Drunk Driving Accidents: Preserving Your Personal Injury Drunk Driving Accident Injury Claim

Cell phone related car accidents in Iowa. We can help.

Case Summary: on January 27, 2023 there was a personal injury accident in Buena Vista County where part of the cause was alleged to be drunk driving. The officer stated that alcohol was suspected. This collision was over a year ago and by now the officer certainly has the tox screen. Today’s blog uses this accident because the officer’s description of the accident supports today’s blog post. Here is the accident description.

VEH#1 IS EASTBOUND ON 600TH ST APPROACHING A STOP SIGN INTERSECTION WITH HWY71, VEH#2 IS SOUTHBOUND ON HWY 71 APPROACHING 600TH ST, VEH1 FAILS TO YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY FROM THE STOP SIGN AND COLLIDES WITH VEH#2 IN THE INTERSECTION, ALCOHOL IS A SUSPECTED FACTOR IN THIS COLLISION OFFICER NAME: TRP CONNOR ROOSE #154 TRP CONNOR LAMP #127. POST: 05

This should be a client or a lawyer’s initial clue that this case is going off in a different direction. There are likely at least three insurance claims that will be involved in representing the non-at-fault injured people.

What do you need to be doing to preserve your drunk driving personal injury accident claim?

As the injured person or their spouse, you may be overwhelmed with everything gong on after the breadwinner is hospitalized and the paychecks stop coming. But that is not going to work in the long run. And it is never going to work in the short run. It is time to put on your thinking cap.

What you should not be doing is sitting around doing nothing. Because while you are doing nothing other people are destroying the evidence you will need to win. And no one is doing anything to protect your claim. If you learn nothing else from this blog, be aware that we are here to assist you to get and to stay organized while we gather and preserve your evidence. That is what we do, because, like you we want to win.

What is a drunk driving personal injury case and why does it matter?

A drunk driving accident is an accident involving a person suspected of being intoxicated at the time of the crash. Many time that person escapes without serious injuries. Sometimes they pass from injuries suffered in the substantial impact. Even a single-vehicle collision involving passengers is a drunk driving accident requiring immediate action by the passengers or their relatives and friends.

Why does it matter? Because there are things needing to be done that are different than a normal run-of-the-mill personal injury truck accident. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, side-by-sides, ATV’s, and all other motorized vehicles require immediate action to preserve the case. If you have been in an accident, call us for a free consultation. Many times, we provide direction even before someone decides which lawyer to hire. It is our belief that identifying and preserving the critical evidence is the most important action anyone can take right after the accident.

Why do the police always say, the accident is under investigation?

Have you ever read or listened to an accident report where the police are quoted, or the reporter states, the accident is under investigation? That usually means the police are waiting for toxicology reports. Toxicology reports have definite amounts of blood, breath or urine measurements and will indicate how much alcohol a person had in their body at the time of the collision. That is important because it indicates whether the driver had the judgement to know, that what they were doing was likely to cause a collision. You have to know more than just that they had been drinking. Just drinking alcohol is not enough to say this is a drunk driver case. How much? How tall are they? How much do they weigh? What did they have to eat? When did they drink? Over what period of time were they drinking? This is where the lawyers should earn their fees. We do not get paid to do nothing. Lawyers get paid to win.

Why is it important to quickly investigate a drunk driver accident?

Most people do not understand how to prove a drunk driving case. Nor do most people understand that suing the driver is only one option. Another option is to sue the tavern or restaurant where they were served the alcohol. The legal requirements are “sold and served,” not just sold. If you stopped at a convenience store to pick up a twelve-pack and you were obviously drunk, in many states that would not be enough to be able to recover damages from the convenience store. That is because the store only sold the booze, they did not serve the drunk. Think of sitting at the bar, paying for a shot of tequila, and then drinking it right at the bar. That is alcohol being sold to a patron and his being served a drink. For whatever reason the politicians who write and pass the laws see that as enough of a difference to allow the one to skate and the other to be held accountable.

Insurance companies settle vehicle damage claims first. Then they sit back and wait for the personal injury stuff. Right after they settle the vehicle damage claims then they destroy the vehicles. That vehicle is or at least can be, valuable evidence. Especially the interior or the plaintiff’s car or truck. I will take that up in a subsequent blog. For right now just know it is important to have a look inside your car and to photograph it.

Do you know your dram shop law?

It is okay to say you do not know the law. Better to admit what you do not know, then to fool yourself into making a huge mistake. It is more important to know what you can and cannot do to preserve the personal injury claim.

Everyone’s state has dram shop laws. A dram is a measure of alcohol and that is what bars do, they measure drams of whiskey, gin, vodka, and other spirits into glasses and serve it to people. The dram shop is the bar.  So, dram shop laws provide the guardrails for injured people being able to legally bring an action against a bar for the injuries caused by a negligent drunk driver. Most states have laws creating certain requirements to sue a bar for what a drunk did. And in most states, you have to put the bar on notice of your intent to sue them or at least that you are investigating a drunk driver who drank at their bar on a certain date. Some of the details or the accident are required in the dram shop notice.

To craft the dram shop notice you need to have a few details and most of the time those details will require an investigation, or at least knowledge of who to contact in order to get the right details. It may include interviewing witnesses. And then, sending a preservation letter about the bar’s security camera video footage. I have had the experience of rummaging through the drunk’s car or truck while it sets in the junk yard or tow yard. I needed to see if there are receipts, napkins, matches or any of the other evidence I have been lucky enough to discover, that tie the drunk driver to the bar. Investigation takes creativity, intelligence, and the requisite experience to know what to look for and where to look.

What is a dram shop notice?

In my state, Iowa the dram shop notice must be served on the bar within 180 days.

“Iowa Code §123.92. The injured person must give written notice, however, within six (6) months of the occurrence of the injury to either the licensee or permittee or to the licensee or permittee’s insurance carrier of that person’s intention to bring an action pursuant to Iowa’s dram shop statute.”

What is the legal limit of a blood alcohol level?

In most states the legal limit for a blood alcohol level is .08. At .15 you are at the threshold for enhanced penalties.

West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration has a nifty blood alcohol chart to assist a person to estimate if they can legally drive after drinking. Iowa is similar.

“When you consume alcohol, your blood alcohol content level (BAC) rises. Many factors impact your blood alcohol level including your gender and your body weight. The chart below shows your likely BAC based on the number of drinks you consumed.”

Are you legally drunk?

“For purposes of this table, one drink equals:

• 1 volume ounce of 100 proof alcohol
• 1 12-ounce bottle of beer
• 5 ounces of table wine

Your body also metabolizes alcohol over time, so your BAC will begin to fall once you have stopped consuming a drink. If time has passed, you can subtract a set amount from your BAC. Here’s how much you can subtract:

• 1 hour from last drink: 0.015%
• 2 hours from last drink: 0.030%
• 3 hours from last drink: 0.045%
• 4 hours from last drink 0.060%
• 5 hours from last drink 0.075%
• 6 hours from last drink 0.090%

These BAC measurements apply regardless of your tolerance for alcohol. Even if you do not feel intoxicated, your BAC still increases as you consume drinks and you may still be above the legal limit for driving.”

Before jumping into the driver’s seat after a few drinks, think UBER or LYFT.

What is one thing to do to investigate a dram shop case?

A good investigation likely includes rummaging through the drunk’s truck.

Taking photographs and interviewing witnesses.

I have done this more times than I care to think about. Yeah, more than just a few times. Actually more than a few times. I have found credit card receipts, napkins with phone numbers, printed emails with contact information along with other useful information.

If you have been involved in a car, truck or motorcycle accident and you suspect the at-fault driver was drunk, then call us for a free consultation. We are most always willing to talk about what you should be doing to gather and to preserve your evidence.

Make the Call!

Act now, make decisions, act as you would have them do for you. Call NOW!