New Jersey was the first state in the country to institute a ban on driving while intoxicated in 1906. Unfortunately, the fact that this behavior has been illegal here for over a century doesn’t stop many people from doing it anyway, and sometimes causing serious traffic collisions as a result of their misconduct.
If you’ve been hurt in a wreck caused by a drunk driver, you can likely sue over that wreck and demand compensation for your injuries from that drunk driver, their insurance company, and potentially other people as well. If you want to get the best possible result from a claim built around a drunk driving car accident in Mt Laurel, you want to get help from a knowledgeable car accident lawyer instead of trying to file suit on your own.
Proving Someone Else Was Drunk Behind the Wheel
If the person who caused a car crash you were involved in was arrested, charged with, and convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) in relation to that crash, you can use their criminal conviction as evidence that they should also be civilly liable to pay for your crash-related injuries and losses. However, you don’t need to wait until criminal proceedings conclude before starting your civil lawsuit. You may be able to hold a drunk driver civilly liable for a car crash in Mt Laurel even if they aren’t convicted of or even arrested for a DUI.
This is possible because civil liability must be proven through a preponderance of the evidence, which is less strict than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard for criminal cases. A skilled legal professional can help you gather evidence to establish that someone else’s impairment was the main and direct cause of your injuries, including things like police accident reports, medical records, witness testimony, and receipts from bars or liquor stores.
Who Else Might Be Liable for a Drunk Driving Wreck?
It’s possible to hold the person who overserved a drunk person liable for damages the drunk person then caused by getting into a car accident. For example, if a bar continues serving drinks to someone who is visibly intoxicated and then knowingly allows them to drive away from that bar, the bar’s ownership may be considered partially at fault for an ensuing wreck under New Jersey’s dram shop laws.
On the other hand, the fact that someone involved in a Mt Laurel car wreck was driving drunk at the time doesn’t automatically mean they were 100% percent at fault for that wreck. In fact, it’s not unheard of for sober people hurt in these sorts of accidents to be found partly to blame based on their own negligent driving and to have their damage award reduced in proportion to their comparative fault—something which our lawyers can work to prevent from happening during your claim.
Get in Touch with a Mt Laurel Attorney About a Drunk Driving Car Accident Lawsuit
Even one drunk driving conviction can lead to a license suspension, harsh fines, and potential jail time, and repeat offenses come with increasingly harsh penalties that can eventually include prison time and a permanent felony record. Nevertheless, there are new examples every day of drunk drivers getting on the road and causing wrecks, many of which have devastating consequences for the other people involved.
If you’ve been caught up in an incident like this, help is available from our winning lawyers for demanding the civil compensation you deserve. Call today to discuss your options following a drunk driving car accident in Mt Laurel.
