Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving is a frequent and completely preventable cause of car accident injuries and fatalities. If you were a victim in an alcohol-related crash, you should be compensated for your pain and suffering as well as all of the monetary losses that you incurred. The Cape Cod drunk driving accident lawyers at the Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III, have over 150 years of combined experience fighting for people who have suffered injuries due to the fault of others. Our attorneys will aggressively advocate on your behalf in settlement negotiations and at trial to help you recover the compensation that you are rightfully owed. Our knowledge and skill in navigating the Massachusetts legal system has enabled us to obtain several multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients.

If you were injured in a car accident in which the other driver was intoxicated, you likely will have a strong argument that the other driver’s intoxication caused the accident and that he or she is at fault. In Massachusetts, it is illegal for a person to drive with a blood alcohol level above 0.08%. Even if the other driver’s blood alcohol level is below 0.08%, however, if he or she is impaired due to the consumption of alcohol, he or she may still be deemed intoxicated. In some cases, the other driver may attempt to shift blame for the accident and argue that it was caused by weather, road conditions, or some other factor. A skilled attorney can anticipate these defenses, however, and set forth arguments to resist a defendant’s efforts to deny or reduce liability. In the event that the driver was uninsured or underinsured, your attorney can help you pursue compensation through your own insurer under the UM/UIM clause of your policy, assuming that you have this type of coverage.

In addition to pursuing damages from the intoxicated driver who caused your accident, a drunk driving accident attorney on Cape Cod may be able to recover damages from the establishment that served alcohol to the driver. For a bar or restaurant to be held liable for a drunk driving accident, the injured party must show that the bar or restaurant continued to serve alcohol to the person who caused the crash after the person was visibly intoxicated.

Bar and restaurant employees are generally trained to recognize signs of visible intoxication, such as slurring of words, stumbling, swaying, and aggressive behavior, and they must refuse to serve a patron alcohol once these signs are present. Some bars and restaurants have surveillance cameras that record what goes on inside the establishment, and footage from these cameras can offer direct evidence that a person was served alcohol after he or she was intoxicated. Often, however, proving that a bar or restaurant served someone alcohol after he or she was visibly intoxicated will involve circumstantial evidence. A skilled attorney can conduct discovery and engage experts to testify about how many alcoholic beverages the intoxicated driver consumed and when they were consumed, among other critical elements of the claim.

If the intoxicated driver was drinking at a party rather than a bar or restaurant, your Cape Cod drunk driving accident attorney may consider pursuing damages from the person who provided the alcohol under a theory of social host liability. It is more difficult to recover from a social host than a bar or restaurant, however. While there is no law that governs recovery from social hosts, Massachusetts courts have ruled that when a social host knew or should have known that a guest was intoxicated but gave the person alcohol regardless of the intoxication, the host may be liable for any injuries caused by the intoxicated driver. Whether the host knew that the intoxicated individual intended to drive is an important factor in determining whether the host should be held liable. Social host liability is a narrow theory of recovery that hinges on the details of the factual scenario in which the defendant became intoxicated.

The damages recoverable in a drunk driving accident case include the costs of any past medical treatment and reasonably certain future medical treatment, wage loss and loss of future earnings, any damage to your property, and pain and suffering. If you were married at the time of your accident, your spouse may be able to recover damages for the loss of your services and companionship as well. Any personal injury lawsuit arising out of a drunk driving accident must be filed within three years of the accident. Therefore, it is prudent to consult with an experienced attorney as soon as possible after your accident to ensure that you do not waive your right to recover damages.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III consistently obtain favorable outcomes for people injured in drunk driving accidents on the highways or other roads of Massachusetts. We have a thorough understanding of how to approach the complexities of a drunk driving case, and we will work vigorously to recover the damages that you are owed. We have offices in Hyannis and Plymouth, and we can travel to you if you cannot come meet with us. Contact us at 888-262-6664 or via our online form to set up a free consultation. Nos Falamos Portugues.