What Lawsuits can be Brought against Drunk Drivers who Cause Car Accidents

Drunk driving accidents can cause injuries which can often be subject to civil lawsuits too. Drunk drivers frequently face severe criminal charges that include penalties such as compensation and prison time. At the same time they can earn you a civil liability stripe when they are prosecuted by their victims’ Portland, OR drunk driving accident lawyers.

If you or a close kin is injured or even killed by a drunk driver, your best option is to seek recompense for all your losses such as lost wages, medical treatment, damaged property or some other type of economic damages. These lawsuits also offer the chance to claim non-economic damages such as compensation for the pain and suffering you endure. Here are the more important of the options highlighted here.

Civil Suits and Criminal Proceedings

A civil suit filed for drunk driving remains a distinct process from any other criminal proceedings that a drunk driver can face. While criminal proceedings tend to guard the general public from any future harm by being a restraint against drunk driving, it also penalizes the drunk driver for driving in an irresponsible manner. Such as a driver can meet with criminal prosecution even when no accident or injury was involved.

No-Fault States

If you happen to be in a no-fault state, it is possible that a limit is placed that bans suits for motor vehicle accidents, if not the injuries are not of a particular statutory severity, or your damages surpass a specific statutorily mandated sum of money.

"Fault" and PIP Car Insurance State

If you go the word of Portland, OR accident attorneys, the state’s laws are a combination of ‘fault’ and ‘no fault’ systems when it comes to car insurance coverage. For the most part, the at-fault driver is liable to pay for damages or injuries through his or her insurer. However, with PIP or Personal Injury Protection insurance coverage mandatory in the state, the no-fault aspect sets in where you will be covered by your own PIP for injuries to a specific limit for the first year following the accident.

Pure Negligence States

For those who live in a pure negligence state, they are in general at liberty to sue drunk drivers for the injuries they have sustained. In drunk driving accident suits, you need to establish fault as is done in any type of civil suit.

Yet, civil suits filed against drunk drivers appear like slam dunks and much of the time they are unless you were driving sloppy and hit the drunk driver! Portland, OR accident lawyers as well as insurers have spent considerable amounts of money and time in defending these types of cases, and to come out successful is seldom easy as it ought to be. Every common defense necessary for a negligence case is available, such as contributory as well as comparative negligence. It is no holds barred – no one wants to lose a case.

Wrongful Death and Drunk Driving

If your loved one happens to be killed by any drunk driver, either you or a legal representative can file a civil suit for wrongful death. Such a suit is in effect a mechanism used by family members of the deceased in order to make sure that all the surviving members can enjoy some sort of financial stability.

In these suits, economic as well as non-economic damages can be claimed while some states might permit punitive damages as well. Punitive damages are essentially arbitrary amounts granted with the only purpose of penalizing the drunk driver, and as a deterrent to any future drunk driving accidents. It is a serious deterrent as well. No one wants to lose their home, car, future income, 401K, flat screens, furniture, art, and so on.

Due to the rather conflicting and complex factors involved in drunk driving accidents, make sure to speak with a Northwest Oregon drunk driving accident lawyer as soon as possible. You can find some of the best ones right here: http://drunk-driving-accident.usattorneys.com/oregon/. You cannot sue anyone unless you know who they are. So try to get their license plate number even before the cop shows up. You do not want them driving away if they think they can get away with it! It does not matter if they know about that incredible website just conveyed to you right above which makes is so simple for someone to find legal help to help make this world right.

That website was not built because of chaos, it was built to help prevent chaos.