Television commercial breaks are full of ads for lawyers ready to help people charged with a DUI. But if you’ve been the victim of a car crash involving someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you may wonder what your next step is. Here are a few ways an experienced attorney from Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law can help victims of DUI car crashes.
Drunk Drivers Are a Serious Threat
Most states have severe penalties for drivers charged with a DUI. These penalties can range from having a driver’s license suspended or revoked to long periods of incarceration. In Minnesota, where it’s illegal to drive when the blood-alcohol concentration is 0.08 or higher, the first offense results in the drunk driver losing their license for 30 days and the possibility of jail time.
However, none of these penalties can prevent an accident from ever happening in the first place. While the penalty phase of a DUI case plays out in criminal court, you need an attorney who can represent your civil case against the offending driver.
A driver who causes a DUI crash already made some terrible decisions when they got behind the wheel of a car. So stay alert; hopefully, defensive driving will keep you from being involved in an accident with a drunk driver. But if it does happen, you should know what your options are.
Some of the areas that a skilled lawyer can help you navigate are:
- Getting you compensation for the medical bills resulting from your injuries
- Recovering the money you missed from wages lost by missing work
- Compensation for your pain and suffering
- Cutting through the red tape that keeps the insurance companies from paying
Medical Bills
A car crash can cause serious injuries or death. At the very least, you probably went to the hospital and got a medical exam. At the worst, you’ve endured extensive hospitalization, surgery, and rehabilitation.
If you were seriously injured, you probably have unexpected medical bills you may not be able to afford. If that debt gets turned over to a collection agency, it may affect your credit. And, if you have a long-lasting or permanent injury, you may have ongoing rehabilitation costs that will cause your debt to climb.
A skilled attorney can help you with debt from medical bills. They can get money from the person who caused the crash. They also may be able to get the insurance company to lower the amount of your debt.
Missed Wages
Injuries from a car accident may cause you to miss work. You may even have to leave your job altogether. If that happens, you are entitled to compensation from the person who caused this problem for you.
Without an attorney, it may be difficult for you to prove your need to the court. You need someone experienced in showing exactly how your accident has cost you the ability to work and provide for your family. An attorney can prove in your civil case that you should receive the money you lost from missing work.
Pain and Suffering
Many drunk-driving victims seek compensation to cover their losses from an accident. For example, they might have had to replace their vehicle, pay large medical bills, and recover lost wages.
However, many accident victims don’t realize they’re also entitled to compensation for the physical pain and suffering they’ve endured.
If you were injured, it has done more to you than cost you some money. The accident has impacted your quality of life. You’ve had to endure pain you wouldn’t otherwise have had if this accident hadn’t happened to you. So it’s not too much to ask to be compensated for that suffering.
Insurance Red Tape
Insurance companies don’t want to pay. They’re private companies in business to make money. Paying you for anything listed above goes against that. They will throw up roadblocks to prevent a payout in any civil case.
The fact is, you are a victim in this situation. You didn’t do anything to cause your injuries. You didn’t miss work because you wanted to. If you had your choice, you wouldn’t be in this situation at all. The insurance company owes you this. The court should force them to pay. A good attorney will maneuver the red tape and get the court to force them to pay you what you deserve.
Talk With An Attorney Today
If you’ve been in a car crash caused by someone who’s been charged with DUI, you should contact a skilled attorney at Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law. We have been battling for people like you for a long time, and have gotten civil case results that people deserved. Our lawyers are ready to help you with your DUI car crash case, so you can get back to normal life.
