Indiana Drunk Driving (OWI) Accident Lawyers

Stricter laws, stronger enforcement, and widespread public awareness campaigns have made a notable dent in the rate of drunk driving in the United States (referred to as “operating a vehicle while intoxicated” or OWI in Indiana), with the volume of alcohol-related automotive fatalities decreasing by 44 percent since 1985. But while these trends are encouraging, drunk driving remains a major problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that about 37 Americans die in drunk driving accidents each day – the equivalent of one death every 39 minutes. Moreover, intoxicated driving fatalities went up by 14 percent in 2021, a disturbing development after so many decades of uninterrupted decline.

Sadly, Indiana has not been spared the scourge of drunk driving. Despite the best efforts of local law enforcement agencies, who make one OWI arrest every 11.98 hours, 124 motorists were still killed in alcohol-impaired collisions in Indiana in 2020, representing 14 percent of the state’s traffic fatalities. Even the survivors of drunk driving accidents can be left to deal with punishing injuries that could stretch their finances to the breaking point.

Although compensation may be available if you have been hurt in a drunk driving accident, success is not guaranteed, which is why many place their trust in the tireless car accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

You can schedule a no-cost case review with a knowledgeable Indiana drunk driving accident lawyer by calling or texting us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form now.

Why Drunk Driving Is So Dangerous

You may have been warned about drinking and driving from an early age, maybe even when you were too young to sit in the front seat of the family car, much less drive it. But has anybody ever explained to you why drunk driving is so dangerous?

The reason society is so tough on intoxication behind the wheel is that alcohol can rob you of basically every ability necessary to operate a motor vehicle, including clear thinking and muscle coordination.

The more alcohol your body absorbs, the more it can negatively impact your central nervous system, and even small quantities can make harder to function. The legal threshold for intoxication in Indiana is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent. Yet while 0.08 percent is the legal standard for an OWI in Indiana, studies have revealed sharp drops in visual acuity, attention span, steering skills, and emergency responsiveness in drivers with significantly lower BACs. In fact, the year 2021 claimed 2,266 lives in domestic alcohol-related crashes involving drivers with a BAC between .01 to .07 percent. No matter what you may have been led to believe, the only safe number of drinks to have before climbing into the driver’s seat is no drinks at all, since anything above that amount could lead to tragedy.

Unfortunately, you only have control over your own actions. Even if you sensibly abstain from drinking alcohol whenever it is your turn to drive, drivers who share the road with you may not share your good judgment. But if you find yourself suffering because of others’ misdeeds, you can count on our tenacious Indiana drunk driving accident lawyers to go after the ones who harmed you.

Who Is Responsible for an Indiana Drunk Driving Accident?

Depending on the circumstances, multiple parties could be responsible for an Indiana drunk driving accident.

In addition to the drunk driver and the owner of his or her vehicle (if different from the driver), anyone “furnishing the alcoholic beverage” to the driver might be liable under Indiana’s Dram Shop Act.

Passed in 1986, the Act details the potential civil liability of those who provide alcohol to someone whose intoxication goes on to cause injury. Dram Shop claims are typically brought over drunk driving accidents, although other accidental injuries and even assaults could be grounds for a case.

Unlike comparable laws in many other states, Indiana’s Dram Shop Act permits litigation against both commercial businesses and private citizens who “barter, deliver, sell, exchange, provide, or give away” alcohol contributing to an injury. As such, the defendants might range from bars and restaurants to so-called “social hosts” serving cocktails to guests in their homes – assuming that certain conditions are met.

Specifically, the plaintiff must show that:

1. The party furnishing the alcohol had “actual knowledge” that the party being served was intoxicated. To meet this standard, the plaintiff may have to demonstrate that the defendant actually knew that the individual in question was drunk, not simply that the defendant should have known. To that end, evidence that the intoxicated individual slurred his or her speech, had trouble walking or standing, exhibited hostile or overly emotional behavior, or passed out could be invaluable.
2. The intoxication of the party being served was a “proximate cause” of any resulting injuries. Generally, alcohol may be considered the proximate cause of injuries inflicted at the location where the alcohol was furnished or injuries inflicted shortly after it was furnished.

If both of these elements can be established, a case against the alcohol furnishers may be viable, on top of claims against the car’s driver and/or its owner, among others.

Given how many defendants there might be, it is imperative that you identify and pursue all of them within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. The Statute for drunk driving accidents in Indiana cities like Indianapolis is two years in most instances, though the window can be narrower in cases against the government, with further requirements that might have to be satisfied.

Failure to file a lawsuit or otherwise achieve a resolution before the Statute expires could forever bar you from full recovery – the kind of careless oversight that won’t occur on our watch.

Can an Indiana OWI Charge Affect Your Injury Claim?

As discussed, a drunk driver in Indiana with a BAC of 0.08 percent or more could be charged with an OWI. While a first offense without injury is usually a misdemeanor, a more serious or repeat offense may result in felony charges that could come with the prospect of months or years of jail time, thousands of dollars in fines, and the suspension or revocation of the driver’s license.

Clearly, the consequences of an Indiana OWI charge can be incredibly dire for the driver who gets charged, but it’s important to note that the viability of any personal injury case you might have for the underlying drunk driving accident doesn’t hinge on the viability of the OWI charge.

At heart, you’re alleging that the actions of the intoxicated driver (and maybe the actions of other defendants) caused the crash that caused your injuries. Whether the driver gets convicted or acquitted shouldn’t in and of itself affect your ability to settle or litigate your injury claim, nor should you have to wait for that case to finish before you can get started.

That said, any evidence captured during the OWI investigation could be highly beneficial to your claim, potentially expanding the sorts of damages you might seek (such as punitive damages), and so could a guilty plea. Understandably, a driver’s insurance company would probably have a much tougher time denying liability with a straight face when its insured has already accepted it.

Ultimately, an Indiana drunk driving or OWI personal injury case rises or falls on the strengths of its arguments, and you may be able to strengthen your own case’s arguments and help tip the odds in your favor if you partner with Hensley’s seasoned Indiana drunk driving accident lawyers.

What Our Indiana Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys Can Do

Drunk driving accidents can be physically devastating, fiscally ruinous, and fundamentally infuriating – infuriating because they were the completely avoidable outcomes of the negligence of others, who prioritized their own immediate gratification over the well-being of their neighbors.

You need attorneys who can support you through this trying period and channel your frustration towards more productive ends. You need the Indiana drunk driving accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who are committed to ensuring that everyone enjoys equal access to justice.

If you become one of the many Hoosiers every day who choose to hire Hensley, we will launch a comprehensive investigation into your drunk driving accident and everybody who may be at fault for it, acting swiftly to amass the essential building blocks for your case, such as:

• Police reports
• Citations and dispositions
• Receipts
• Eyewitness statements
• Security videos
• Streetlight and dash cam footage
• Black box data
• Crash scene photos
• Cellphone records
• Driver histories
• Accident reconstruction and forensic analysis

If proof of wrongdoing exists, our Indiana drunk driving accident lawyers won’t stop until they uncover it.

Get Compensated for the Totality of Your Losses

Once we have put together a rock-solid case against all of the defendants, we will negotiate with their insurance companies for a settlement that compensates you for the totality of your losses, including:

• Medical bills
• Lost income
• Pain and suffering
• Psychological and emotional trauma
• Diminished quality of living
• Restricted mobility
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Loss of consortium
• Punitive and wrongful death damages (if applicable)

And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your case, we are more than willing to go to trial for a verdict that is, unlike many of our competitors, who seldom see the inside of a courtroom.

You Won’t Pay Unless We Win

If you are reluctant to agree to more expenditures when you can least afford them, you should know that our firm works on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t have to pay us anything unless we win your case.

An OWI accident with an impaired driver may have turned your world upside down, but Hensley’s Indiana drunk driving accident attorneys will do whatever it takes to set things right again.

Reach Out to Our Indiana Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been advocating for the everyday people of Indiana for more than 25 years. If you are struggling to get your life back to normal after being injured by a drunk driver in Indiana traffic, reach out to our Indiana drunk driving accident lawyers to explore your legal options.

Please call or text us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form today to arrange a free consultation with an accomplished Indiana drunk driving accident attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is a driver considered drunk in Indiana?

The legal threshold for drunk driving in Indiana is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent.

However, studies have shown that those with significantly lower BACs may also suffer sharp drops in visual acuity, attention span, steering skills, and emergency responsiveness, meaning they could still be in legal and physical jeopardy if they get behind the wheel in that condition.

What’s the difference between an OWI and a DUI in Indiana?

There is no fundamental difference between an OWI in Indiana and a DUI, which is the term for drunk driving that is more commonly used in other states.

Basically, a driver whose blood alcohol concentration is over the legal limit in Indiana could be charged with an OWI (“operating a vehicle while intoxicated”) in the same way that an equally drunk driver in another state could be charged with a DUI (“driving under the influence”).

Does the drunk driver’s OWI case have to finish before I file my claim?

The OWI case against the drunk driver who hit you is brought against the driver by the authorities, and it has no real bearing on any civil claim you’d want to bring against the driver.

Consequently, you don’t have to wait for that OWI case to finish before you can file or resolve your claim, and its outcome shouldn’t affect the outcome of your claim either, although some aspects of the OWI case might be helpful when negotiating with the drunk driver’s auto insurer.

Who can be liable for a drunk driving accident?

There are multiple parties who could potentially be liable for an Indiana drunk driving accident, depending upon the circumstances.

Aside from the drunk driver and the owner of his or her vehicle (if separate from the driver), anyone caught “furnishing the alcoholic beverage” to the driver might bear responsibility under the state’s Dram Shop Act.

How long do I have to pursue an Indiana drunk driving (OWI) accident case?

The timeline for pursuing a drunk driving or OWI accident case in Indiana is largely determined by the Statute of Limitations.

The Statute is typically two years for these kinds of cases, but the window can sometimes be narrower, so it may be wise to consult with a knowledgeable Indiana drunk driving accident lawyer sooner rather than later.