It is disastrous when someone drives drunk and hits another car, injuring the people in the other car, or even worse. This is not the only possible scenario involving drunk driving accidents. Alcohol is a factor in about a third of the car accidents in Louisiana that result in injury or death, and a substantial portion of these accidents involve only one vehicle. Single-vehicle DWI accidents can lead to criminal charges of vehicular homicide or assault by vehicle if a passenger who was riding in the car with the drunk driver dies or gets injured, respectively.
With civil lawsuits, the laws are even more complex. If you were injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, you have the right to sue, even if the driver did not get convicted of a DWI offense, or even if the at-fault driver did not get criminal charges at all. Passengers who got injured in a single-vehicle DWI accident have the right to seek compensation through personal injury lawsuits, and in some cases, so do the drunk drivers themselves. If you got injured in a DWI accident where you were a passenger in the drunk driver’s car, contact a Houma car accident lawyer.
How Do Comparative Negligence and Other Legal Doctrines Apply to Passengers Who Ride With Drunk Drivers?
Yes, driving drunk is one of the most dangerous things you can do. It would be preposterous to say that a drunk driver does not bear legal responsibility for causing a car accident. Louisiana law acknowledges this, and it also acknowledges that many car accidents have more than one contributing cause. In legal terms, this is called comparative negligence; your percentage of fault in an accident affects the amount of money, if any, you can get in an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.
For example, if a drunk driver hits another car, the drunk driver will bear most of the fault for the accident, but if the sober driver also made a mistake, such as running a red light, he or she will also bear some of the fault. Likewise, if you were a passenger in a drunk driver’s car, you might bear some of the fault for knowingly riding with a drunk driver, especially if you were also drunk.
Dram shop liability is another legal concept affecting drunk driving accidents. It is when the bar or restaurant that served alcohol to a drunk driver bears some or all of the fault for a drunk driving accident. People who were injured by the drunk driver, including the drunk driver themselves, have the right to sue the bar.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey About Personal Injury Cases
A personal injury lawyer can help you if you were injured in a preventable accident where you were a passenger in a drunk driver’s car. Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana, to set up a consultation about your case.
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