Driving a vehicle is a serious responsibility. Each time you sit behind the wheel, you are expected to make reasonable decisions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of other road users. Unfortunately, some people drive while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, impairing their decision-making. California DUI laws punish drivers who commit DUI offenses. 

Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of accidents on California roads. These accidents are often catastrophic, and if you survive, you could be left with serious injuries. If a drunk driver causes an accident in which you are injured, you could be entitled to compensation.

You can recover compensation for the losses resulting from the accident injury by filing a civil lawsuit against the driver. Navigating a personal injury claim can be complicated, especially when you are nursing injuries. Therefore, seeking the guidance of a personal injury attorney is crucial.

Who is a Drunk Driver under California Law?

Under California law, a drunk driver operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content exceeding the legal limit. Drunk driving is a serious offense that is prosecuted under California Vehicle Code 23152. The penalties handed after a conviction for drunk driving are severe, and they are aimed at punishing the defendant for breaking the law.

However, drunk driving violates the Vehicle Code and increases the risk of accidents on the roads. Accidents resulting from drunk driving are often very serious. If you are injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, you can file a civil suit to claim compensation for your injuries. California has several laws related to drunk driving, and a driver facing the following charges can be sued for damages by the victims of their actions:

  1. Driving under the influence of alcohol. Under California Vehicle Code 23152(a), operating a motor vehicle when intoxicated is a crime. You are considered intoxicated if the use of alcohol impairs your mental and physical abilities.

  2. Per Se DUI for Adult Drivers. If you are a driver over the age of twenty-one years, you can be arrested and charged under California Vehicle Code 23152 if you drive with a BAC of 0,08% or higher. The blood alcohol content is measured by taking a blood test at the time of the arrest.

  3. Commercial DUI. Commercial drivers are held in higher regard than other road users. Therefore, a commercial driver who operates a vehicle with a BAC of 0.o04% or higher will face an arrest and charges under CVC 23152(d).

  4. Zero tolerance law for underage drivers. California law prohibits drunk driving for individuals under twenty-one years. An underage driver could face charges for operating with a BAC of 0.01% or higher. Although this is not considered a DUI, it is a violation of the law. If you are filing a personal injury claim against a minor driver, you will need to prove that the accident resulted from the defendant’s impairment.

  5. Driving while addicted to a drug. Under California Vehicle Code 23152(c), it is a crime for anyone addicted to a drug to operate a motor vehicle. However, there is an exception for individuals who are currently participating in a court-approved narcotic treatment. 

  6. Federal motor carrier safety regulations. Federal law prohibits interstate commercial drivers from operating while under the influence.

  7. Refusal to submit to chemical tests. Failure to submit to a chemical test during an investigation for drunk driving is a crime. By operating a motor vehicle in California, you consent to take a blood or Breathalyzer test when you face an arrest on suspicion of DUI. When you sue a driver who failed to take the chemical test for injuries resulting from an accident they caused, the jury will assume that they failed to take the test because they were intoxicated.

Steps You Should Take After a Drunk Driving Accident

California law allows you to file a personal injury claim against a drunk driver if you are a drunk driving accident victim. A drunk driver is considered to be negligent. Also, the defendant does not need to face a conviction for DUI in criminal court for you to recover damages. Involvement in an accident can be a traumatizing experience.

However, the steps you make after the accident could make a difference between recovering the compensation you deserve and struggling to establish a claim. If you are involved in a drunk driving car accident, you should:

Contact the Police

The first thing you need to do after a drunk driving accident is to contact the authorities. By calling the police, you will be ensuring that the accident scene is documented thoroughly. On arrival, the police officers will want to hear your account of events. It is important to cooperate with the officers. However, accidents could evoke different emotions in people, and you should never admit fault for the accident. Also, it would be best if you only offered facts and not speculations.

The police officers will write a report regarding the accident. A report is one of the most crucial pieces of evidence you can present for your injury claim. Additionally, the officers could administer chemical tests to the driver to determine their level of intoxication. Failure to call the police could cause the drunk driver to flee and lose a crucial piece of evidence for your lawsuit.

Collect the Relevant Information

If you can do so, it would be wise to collect as much information as possible at the accident scene. The type of information you need to gather from the driver who was allegedly driving under the influence includes:

  • Their full names.

  • The license plate of their vehicle.

  • Their driver’s license number.

  • The contact information of their insurance company.

  • Their vehicle identification number.

The more information you gather about the accident, the easier it will be for you to establish liability for the accident and recover compensation for your injuries. If you have suffered a serious injury, you can ask an officer to obtain the information for you. Under California law, all drivers involved in an accident are obligated to share their information. If a driver attempts to flee, they could face additional criminal charges. 

Seek Immediate Medical Care

Your health and wellbeing is the most important thing after an accident. Therefore, it is crucial to seek out medical treatment. Drunk driving accidents are often catastrophic, and you could sustain serious injuries. Seeking medical treatment will ensure early detection and treatment of your injuries. Also, the treatment records act as a crucial piece of evidence when you prove the damages you suffered from the accident. 

Also, it would be best if you answered no when you are asked about suffering injuries at the accident scene. This is because some injuries are not visible and others could have delayed symptoms. You should consult a doctor even when you do not experience any pain following the accident to determine the presence and severity of your injuries.

Contact and Retain a Skilled Personal Injury Attorney

After an accident, the drunk driver’s insurance company may contact you with an offer for settlement. In most cases, the settlement may be lower than what you deserve. In other cases, they may try to trick you into accepting fault for the accident, which can be detrimental to your attempts to seek compensation. Therefore, you should never speak to the insurance company regarding the accident without the guidance of a personal injury attorney. In addition to providing legal guidance, your attorney will help you collect the relevant information you need for your case.

Drunk Driver Negligence

The main concept in a drunk driving accident lawsuit is whether the driver is liable for the accident. Liability for a car accident is often based on negligence. Before you can recover damages from the drunk driver, the line connecting causation and the driver’s negligent acts must be clear. The following are the elements of negligence that your attorney must establish:

  • Duty of care. The duty of care is the responsibility that each driver has to ensure the safety of other road users. Since drunk driving is a criminal offense prohibited under the California Vehicle code, it is not difficult to prove that the driver owed you a duty of care.

  • Breach of duty. A drunk driver breaches their duty of care towards you when they act in a way that puts you at risk of injuries. However, drunk driving is already a breach of duty. There are other actions that a drunk driver could exhibit that put you in harm’s way. Therefore, your attorney will use the intoxication and these other actions to prove the driver’s breach of duty.

  • Causation. As much as a drunk driver breaches their duty of care towards you, you must prove that the breach of duty caused your injuries. Causation is categorized into the cause of fact and proximate cause. The cause is the part of the case which focuses on the specific action that resulted in the injuries. A defendant’s intoxication is always the primary causation factor. On the other hand, the proximate cause is the spiral of events that led to the final effect, and a reasonable person could have foreseen it.

  • Damages. Your attorney must prove that you have suffered actual damages from the car accident. It is crucial to understand that you do not need to suffer a physical injury to be compensated after a drunk driving accident. Involvement in a car accident is scary enough and can leave you with emotional trauma even with no physical wounds.

Damages Available in a Drunk Driver Personal Injury Lawsuit

When you suffer injuries in a drunk driving accident, you may be entitled to compensatory damages. The damages you recover from your lawsuit will help you recoup the financial losses due to the accident injuries. Compensatory damages fall under two categories which are economic and non-economic damages. The economic damages you could recover include:

Medical Bills

When a drunk driver breaches their duty of care and causes an accident, the court will hold them responsible for their injuries. Immediately after an accident, the fault party may be reluctant to accept liability for your injuries. Therefore, you may need to cover your medical bills. You can pay your bills using medical insurance coverage. If you do not have insurance cover, you can seek treatment from doctors who operate on a lien. In this case, you can pay for the treatment with the proceeds of the claim.

Before you can recover compensation for your medical bills, the other party’s insurance provider will need to see copies of your medical report and bills. Therefore, you should seek immediate medical care after an accident and ensure that your injuries are documented. Additionally, you may need to submit your medical reports dating up to five years. This is to ensure that your injuries are consistent with the accident.

Lost Wages

Depending on the seriousness of the drunk driving accident, you could suffer serious and life-changing injuries. Some injuries may cause you to skip work for some time, causing you to lose income. Lost wages would be the income you would have earned if you did not suffer the injuries. In California, lost wages may be in the form of regular pay, commissions, overtime pay, and self-employment income. 

You can prove lost wages by obtaining a lost wages letter from your employer. This document will indicate the nature of your employment, the number of hours you work per day, and the amount you earn. This will help establish the amount you lost while you were nursing your injuries. If you do not have a regular job or are self-employed, you can use your pay stubs and past tax returns to prove lost wages.

Lost Earning Capacity

In a successful personal injury claim, you can recover compensation for the past and future lost earnings. Lost earning capacity is the loss of your ability to earn money in the future. This often happens when you suffer serious injuries. You do not need to suffer permanent injuries to recover these damages. As long as your injuries haven’t recovered by the time you receive a settlement for the lawsuit, you can recover compensation for lost earning capacity.

Although the calculation of economic damages is relatively straightforward, several factors affect the amount you will recover for lost future earning capacity, including:

  • The severity of the injuries you suffered from the accident.

  • When you expect to recover from the injuries.

  • Your age and life expectancy.

  • The term of your employment.

  • Your health before the accident.

In addition to the economic damages, you could recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering. However, the pain you experience due to the accident injuries cannot be equated to monetary compensation. If you claim compensation for pain and suffering in your lawsuit, you will present proof of your physical pain or emotional trauma, and the judge will decide the amount you deserve.

Pain and Suffering

Involvement in a car accidemt can be a traumatizing experience even when you do not suffer physical injuries. When you pursue a personal injury claim after a drunk driving car accidet,you are entitked to compensatio for pain and suffering resulting from the accidemt. Since you cannot put a monetary value on pain and suffering,the court will award an amount they see fit based on the severity of your injuries and other factors of your lawsuit.

Punitive Damages

In addition to the compensatory benefits, punitive damages can be pursued after a drunk driving car accident. Punitive damages are aimed at punishing the defendant for their conduct. However, these damagesare are only available if it is clear that the drunk driver acted with reckless disregard for the consequences of their actions.

Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are based not on your losses, but on the reprehensibility of the defendant’s conduct and the defendant’s ability to pay. The concept of malice on the defendant's part is crucial when dealing with punitive damages.

It is important to understand that the legal malice concept can be met even when the defendant did not intend to harm you. You are eligible for these damages if your legal team can apply the malice test and establish:

  • The defendant knew that their actions were potentially dangerous

  • The defendant failed to comply with the standards of conduct which could have prevented the serious consequences.

Find a San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a leading cause of serious accidents. Although drunk driving violates California Penal Code 23152, many drivers still engage in the behavior. Often drunk drivers are negligent and may end up compromising the safety of other road users. Injuries resulting from a drunk driving accident are likely to harm you physically, emotionally, and financially.

When you suffer injuries from an accident caused by a drunk driver, you deserve substantial financial compensation. Some of the compensation benefits arising from a successful personal injury lawsuit include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and wrongful death. The guidance of a competent personal injury attorney is crucial when you are seeking compensation for your injuries.

If you pursue a drunk driving accident lawsuit in San Diego, CA, contact us, the San Diego Personal Injury law firm. Our group of skilled lawyers will offer the guidance and representation you need to navigate the lawsuit. Call us today at 619-478-4059.