The destructive impact of devastating injuries and fatalities caused by drunk drivers was again brought home by a $11.8 jury verdict against a drunk driver who rear-ended the victim. The DUI accident related lawsuit provides a primer on the issues and impact of this type of personal injury lawsuit. The defendant in the case was a repeat DUI offender who the jury learned was arrested again for DUI a mere week after the DUI accident involving the plaintiff.
The accident occurred when the accident victim was stopped at an intersection as the drunk driver plowed into him from behind. Because of the circumstances of the accident, the issue of liability was not really at issue, which is often the case in accidents involving drunk drivers. However, the defense disputed the issue of causation regarding the auto accident victim’s injuries. The accident victim suffered reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which is a debilitating injury that causes nerves to misfire. He suffers from sweats, extreme pain, chills and is confined to a wheelchair much of the time. The condition is so severe that he has not been able to work or drive a car since the accident.
The case shows the challenge of serious physical conditions that do not immediately manifest symptoms until some time after a car accident. The attorney’s for the other driver’s insurance company emphasized that there was minimal damage to the vehicles so that the serious injury suffered by the accident victim could not have been caused by the impact of the collision. The attorney’s for the insurance company also relied on the fact the symptoms were not immediately apparent as evidence that the condition was caused by something other than the car crash. This is why it is important to seek a medical diagnostic consultation in the wake of a car accident even if one’s symptoms seem minor.
The DUI auto accident lawsuit also provides insight into how juries feel about certain types of conduct. The drunk driver in this case had a history of prior DUI convictions and a DUI arrest the week following the auto accident that resulted in personal injuries to the plaintiff. The driver also fled the scene making the accident a hit and run accident. The damages awarded were three times that requested by the attorneys for the plaintiff.
Disputes over the cause and severity of personal injuries are common in DUI related auto accident lawsuits because it is difficult to contest liability by a drunk driver particularly one that drives unsafely because the driver is impaired. If you are involved in an auto accident caused by a drunk driver in Mississippi, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries including punitive damages. The attorneys at our Lexington based law firm have been fighting for drunk driving victims since 1933.
If you or a close family member has been injured in a Mississippi car accident with a drunk driver, our Mississippi DUI accident attorneys may be able to help. We provide a free case evaluation to evaluate your rights to compensation so call us to see how we can help at (662) 834-2376.