Should I Get a Muncie Car Accident Lawyer After a Drunk Driving Accident?

September 23, 2024

Drunk driving remains a major concern in Muncie and other cities throughout Indiana, where law enforcement makes a DUI arrest every 11.98 hours. Fortunately, you might be eligible to seek compensation if you get hurt by a drunk driver in the Muncie area, and your chances of success could improve dramatically with skilled legal assistance. Join us as we explain how a knowledgeable attorney can help if you are wondering “Should I get a Muncie car accident lawyer after a drunk driving accident?”

The Challenge of Identifying Everyone at Fault

While you are certainly entitled to handle your own case, you could soon run into trouble when you try to identify everyone at fault for your car accident, a task that could pose a significant challenge in collisions involving the use of alcohol.

While the driver who hit you and the owner of his or her vehicle (if separate from the driver) could obviously be liable, just as they would be in any other type of Muncie car accident, you may be able to pursue an additional avenue of recovery thanks to Indiana’s Dram Shop Act. First passed in 1986, the Act permits the victim of an intoxicated driver to go after anyone “furnishing the alcoholic beverage” that led to the driver’s intoxication.

Various parties could qualify as defendants in a Dram Shop claim, ranging from traditional commercial establishments like bars and nightclubs to “social hosts” providing cocktails to guests in private homes. While litigation of this nature could greatly expand how much you might receive in the wake of a drunk driving accident, there are critical obstacles that you will have to overcome for your Dram Shop claim to be valid. Aside from demonstrating that the defendant served alcohol to the intoxicated driver, you must show that:

The defendant had “actual knowledge” that the driver was intoxicated; and
The resultant intoxication was a “proximate cause” of any injuries you incurred.

Satisfying these conditions could require a deep familiarity with investigative techniques as well as state and local regulations that a novice plaintiff like you might not possess. And if you neglect to take action against everyone to blame for your drunk driving accident within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations, you could be prevented from ever acquiring the funds you need to become whole again.

A Muncie Car Accident Attorney Can Make a Difference

This is where a Muncie car accident attorney can make a difference. A veteran lawyer will have the experience necessary to track down everyone who hurt you, ensuring that a careless oversight will never block your path to justice.

What can you expect if you hire an attorney? Your lawyer will begin by launching a comprehensive investigation into your drunk driving accident, then establish valid claims against all of the individuals and entities who contributed to it, sending them formal notification in writing and alerting their insurance companies. If the situation demands it, a lawsuit could also be filed in a court with the authority to issue a binding judgment.

Next, your attorney will amass the materials to support your claim, such as:

Police reports

Citations and dispositions

Eyewitness accounts

Crash scene photos

Dash cam, traffic light, and surveillance footage

Black box data

Phone records

Driving histories

Accident reconstruction and forensic analysis

Once a rock-solid case has been assembled, your Muncie car accident lawyer will work tirelessly to get you compensated for the totality of your damages, which might include your:

Past, present, and future medical bills

Lost wages

Reduced earning capacity

Pain and suffering

Mental and emotional trauma

Diminished quality of living

Mobility restrictions

Loss of consortium

Punitive damages (if applicable)

When confronted with compelling evidence of your losses and the insured’s guilt, an insurance adjuster may be convinced to tender a healthy settlement rather than risk a worse verdict at trial. This is a key reason why injured people with attorneys walk away with 3.5 times more on average than injured people without them.

Though most Muncie car accident cases are resolved outside of the courtroom, sometimes a trial may be unavoidable. If that happens, a seasoned litigator will become even more essential, since plaintiffs who represent themselves in court lose about 96 percent of their cases, whereas plaintiffs with professional representation are statistically favored to win.

Turn to Our Dedicated Muncie Car Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been advocating for the seriously injured since 1998. If a drunk driver has knocked your life off course, turn to our dedicated Muncie car accident lawyers to discover the remedies that may be available to you.

For a free case review with an accomplished Muncie car accident attorney, please call or text us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now.