will be more likely to receive punitive damages if you can prove that the driver committed a DUI because the purpose of punitive damages is to make this type of accident less common by punishing the perpetrator. 

Punitive damages are usually determined by having a second mini-trial with the jury after the initial trial. The second trial is meant to determine if the driver should be punished. To prove this, your drunk driving attorney will need to show that there is clear and convincing evidence that the driver was reckless and deserves to be punished by being forced to pay punitive damages.

Proving Intentional Misconduct

Your attorney must prove that there was intentional misconduct and that this was responsible for causing your injuries. This means that the defendant must know that what they were doing was wrong. This is easier to do if you can prove that the driver was under the influence since drinking and driving is illegal.

If there is any evidence that the driver intended to harm you, this may lead to even greater punitive damages. For this reason, it's essential to gather evidence to prove your version of the events. Contact a drunk driving accident lawyer for more information.



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Basic Information Concerning Personal Injury Attorneys and Litigation People who become injured due to the negligence of others often hire personal injury attorneys to represent them in a lawsuit. If you're in this type of situation, you should examine the articles on this blog to learn more information about the process. We aren't in the legal profession and we don't know everything there is to know about the law, but we have done some research on our own to find out the basics of personal injury litigation. As you read this blog, you'll learn what steps you should take to hire an attorney and what to expect if your lawsuit goes to trial. You'll also find information about the laws pertaining to personal injury cases. We hope the articles on this site will help you to decide your next steps in the litigation process.

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