Accident Involving A Drunk Driver

Collision With A Drunk Driver

If you have been injured in an accident involving a drunk driver you often have an easier case. Here's why.

In a typical collision case not involving a drunk driver the police usually cite and blame one driver. So, now, liability is "uncontested." That is why at Reed & Mansfield we offer you a discount contingency fee of 25% if the police cite someone else for the collision and not you or if you were a passenger and were not feeding your driver alcohol. 25% Low Fee for Favorable Police Report Cases.

But even in these "uncontested" cases, there is often a lot of argument and contest over what the plaintiff's damages are and even if they were caused by the collision or were pre-existing. Insurance companies typically argue that back and neck pain is caused by the normal aging process and not a collision. Needless to say, insurance companies don't accept the victim's word that he or she felt fine until the accident.

Sometimes the big weapon a Plaintiff's personal injury lawyer such as myself or my partners have is the threat that if the insurance company doesn't pay up quickly, we will file suit, go to trial and obtain a bigger judgment against the insured defendant than the policy limit. In many situations where this happens the insurance company ends up paying the full judgment in excess of their policy limits, IF the insurance company had a chance to settle earlier within the policy limits. Insurance companies hate when they have to pay more than policy limits and sometimes they pay their policy limits when a rationale gambling insurance company would take its chances on the grounds that statistically they are better off taking a tough position.

So how does an insurance company evaluate the risk or chance that if it refuses to settle for or within its insured's policy limits, it will have to pay an excess judgment? It's a complicated analysis but one factor is that cases against drunk drivers are worth more. The law allows punitive damages against drunk drivers in addition to regular damages for pain and suffering, lost wages and medical bills. Technically, the insurance company is not liable for punitive damages. But as a practical matter if a jury is mad enough at some drunk driver to make the driver pay punitive damages, the jury is probably going to be more generous in evaluating the damages the insurance company is on the hook for: lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.