Driver Convicted of DUI Manslaughter Files Personal Injury Lawsuit against Victim

Drunk and drugged drivers in Mississippi are responsible for many serious accidents that result in life-altering injuries and even tragic fatalities.  If a driver is injured or a loved one dies in a collision caused by someone driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in Mississippi, a legal claim is often pursued to obtain compensation for one’s injuries or other loss.  However, a new lawsuit filed by a man who pled guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter while operating his vehicle under the influence of drug turns the traditional DUI/DWI personal injury claim on its head.

In a story widely reported in the national media, a man who pled guilty to multiple counts of DUI manslaughter in a drugged driving accident in Florida is now suing the estate of the other driver who died in the collision.  The driver who was convicted of DUI manslaughter has recently been released from prison after serving a few years of his sentence.

The personal injury lawsuit filed by the impaired driver seeks medical expenses, pain and suffering, impaired quality of life and other damages.  Evidence was produced at the impaired driver’s criminal trial that he had Xanax, cocaine and alcohol in his system when he slammed into the accident victim’s vehicle which was stopped at a traffic light.  The lawsuit filed by the drugged driver now alleges that the driver of the other vehicle swerved into the driver’s path.  It is unclear how the driver that rear-ended the other vehicle will refute evidence from the black box of the accident victim’s vehicle that indicates he was stopped at the time of the collision.

While this personal injury lawsuit may seem appalling, the strategy employed is really no more than an extreme case of how drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol defend against lawsuits where they cause injury or wrongful death in a collision.  A common strategy in auto accidents cases is to claim that the drunk or drugged drive did not cause the accident.  If the judge or jury accepts the evidence that the auto accident was caused by the sober driver, the drunk driver may not be liable for the injuries or wrongful death caused by the collision.  Even where the drunk driver contributed to the accident, the other driver may still be found partially at-fault resulting in a reduction in recovery in proportion to the percentage of fault assigned to the plaintiff in the Mississippi personal injury lawsuit.

If you or someone you love has been injured by a driver impaired by drugs or alcohol in a Mississippi auto accident, the experienced DUI personal injury attorneys at Barrett Law provide diligent legal representation to drunk driving victims.  The experienced Mississippi pedestrian accident lawyers at Barrett Law represent our clients with diligence and compassion.  We have built a reputation that has promoted the growth of our law firm throughout Mississippi since our firm was founded over 75 years ago.  The experienced Mississippi pedestrian accident attorneys at Barrett Law have been providing aggressive representation to drunk driving accident victims for over 75 years.  We provide diligent legal representation and impassioned advocacy so we invite you to call us today at 662-834-2376 to learn how we can help.

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Civil Lawsuit Can Provide Justice When Criminal System Fails

While those who drive under the influence of alcohol (DUI) pose a serious risk to others with who they share Mississippi roadways, the criminal justice system is designed to help victims of intoxicated drivers obtain justice.  Unfortunately, the standard of proof in criminal court which is beyond a reasonable doubt can make it hard to obtain such justice.  When the criminal system fails to punish those who engage in the reckless practice of driving while intoxicated, a civil lawsuit can serve multiple functions including punishing the wrongdoer, discouraging similar reckless conduct in the future and obtaining compensation for Mississippi DUI accident victims.

A recent case illustrates the failings of the criminal law system in obtaining justice for accident victims.   A Jackson woman who was involved in a DUI accident that resulted in serious injury to a motorcyclist in 2009 may end up facing no punishment through the criminal justice system.  After two prior attempts to convict her of aggravated DUI (DUI with injury) resulted in a hung jury, the Hinds County District said he doubts the woman will be prosecuted again.  It is important to keep in mind that the burden of proof is extremely high in a criminal case whereas all that must be shown in a civil lawsuit is that it is “more likely than not.”

The accident occurred when the woman allegedly made a left hand turn in front of the motorcyclist.  Two witnesses at the trial indicated that the woman caused the accident when she turned in front of the motorcyclist.  There was also no dispute that the woman was intoxicated.  The woman’s blood alcohol level tested at .13 percent when tested following the accident.  The police officer that investigated the accident concluded from witness statements and investigation of the accident that the woman caused the collision with the motorcycle by failing to yield.

It is important to note that perhaps the woman was not convicted because there was simply insufficient evidence that she was at-fault.  However, the lower standard of proof in a civil case can make a significant difference in outcome.  If the district attorney decides not to retry the defendant, the injury victim who suffered serious injury may bring a civil lawsuit to seek financial compensation for his injuries.  There are many situations where there is not enough evidence to meet the beyond a reasonable doubt standard, but there is enough evidence to meet the lower burden of proof in a personal injury civil lawsuit.

While “monetary justice” may not be as satisfying to the victim of a person who causes injury by engaging in unsafe conduct, a substantial verdict or settlement against a drunken driver may result in some form of punishment and deterrent to such behavior in the future.  It may also provide the vital financial compensation that an injury victim needs in the wake of suffering serious injuries.  The experienced Mississippi personal injury attorneys at Barrett Law have been providing tenacious representation to DUI car accident victims for over 75 years.  We provide diligent legal representation and impassioned advocacy so we invite you to call us today at 662-834-2376 to learn how we can help.

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Litigation of DUI Injury Accident Cases Caused by Legal Medications

While most drivers are very familiar with the term driving under the influence (DUI), this expression most typically conjures images of drivers who have had too much to drink before climbing behind the wheel of their motor vehicle. However, driver impairment may take many forms including drivers that are impaired by the use of prescription medications or even over-the-counter drugs.  Many people falsely assume that if they are taking a drug that is not a narcotic or an illegal street drug they cannot be considered driving under the influence or driving while impaired (DWI).  The determination of whether one is violating DUI/DWI laws while driving with a drug in one system is not based on whether or not the substance may be consumed legally.  If a driver takes a prescription medication or over-the-counter drug that impacts one’s driving, the driver may be liable for injuries or wrongful death caused in an accident.  It is not the legal status of the drug that matters, but its impact on driving ability.

There are many prescription drugs that come with specific warnings not to operate heavy machinery or drive while under their influence. If a driver ignores these warnings and chooses to drive anyway, the driver may be liable if the drug impairs the driver and causes an accident.  Some over-the-counter medications also carry warnings that they may make a driver drowsy or that it is unsafe to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of the drug.  Even medications that are available without prescription may form the basis of liability in a civil lawsuit that arises out of a motor vehicle accident caused by driving while impaired by drugs.

Whether you have taken a prescription medication or an over-the-counter drug, the substance may have a substantial impact on your ability to drive safely.  Some of the most common negative effects on driving ability caused by legal medications include the following:

  • Sluggish reflexes
  • Drowsiness
  • Delayed response time when braking or steering
  • Impaired attention , memory and focus
  • Blurry Vision

Anyone who is taking a medication whether prescribed by doctor or picked up without a prescription in a local grocery store has an obligation to read the packaging of the drug to determine whether it is safe to drive after taking the medication.  While certain types of medications are more likely to impair driving ability, including tranquilizers, muscle relaxers, anxiety medication and sleeping pills, the best practice is always to check the labeling of any new medication or ask the pharmacist about whether or not the medication may impair your ability to drive safely.

Our experienced Mississippi DUI drugs attorneys aggressively pursue the best possible outcome on behalf of victims who are injured in accidents involving impaired drivers. These cases are more challenging to litigate than DUI case involving alcohol.  Mississippi’s “per se” DUI law provides that any driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or above is over the legal limit regardless of whether or not one’s driving ability is actually impacted.  There is no corresponding “per se” law for DUI offenses involving legal or illegal drugs.  This means that our experienced DUI drugs accident attorneys must carefully investigate an accident and erratic driving by the other driver to establish impairment.  Sometimes the nature of the accident may provide critical evidence, such as where a driver falls asleep at the wheel or blows through a red light.  Where impairment is not established by specific behavior of the other driver that caused the accident, we may use experts to testify on what impact a particular dosage of a drug would have had on driving ability.

If you are injured in a Mississippi car accident with a driver impaired by drugs, our experienced DUI accident injury attorneys may be able to help you seek the compensation you need to compensate you for your injuries.  We invite you to contact Barrett Law so that we can evaluate your Mississippi car accident claim and advise you of your rights and options.  Call us at 662-834-2376.

No Recovery No Fee!

 

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DUI Sobriety Checkpoints Preventing Drunken Driving Car Accidents in Mississippi

Those who drive under the influence of alcohol continue to account for an unacceptable number of serious accidents resulting in injury and death to other innocent vehicle occupants.  The average number of DUI fatalities in Mississippi exceeds the national average.  The number of motor vehicle related fatalities caused by drunk drivers has lingered at approximately 35 percent in recent years.  Mississippi ranks much lower when the number of DUI accidents per number of miles driven is factored into the calculation. This substantial risk of being involved in a serious car accident with a driver under the influence of alcohol makes the use of sobriety checkpoints an important countermeasure for vehicle safety in Mississippi.

There are a great number of critics that believed DUI sobriety checkpoints have limited effectiveness in preventing alcohol related car accidents.  Critics of sobriety checkpoints contend that relatively few drunk drivers are actually arrested for DUI at a sobriety checkpoint.  Those who believe that sobriety checkpoints are an effective countermeasure to prevent DUI fatalities counter that the key benefit of a DUI sobriety checkpoint is that it acts as a deterrent to potential drunk drivers.  It is probably reasonable to assume that DUI sobriety checkpoints serve as a deterrent to moderate and social drinkers but probably have minimal impact on habitual drinkers.

Critics of sobriety checkpoints claim that less than two percent of drivers that pass through sobriety checkpoints are actually arrested for DUI.  This contention is misleading for a couple of reasons.  First, the purpose of DUI checkpoints is not to arrest drunken drivers but rather to encourage those who might otherwise choose to drive while intoxicated to make alternative arrangements if they will be drinking.  Second, given the millions of people that pass through DUI sobriety checkpoints, even a small percentage of DUI arrests amount to tens of thousands of drivers under the influence that are removed from roadways.

Another key factor that is rarely considered when the effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints is analyzed is that many motorists removed from the road do not have a valid driver’s license.  Drivers who are operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license may never have satisfied the requirements to attain a driver’s license or may have had their driver’s license privileges suspended or revoked because of accidents, traffic violations or DUI convictions.  When considering the effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints, the reality that a substantial number of the motorists removed from the road are driving without a valid license must also be considered part of the safety benefits of sobriety checkpoints in Mississippi. While checking to see if drivers have a valid license cannot be the focus of the sobriety checkpoint, it is a secondary benefit.

While it is debatable whether the economics of sobriety checkpoints make them the most cost-effective means of preventing drunken driving accidents in Mississippi, there can be little doubt that many drivers are removed from the road for both driving under the influence and driving without a license, which makes  the roads of Mississippi safer.  If you have been injured in a Mississippi car accident with a drunken driver, the experienced Mississippi DUI car accident attorneys at Barrett Law diligently represent DUI accident victims throughout the state so call us today at 662-834-2376 to see how we can help.

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$11.8 Million Verdict in Drunk Driving Accident Lawsuit Reveals Valuable Lessons

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.

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Understanding Liability of Bars for Mississippi Drunk Driving Accidents

Most states including Mississippi have dram shop laws that provide limited immunity from liability for auto accidents caused by patrons of bars and restaurants.  Some states also impose liability under similar circumstances on social hosts, but Mississippi is not one of those states.  These laws also impose liability in particular circumstances on those who furnish alcohol to drivers who are subsequently involved in drunk driving accidents.  The Mississippi dram shop law imposes liability on bars, restaurants and other businesses that serve alcohol to drivers who are visibly intoxicated or underage.  A recent Mississippi appellate case Robinson Prop. Group, Ltd. P’ship v. McCalman, 2011 Miss. LEXIS 19 (Miss. Jan. 13, 2011) provides insight into the complex factual inquiry that may be involved under the Mississippi dram shop law.

In McCalman, the defendant was a casino in wrongful death lawsuit brought on behalf of two passengers in a car that died when a drunk driver struck the car. The trial court held that the casino was liable because the drunk driver had been served alcohol at the casino before the car accident.  The appellate court analyzed the trial court’s imposition of liability on the casino under Mississippi’s Dram Shop Act, Miss. Code Ann. 67-3-73(4) (2005) that required proof that it served alcohol to the driver when he was visibly intoxicated.

Although the casino presented evidence that it had trained personnel who would have detected the driver’s intoxication, the casino was busy before the driver left the casino.  The heirs’ of the Mississippi wrongful death victim provided testimony from an expert witness who offered an opinion that the driver’s blood alcohol content was high enough that trained personnel should have spotted his intoxication.  The casino’s expert also acknowledged that the driver would have been intoxicated within the half-hour after he left the casino.

Mississippi’s statute commonly called the Dram Shop Act, according to its title, provides immunity from liability of persons who lawfully furnished or sold intoxicating beverages to one causing damage.  The statute includes the exception that the limitation of liability provided by this section shall not apply to any holder of an alcoholic beverage, beer or light wine permit, or any agent or employee of such holder when it is shown that the person making a purchase of an alcoholic beverage was at the time of such purchase visibly intoxicated. Miss. Code Ann. 67-3-73(4) (2005), Robinson Prop. Group, Ltd. P’ship v. McCalman, 2011 Miss. LEXIS 19 (Miss. Jan. 13, 2011).

In McCalman, the driver was visibly intoxicated when the alcohol was purchased so liability against the casino was imposed under Mississippi’s dram shop act. For bar owners, this means that serving alcohol to a drunken person who then drives will expose the bar to negligence damages if there is in a Mississippi car accident resulting in injuries or wrongful death.  This case also reveals that the specific facts of the case are important in establishing that the driver whose intoxication causes a Mississippi accident was “visibly intoxicated.”  Both sides in this case employed expert testimony, which is common in dram shop cases.  Other evidence that may establish that a drunk driver was served when visibly intoxicated includes testimony of serving staff, surveillance video footage, credit card statements or bar receipts and other similar evidence.

If you or a loved one is injured or you have suffered the loss of a loved one to a drunk driver in Mississippi, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries or loss.  The compassionate and dedicated attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC represent victims of Mississippi drunk driving accidents throughout the state.  Our law firm roots date back over 75 years in representing those who are injured or killed by the negligence of others.  A Mississippi accident attorney from our law firm can provide a free initial case evaluation when you call (662) 834-2376.

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Challenges in DUI Drugs Auto Accident Lawsuit

When people take prescription drugs and drive, they probably do not think that they are doing anything wrong. The truth is many prescription drugs can heavily distort a person’s judgement and reflexes and inhibit their ability to drive.  This increases the chance of them causing an auto accident while they are driving on Mississippi roadways.  Most people are very aware of the danger of accidents posed by drunk drivers but do not give much thought to the high numbers of car accidents caused by drivers who commit DUI while under the influence of drugs (called “DUI drugs” or DUID).

If a driver is in an accident and police believe the driver is impaired, they may request the driver take a breath test.  If the driver’s blood alcohol level (BAC) is below 0.5%, the police may ask that the driver take a blood test assuming that the driver did not test with a higher BAC because he or she is impaired by drugs that do not show up in a breath test.  Someone who is under the influence of drugs, whether illegal narcotics or prescription drugs poses a significant risk of causing a serious car accident.  Depending on the drug, the driver may suffer any of the following:

  • Impaired judgment
  • Distorted vision
  • Sleepiness
  • Inhibited motor skills
  • Ineffective decision-making
  • Slowed reaction time

While it is easy for a driver who is using drugs to cause a car accident, these cases pose special challenges to Mississippi car accident victims.  Unlike drunk driving cases, there is no “per se” type offense where a person is considered impaired based on a certain amount of the substance in one’s system.  A drunk driver is deemed to be impaired if the driver’s blood alcohol is .08 percent or above.  A DUI accident caused by intoxication with drugs requires providing evidence that the driver was actually driving unsafely as evidence of impairment, or the use of expert testimony regarding what the impact would be of the amount of a particular substance in a driver’s blood.  Generally, the fact the driver was in an accident may provide evidence of impaired driving but the point is that there is no specific amount of a substance in a driver’s system that automatically indicates the driver was impaired.

Another major challenge in proving drug impairment as the cause of a Mississippi car accident is the length of time drugs remain in the body.  A breath test will not detect drugs so a blood or urine test must be used.  The problem is that many drugs remain in the body for weeks or months after they have been ingested.  The attorney for the other driver’s insurance company may contend that the blood test results simply reveal prior drug use not intoxication at the time of the accident.

Where the drug that caused the accident is a prescription, the challenges can be compounded.  The injury victim faces the same issues in trying to prove that enough of the drug was present in the driver’s system to impact his or her driving.  The driver may claim that no warning was received or understood about the medication making it unsafe to drive.  This claim can be refuted by evidence that the bottle carried a warning that it was not safe to drive while taking the medication.

Despite these challenges in proving the negligence of a driver who is under the influence of drugs, you may be entitled to not only compensatory damages but also punitive damages if you prevail.  It is not uncommon for a jury to punish a driver who causes serious injury or wrongful death by operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a prescription or illegal drug.

If you have been injured in an auto accident involving a drug-impaired driver, then you should contact a Mississippi car accident attorney to discuss your right to compensation for your injuries.  We have been representing Mississippi car accident victims for over 75 years.  Our law firm offers a free initial case evaluation so call us today at (662) 834-2376.

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