Motorists in Los Angeles are always at risk of crossing paths with impaired drivers of other vehicles. Sadly, victims of drunk driving accidents often suffer injuries that adversely affect their lives and the lives of their loved ones forever. Navigating civil lawsuits to pursue damage recovery is especially complicated if medical and emotional expenses continue in the years following the accident. Examples include brain injuries and spinal cord damage that could lead to permanent disabilities.
Claims to document for the court’s adjudication
When a DUI crash victim files a personal injury lawsuit, the degree of fault typically forms part of the determining proof of negligence. If there has already been a criminal conviction, civil courts usually accept that as adequate proof of the other driver’s negligence, called negligence per se. California follows the pure comparative negligence system by which the plaintiff could recover damages regardless of his or her degree of fault in the crash.
Medical expense claims could include past and future treatment and care because long-term medical treatment and therapy costs could be enormous.
Car accident victims whose injuries caused physical or mental harm that prevent them from returning to earning a living wage could seek damage recovery to cover past and future lost wages.
California has dram shop laws that could enable DUI crash victims to include the owner of a restaurant, tavern, bar or another establishment that served alcohol to an under-age person, an alcoholic or a person already intoxicated who went on to drive and cause an accident with injuries or death.
If a loved one died in a motor vehicle accident caused by an impaired driver, the surviving family members could file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the deceased person’s estate. If the breadwinner was killed in a crash, the family might be awarded more substantial damage recovery. Every DUI-related personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit filed in a California civil court is unique, and each with its own complications. Seeking professional guidance is never a bad idea.