When you are on the road, you want to take the best possible precautions to keep yourself and others safe. But accidents still do happen, and road safety is not always in your own hands. How other people behave on the road also factors into your safety. Some careless drivers on the road may not think twice before putting another in danger. This particularly includes individuals who think drinking and driving is acceptable. A driver operating a car under the influence of alcohol isn’t just dangerous, it is also illegal. Alcohol content in the blood can alter motor skills and cognitive abilities of a person. It is possible that a drunk driver may react more slowly and differently that could result in an accident. This is a clear example of negligence and one that can be avoided. The New York City drunk driving injury attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP are dedicated to helping victims seek the compensation they deserve so as to cover their damages from an accident.
Drunk Driving in New York City
Driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs is extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, it is also quite common on New York streets. As per a CDC report, about 1 million drivers got arrested on drunk driving charges in 2016. That is just a small slice of the 111 million who admitted to have driven under the influence during that period. CDC also reported that there were over 3,752 deaths related to drunk driving in New York State alone between 2003 and 2012. NYC is not far behind with alcohol being a direct contributor to 2,683 traffic accidents in 2018 in all five boroughs. Drunk driving accidents have been observed to peak during the Holiday season, especially mid-December and drop off during January as per crash data published by NYPD. However, this doesn’t mean that drunk driving instances do not occur consistently during the rest of the year.
Drunk Driving Arrests Can Help Personal Injury Lawsuits
You may be entitled to recover compensation from the at-fault party following injuries resulting from a car accident. However, in order to do so, you would need to prove that the other person was at-fault and negligent. You would probably have to establish that the other party blatantly breached the duty of care owed to you and that your injuries were a direct result of that.
Doctrine of Negligence Per Se
Sometimes, experienced attorneys take a slightly different path while proving negligence. They adhere to the legal doctrine of “negligence per se”. This refers to a situation wherein a rebuttable presumption of negligence is present when someone violates the law intended to avoid or prevent just the type of harm that finally took place. In simple words, you would have an easier time of proving negligence and establishing your case if the other driver that caused your injuries gets arrested on aDriving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charge. There are laws set in place by the New York State to prevent and prohibit drivers from getting behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A major purpose behind these laws is to prevent accidents from happening because of drunk driving. The fact that the at-fault driver has violated this law and operated a motor vehicle with elevated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) could help benefit your personal injury case. You need to prove the following for establishing negligence per se:
- The other driver clearly violated a safety law
- The other driver by violating the safety law caused you exactly that type of harm that the law was intended to prevent
- You are among the people the law was designed to protect
In other words, it is in direct violation of New York’s penal code if someone gets hurt as a direct result of a person driving under the influence.
What Does Rebuttal Presumption Mean?
It is easier for a victim to hold a drunk driver accountable for the accident and their actions by invoking negligence per se. However, the doctrine doesn’t automatically blame the other driver, but leads toa rebuttable presumption of negligence. This basically means that the burden of proving guilt or innocence shifts from you to the drunk driver. They will have to prove that they did not violate the safety law of New York State or drive while they were drunk. The presumption of negligence shall remain until they are able to do so.
Seeking Damages from All Responsible and Liable Parties
It’s vital to look at a drunk driving incident from all necessary and relevant angles. It can be very easy to jump to conclusions and blame the driver with alcohol impaired senses for the accident. However, it is possible that there were other factors at play. These factors could also have directly contributed to the action and the resultant injuries. You may just have a legitimate claim against all additional responsible parties if this turns out to be true. New York follows comparative negligence rules, which means that anyone can be held liable for an accident if they share the fault for it. You can count on our team of drunk driving injury attorneys in NYC to carefully review individual circumstances surrounding your accidents. We will dig as deep as it takes to determine all possible causes and to reflect on all possible angles to identify the parties that are responsible for the accident. This way we can make sure that you maximize your compensation by seeking damages from all responsible and liable parties. This includes, but is not limited to, insurance companies, other motorists, and employers of the negligent parties.
Commercial Establishments can be Held Liable for Drunk Driving Accidents
In certain cases, you may have the right to file a claim against a restaurant, bar or nightclub for your drunk driving accident. This is under the purview of New York’s dram shop law, which imposes a liability on all commercial establishments that serve or sell alcohol in special cases. In New York, restaurants and bars can be held liable in the following circumstances:
- If they give alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person
- If they give alcohol to a habitual drunkard
- If they give alcohol to someone apparently or actually under the age of 21
You may be able to recover compensation from a restaurant or bar in NYC if the motorist who caused your accident satisfies any one of the three conditions. You can improve your position for recovering maximum compensation if you file a claim against multiple parties, especially when they have deep pockets.
Why Should You Hire a Reliable DWI Personal Injury Lawyer in NYC?
You should get in touch with a deeply experienced and seasoned New York City DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) accident lawyer as soon as possible if you have recently suffered a grievous injury or lost a loved one because of a drunk driving car accident in New York. The personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP have decades of experience in helping victims seek the justice and compensation they deserve. Prompt notification goes a long way in empowering us to investigate a car accident effectively. It helps strengthen your case when we can speak with eye witnesses while the incident remains fresh in their memory. Early consultation also allows us to review your medical prognosis and health to pursue a more accurate and adequate claim settlement. Our professional investigation is always done parallel to any criminal investigation carried out by the county law enforcement or NYPD. Your civil claim against the liable parties can be positively benefited if their pursuit results in a conviction for the drunk driver. You need to understand that there are certain prescribed time lines for filing Driving While Intoxicated injury claims as mentioned under the New York statute of limitations. This makes it important for you to seek legal counsel quickly and act immediately. Our lawyers are committed to representing your interests diligently in the best possible way and to work hard so that justice is served for you and your family. Get in touch with us right away to arrange a free assessment of your unique case.
We are Top-rated Trial Lawyers
It is vital to work with a top-rated and highly acclaimed New York City drunk driving accident lawyer in NYC in order to let your opposition know that you are serious about your claim. The knowledgeable attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP have decades of experience in taking cases to court and making convincing presentations during trial. Collectively, we have taken several hundreds of personal injury claims to successful trials. Our success lies in our tenacity and hard work. We make sure that each case is prepared intensively. We work with economic and medical experts wherever necessary to demonstrate the exact and numerous ways in which your injury as a result of the accident severely changed your life. You can set up a free, no-obligation consultation today by calling us at 212-344-1000or filling out our online form.
