Again, do what you can at the scene, but the most important step you can take is to call a lawyer who has experience helping drunk driving victims.
Why Do I Need to Take Action If Drunk Driving Is Illegal?
Driving while intoxicated is illegal in South Carolina—and everywhere else. Drunk drivers face criminal penalties, even if they don’t cause a crash. If a drunk driver does cause an accident that injures or kills another person, they face even steeper penalties, potentially including manslaughter charges. It might feel like justice to see a drunk driver go to jail, lose their license, or pay a fine, but criminal punishments are not intended to compensate the victim. In some egregious situations, a judge might order a drunk driver to pay punitive damages to the victim, but that is not something you can depend on.
In order to hold a drunk driver financially responsible, you will have to file a separate civil claim against them. This process starts by negotiating with the driver’s auto insurance company to try to get them to agree to a fair settlement. If that doesn’t happen, you can file a lawsuit to get a judge to order the insurance company to pay. Either way, an experienced drunk driving victims’ lawyer will fight to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.
What Is My Drunk Driving Accident Claim Worth?
Drunk driving crashes can take an incredible toll on victims and their families. If the victim survives, their medical bills can be astronomical. In addition, the pain and suffering they experienced, combined with the wages they lost by not being able to work, add an additional financial burden. If the drunk driving crash was fatal, surviving family members of the victim could file for monetary damages to hold the driver accountable.
Your attorney will fight to recover the full value of your claim, which might include:
- Medical expenses. Emergency treatment, hospitalization, surgery, follow-up care, and future care should be calculated to determine the full medical cost.
- Lost wages. If you were forced to take sick or vacation time to recover from your injuries, your lost wages should be compensated.
- Lost future earnings. If you are unable to ever earn the wage you earned before the accident due to your injuries, that amount should be factored into the settlement.
- Pain and suffering. These are considered non-economic damages because there is no actual price tag for how you experienced physical pain or mental suffering. However, there are formulas that are used to calculate the financial value of your suffering.
- Wrongful death. No amount of money will make up for the loss of a loved one, but a wrongful death settlement can replace the financial support of the deceased and compensate you for your emotional suffering.
As you recover from your injuries and other losses, you do not have to worry about what your case is worth if you have an experienced, aggressive advocate by your side.