Injured By A Drunk Driver? How to Maximize Your Recovery
Collecting all of the available evidence can make the difference in your case for punitive damages.
Compensation for the Injured Victims of Drunk Drivers
In all car accidents, victims are entitled to compensation for economic and non-economic damages. These include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, property damage and “pain and suffering”. In addition to the compensation for standard damages, you may be entitled to punitive damages if you were injured by a drunk driver. Not all car accident injury victims can receive punitive damages, so you will want an experienced attorney to handle your claim. Surprisingly, this claim is often overlooked by personal injury lawyers.
What Are Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages are intended to essentially punish an at-fault person when they act recklessly without considering the consequences of their actions. The goal is to punish wrongdoers to discourage the reckless and harmful behavior – in this case, drunk driving. California Civil Code § 3294 permits a plaintiff to be awarded “punitive” damages in a personal injury case and are also known in California as “exemplary” damages. They are granted to punish a defendant who has acted with malice, oppression or fraud, typically in cases of intentional harm or extreme recklessness. When granted, California punitive damages are in addition to amounts awarded for economic and non-economic damages.
Not All DUI’s Are The Same, Why Your Lawyer Should Get All the Evidence
Punitive damages in California are not easy to be awarded. A thorough and complete investigation can make all the difference. There is a lot of difference between a first time low blood alcohol drunk driving accident and an aggravated or extreme drunk driving crash.
Investigative Agency Reports (CHP DUI Arrest – Investigation Report (CHP 202); CHP DUI Field Evaluation; CHP DRE Evaluation; Arresting Agency’s DUI Intoxication Form)
The criminal prosecution against the drunk driver is a separate proceeding from a civil suit or claim for personal injury. However, it is the criminal case that will provide a wealth of information for a successful claim for personal injury. It depends upon the jurisdiction, but some law-enforcement agencies and county prosecutors can be reluctant to provide information. Sometimes they will provide some information, but not everything requested. It can be helpful to have a good working relationship with the prosecutor, especially once they realize that you are only trying to help the victim of the DUI obtain compensation for their injuries. Oftentimes it is important for the attorney to issue subpoenas to law-enforcement agencies to obtain the information. Typically, a DUI investigation that results in an injury will have several separate documents. Each of these items can potentially bring a wealth of information. For example, the CHP DUI Arrest – Investigation Report (called a CHP 202 form ) often lists a DUI suspect’s answers to “pre-field sobriety test” questions. The purpose of these questions is to elicit pre-collision facts, such as the DUI driver’s origin, destination, drinking pattern, type and amount of alcohol consumed, signs of intoxication, what the driver ate, and how much he or she slept near the time of arrest. Sometimes this information will reveal if there are other individuals that may be financially responsible for the DUI accident. Depending upon the facts of the case, whether the person was working or had been over served at a social event are critical pieces of the puzzle.
The CHP DUI Field Evaluation, CHP DRE Evaluation ( Drug Recognition Expert) or DUI Intoxication/Arrest Form identifies each field sobriety test administered to the DUI suspect prior to his or her arrest and their performance on those tests. A drunk driver’s performance on field sobriety tests can yield a wealth of information regarding the level of impairment in addition to blood alcohol. In the event the driver agreed to submit to a breathalyzer or blood test, these forms will also reference the DUI suspect’s blood alcohol content (BAC) at the scene of the collision. It is in these DUI an accident investigation materials that can make all the difference in a successful claim for punitive damages.
Breath Machine Data Printout, Blood Alcohol Analysis, Toxicology Reports and Portable Breath Test Results (PAS)
As we all know the “legal limit” is .08 BrAC. However, a lot of lawyers are unaware that is also a violation of the Vehicle Code to drive with alcohol, drugs or a combination of both even below so-called legal limit. California DUI law also makes it a crime to operate a motor vehicle "under the influence" of alcohol. "Under the influence" means that your physical or mental abilities are impaired to the extent that you can no longer drive as well as a cautious sober person. In California, motorists can be prosecuted under this statute even if their blood alcohol concentration was below 0.08%. Most often law-enforcement will administer a breath test at the scene of the accident. This breath device is often referred to as a “preliminary alcohol screening” or PAS. Once the suspect is arrested, they must provide either the blood test or a second breath test. By obtaining the two test results often times will demonstrate that the drunk driver had a much higher blood alcohol at the time of the accident. The higher the blood alcohol at the time of the collision the more likely that the injured victim can obtain punitive damages as it may show extreme recklessness. Toxicology reports are very important documents especially if there are any drugs are controlled substances involved in the auto accident. Identifying at the beginning of your case the technician that conducted the DUI driver’s lab analysis can be invaluable. These individuals usually have years of experience and if completed thousands blood alcohol analysis. They can make very powerful expert witnesses at trial. Oftentimes they can have expert opinions regarding the drunk driver’s “drink history” to get to a certain blood alcohol level at the time of the crash. Especially in high blood alcohol cases, the amount of alcohol that needs to be consumed can be staggering!
Blood Kit / Chain of Custody
In addition to identifying foundational witnesses, use this information to form a concrete theory of the DUI driver’s pattern of consumption. Doing so can help you form a rock-solid pattern of alcohol consumption with your expert.
Police Car Dash Footage (MVARs) and Body Cams
As the same goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words!” Depending on the content of the footage, a plaintiff ’s attorney may be able to use the DUI driver’s mannerisms, conduct, and speech at the time of the arrest in making the case for punitive damages. It can be difficult for jurors to realize how drunk a motorist may be any particular blood alcohol level. However, when the arresting officer video tapes the driver’s performance on field sobriety tests it can be very compelling evidence. Showing them video provides them with a real-time demonstration of just how impaired the drunk driver was. These videos are usually destroyed by law enforcement fairly quickly so it is critical to subpoena them immediately.
Miscellaneous items: DMV Records of the DUI Driver ; 911 Tapes; Dispatch Logs; Preliminary Hearing Transcripts from the criminal case; Certified Convictions
Plaintiff’s counsel needs to always make sure that basic documents are obtained so that the details of why this drunk driving accident is worse than most can be proven. Often times by obtaining these documents counsel will find additional aggravating facts that were not included in the police officers DUI investigation and accident report. Prior convictions, witness statements on a 911 call, proof of prior convictions and sworn testimony from the criminal proceeding can make all the difference.
If you have been injured by a drunk driver we invite you to call us to discuss your options. For more information regarding DUI accident injuries we invite you to visit Phillips Personal Injury Drunk Driver Accident Injury Lawyer