Practical Advice About Drunk Driving Accident Claims
Collecting the damages caused by a drunk driver can be more complicated than it seems like it should be, especially when a DUI arrest or conviction strengthens your negligence claims against the other driver. It can get even more complicated if the drunk driver left the scene of the accident or carried little or no liability coverage.
For dependable advice and practical solutions in drunk driving accidents, contact a knowledgeable personal injury attorney at Clark & Williams in Brunswick. Our law firm advises people in Georgia, South Carolina and northeast Florida about the best ways to resolve alcohol-related accident claims.
Call 877.284.5932 for a free consultation about your legal options
Although every situation is different, drunk driving accidents in general have a number of distinctive features:
- Serious or fatal injuries due to the drunk driver's reduced ability to avoid impact
- Possible award of punitive damages to supplement your actual damages — but insurance won't cover punitive damages
- Reduced likelihood that the drunk driver has enough insurance to meet the full range of your car accident losses
- Higher frequency of claims against unlicensed or uninsured drivers
- Greater possibility that you'll need to look to your own insurer under your uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage
Proving liability against the intoxicated driver isn't usually the main problem in a drunk driving accident. Instead, the real challenge often involves collecting the damages that you have coming, either against the drunk driver, his or her insurer, or your own insurance company.
Recent changes in Georgia insurance law make it possible to collect damages up to the limits of the other driver's coverage, then proceed under your own underinsured motorist benefits for the losses that aren't covered, up to your UM/UIM coverage limits. To take advantage of these so-called stacking benefits, however, they need to be included in your policy, or you need to take certain steps to protect your rights.
At Clark & Williams, our lawyers work hard on behalf of accident victims to recover as much compensation as possible from all available sources. For a free consultation about the ways you can benefit from our experience with drunk driving accidents, contact our office in Brunswick.
