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Virginia/Carolina Lawyers: Personal Injury Or Death Caused By Drunk Driving/DUI/DWI in VA,WV,NC,SC

Personal Injury Or Death Victims In Virginia (VA/WV) and Carolina (NC/SC) Car Or Truck Accidents Caused By Alcohol-Drunk Drivers (Drinking & Driving/DUI/DWI)

How Virginia/Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers Attack Drunk Drivers Who Cause Injuries In Car Accidents, Including Seeking Punitive Damages

This article explores personal injury and wrongful death cases caused by impaired or drunk drivers (DUI/DWI). Our law firm represents those injured by drunk driving--we do NOT defend drunk drivers for their actions, we sue them!

When our clients or their family members are injured (or killed) by acts of a drunk driver/drunk driving, there are numerous special circumstances that our personal injury lawyers will examine. Our goal in a DUI/DWI/drunk driving case is to find all applicable insurance recovery sources, and recover personal injury compensation for all types of losses, including medical bills, lost wages, permanent injuries, pain, suffering, scars and all other expenses that resulted from a DUI/DWI/alcohol or drug impaired car accident. Whether the drunk driver is a wild out of control teenager, or a sailor or person in the military on leave on a drinking binge, the drinking and driving evidence to investigate is the same.

In drunk driving/DUI/DWI cases, we can sometimes bring a claim for punitive damages. This is “punishment” compensation that arises out of the grossly negligent or egregiously bad acts by a drunk driver. While other injury case compensation is paid to cover the injuries and harm that has been caused to the victim, punitive damages are paid as a form of punishment to the drunk driver who caused the drunk driving accident.

How can a personal injury lawyer use the drunk driving facts or a criminal conviction? In a civil injury lawsuit, your injury lawyer may be able to offer evidence of a DUI/drinking plea of guilty by the drunk driver. But in many states, if the drunk driver does not plead guilty (but is found guilty) the law prohibits offering the fact of the conviction. Do not get confused-even if the conviction itself is inadmissible, a personal injury attorney can still offer any proof to show that the driver was drunk, and can offer evidence of drunken behavior, of a BAC result or medical test result.

Click for separate articles:

Focus On North Carolina Personal Injuries Caused By Drunk Drivers (NC)

Focus on West Virginia Personal Injury Caused By Drunk Drivers (WV)

Focus On Virginia Personal Injury Caused By Drunk Drivers (VA)--Drunk driving refers to driving (a motor vehicle, boat, or watercraft) with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at a level where one can be arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). This is 0.08% in Virginia and many other neighboring states.

Impaired driving means that your skills, including judgment, coordination, and response time, are affected before your BAC reaches that level, or if you are using drugs.

One can still be convicted of DUI if your BAC is less than 0.08% in most states. For example, if there is proof that you are under the influence of drugs (even legal prescription or over-the-counter drugs) that impair your driving, you can be arrested for DUI with a BAC of zero.

Virginia has a Zero Tolerance law for drivers under 21 years old. Anyone under 21 caught driving with as little as a 0.02% BAC can face a $500 fine, a six-month license suspension, and jail time. Those under 21 who drive under the influence of drugs or with a BAC of 0.08% or greater are subject to the same penalties as those over 21, listed above.

Our personal injury lawyers know what evidence to search for, and how to gather the evidence of drunk driving, that can prove pivotal in proving the liability of a DUI/drunk driving defendant. Also, the underlying evidence of drunk driving must be analyzed to determine if punitive damages may be alleged-which can mean a more significant recovery for our client.

Punitive damages [Exemplary or Punishment Damages]:

Virgina Code § 8.01-44.5 states in pertinent part:

In any action for personal injury or death arising from the operation of a motor vehicle, engine or train, the finder of fact may, in its discretion, award exemplary [punitive] damages to the plaintiff if the evidence proves that the defendant acted with malice toward the plaintiff or the defendant's conduct was so willful or wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others.

A defendant's conduct shall be deemed sufficiently willful or wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others when the evidence proves that (i) when the incident causing the injury or death occurred, the defendant had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 percent or more by weight by volume or 0.15 grams or more per 210 liters of breath; (ii) at the time the defendant began drinking alcohol, or during the time he was drinking alcohol, he knew or should have known that his ability to operate a motor vehicle, engine or train would be impaired, or when he was operating a motor vehicle he knew or should have known that his ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired; and (iii) the defendant's intoxication was a proximate cause of the injury to or death of the plaintiff.

Importantly, persons who are convicted of drunk driving offenses are not permitted to get a bankruptcy discharge of any personal injury claims or judgments arising from their acts.

Case Examples Permitting Punitive Damages Against Drunk Drivers In Virginia:

Here are summaries of several cases where the Virginia courts stated punitive (punishment) damages could be awarded in addition to injury/compensatory damages:

Muri v. Killeen, VLW 004-3-1330(USDC-WD 2004)

Defendant-after consuming alcohol at a company-sponsored dinner, turned the wrong way onto a divided highway and continued to drive on the wrong side of the road at 40-50 mph, despite being passed by a fair number of oncoming vehicles, and he failed five field sobriety tests and had a .075 percent blood alcohol level two hours after a traffic accident. The driver injured is entitled to sue the defendant for punitive damages.

Allstate Ins. Co. v. Wade, 265 Va. 383 (2003)

A "jury could properly conclude that DeGarmo's conduct amounted to more than simple negligence and reflected a conscious disregard for the safety of others," where DeGarmo was intoxicated, knew that Sowers was intoxicated, and yet he encouraged Sowers to drive faster on roads he knew were difficult to navigate at night. The two men had consumed more than two fifths of whiskey together between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m., at which time they were involved in a vehicle accident. Sowers crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided head on with another vehicle. DeGarmo and Sowers then jumped in to the back seat of the vehicle and told the police that the driver had exited the vehicle and fled. DeGarmo had a blood alcohol level of 0.179 and Sowers had a blood alcohol level of 0.264.

Woods v. Mendez, 265 Va. 68 (2003)

Punitive damages should be allowed where the defendant operated a motor vehicle after consuming at least 10 beers, continued to drink, knew he was in danger of falling asleep and, did in fact, fall asleep prior to impact.

In drunk driving cases, we carefully study not only all the evidence of drunk driving, but we analyze all insurance sources, and whether a punitive damages claim is viable.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits two injury law blogs: Virginia Beach Injuryboard & Norfolk Injuryboard, and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects.

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