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Being struck by a drunk driver can turn your life upside down in an instant, leading to devastating injuries, emotional trauma, and mounting medical bills that can overwhelm even the most financially secure individuals. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a drunk driving accident in Washington, DC, you need to understand your legal rights and the steps necessary to protect your future. The physical pain and emotional distress are often compounded by lost wages, ongoing rehabilitation costs, and the challenge of insurance claims.
Many victims feel overwhelmed and unsure where to turn, especially when facing pressure from insurance companies to accept quick settlements that may not fully cover their long-term needs. Taking immediate action by consulting with a DC drunk driving accident lawyer at Regan Zambri Long for a free consultation can help ensure your rights are protected and you receive the full compensation you deserve for your injuries and losses.
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Unfortunately, according to the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, around 20% of the fatal accidents in Washington, DC in 2021 involve drugs and/or alcohol. Worse, a DUI arrest occurs approximately every 38 minutes in the DC region.
If you suffered serious injuries in a drunk driving accident in Washington, DC, having an experienced DC car accident lawyer on your side can help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Call or email the car accident injury team at Regan Zambri Long today for a free consultation.
Drunk drivers can engage in a number of dangerous behaviors, increasing the risk of an accident for others around them. In fact, even at a low level of inebriation, drivers may start to exercise poor judgment and make dangerous decisions, such as pulling across multiple lanes of traffic to speeding, slamming on the brakes, as well as driving erratically. All of which may make it difficult for other drivers to predict their next actions or to avoid them on the road.
Drunk drivers may also suffer from slowed reflexes. This can make it more difficult for them to react if they end up in a dangerous scenario. Additionally, at high levels of inebriation, drivers may struggle to see clearly. They may suffer from tunnel vision or blurred vision. Both of which can make it unsafe to operate a motor vehicle.
All of those factors combine to create an extremely serious crash. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is reckless and negligent. When a drunk driver causes an accident and injures someone else as a result, they must be held accountable for their actions. A drunk driving accident lawyer at Regan Zambri Long can help ensure that the at-fault party pays for the harm you have suffered as a result of their recklessness.
Compensation for injuries sustained in a drunk driving accident usually falls into several clear categories.
Drunk drivers do not pay their victims’ medical bills directly. Instead, the driver’s insurance company may bear liability for providing compensation for the victim’s medical expenses. Drunk driving accidents often cause more severe injuries than other types of car accidents. Since drinking and driving can interfere substantially with the driver’s response times and make it more difficult for the drunk driver to control his vehicle, which may result in greater force in the accident.
Every day, around 28 people in the United States die in drunk driving accidents, which equates to one person every 52 minutes. Others may suffer severe injuries, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, as well as the loss of a limb. Even if you suffered more minor injuries, including broken bones, however, you may still have a long road to recovery ahead of you.
Drunk driving accident bills can add up fast, including the cost of:
Keep track of all medical bills related to your drunk driving accident.
The severe injuries often associated with a drunk driving accident can make it difficult for victims to get back to work immediately. If you have multiple broken bones, you may need help getting around and taking care of basic self-care tasks after the accident, much less managing your usual work responsibilities.
If you suffer more serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury or amputation, it may take a long time before you can get back to work. Those lost wages, especially during a period when you may already have multiple medical bills to contend with, can cause immense financial hardship. As part of your personal injury claim after a drunk driving accident, you may have grounds to claim compensation for those lost wages.
In addition to your tangible financial losses, you may have the right to claim compensation for pain and suffering related to your drunk driving accident. An attorney can help you understand how your nontangible losses, including the physical pain you may suffer, emotional anguish related to your injuries or limitations, as well as the losses you face due to your drunk driving accident, can factor into your personal injury claim.
Most of the time, when a drunk driver causes an accident, the drunk driver’s insurance will pay out the compensation you deserve as part of a personal injury claim. Punitive damages, however, get paid directly by the drunk driver.
In DC, most drunk driving accident victims do not receive punitive damages as part of their personal injury claims. Maryland law, in general, does not allow for punitive damages due to the negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Virginia law, on the other hand, may assign punitive damages to a drunk driver; however, this can be a rare occurrence.
If you suffered serious injuries in a drunk driving accident, Regan Zambri Long can help you understand how much compensation you deserve. We also help our clients aggressively seek the compensation they deserve.
In the past, we have helped other clients pursue highly successful claims related to drunk driving accidents, including:
We have also helped many car accident victims obtain successful resolutions to their personal injury claims. Learn more about our past cases and how we have aided our clients in seeking the compensation they deserve. Note that these results do not guarantee the results you will receive for your car accident claim.
We have also helped many car accident victims obtain successful resolutions to their personal injury claims. Check out our extensive case results. Learn more about our past cases and how we have aided our clients in seeking the compensation they deserve. Note that these results do not guarantee the results you will receive for your drunk driving accident claim. The experienced, committed team of attorneys at Regan Zambri Long aims to help each client achieve the best possible resolution for their claim. We:
Do you know how much compensation you really deserve from your drunk driving accident? All too often, insurance companies will try to take advantage of people who do not understand their legal rights, and do not know how much compensation they should really expect after a drunk driving accident. In fact, they may get in touch with you shortly after your accident to offer you what sounds like a great settlement. Take it, however, and you may later discover that you should have received far more compensation for your injuries or your losses.
At Regan Zambri Long, we work to provide our clients with a solid understanding of the compensation they deserve. When you connect with the insurance company that covers the drunk driver, you should know your rights. And we work hard with our clients to provide them with that critical knowledge.
Do you know how much compensation you really deserve from your drunk driving accident? All too often, insurance companies will try to take advantage of people who do not understand their legal rights and do not know how much compensation they should really expect after a drunk driving accident. In fact, they may get in touch with you shortly after your accident to offer you what sounds like a great settlement. Take it, however, and you may later discover that you should have received far more compensation for your injuries or your losses.
At Regan Zambri Long, we work to provide our clients with a solid understanding of the compensation they deserve. When you connect with the insurance company that covers the drunk driver, you should know your rights. And we work hard with our clients to provide them with that critical knowledge.
Dealing with an insurance company over a drunk driving accident settlement can leave anyone feeling stressed, out of sorts, and ready to give up. Fortunately, you do not have to handle those negotiations on your own. At Regan Zambri Long, we can take over negotiations with the insurance company on behalf of our clients. This can free you up to focus on your recovery instead of worrying about unnecessary pressure from the insurance company.
Not only can insurance companies try to convince you that you deserve a lower settlement than initially anticipated. But they may also try to reduce their financial liability by attempting to show that you, rather than the drunk driver, caused your accident. The insurance company may even try to simply prove that you contributed to the accident. This could leave you liable for your own damages.
According to Washington, DC’s contributory negligence law, you may not have the right to recover full damages for your injuries if you contributed substantially to the drunk driving accident, in spite of the other driver’s clear act of negligence.
At Regan Zambri Long, we carefully investigate our clients’ claims to determine all factors that may have contributed to the accident and how much compensation you really deserve. We will help uncover the real cause of your accident and help our clients maximize the compensation they can seek through the other driver’s insurance company. In addition, we will investigate as well as help document the full extent of your injuries and the limitations stemming from your accident. Making it easier to determine the compensation you should expect as a result of those injuries.
Most drunk driving accident claims settle out of court. Insurance companies know that going to court can substantially increase their legal fees, and the time their team has to spend dealing with a drunk driving accident claim. So they try to settle out of court whenever possible. In some cases, however, you may need to go to court. Especially if you need to prove that you did not cause your accident or that your injuries impose much more severe limitations than the other driver’s insurance company claims.
The car accident lawyers at Regan Zambri Long are ready to represent our clients in court if necessary, from delivering a clear case that will establish the compensation our clients deserve to determinedly pursue the compensation our clients deserve.
According to Washington, DC law, if you are driving with a blood alcohol content that is .08 percent or higher, you will be charged for driving while under the influence. In other words, a BAC of .08 is approximately four to five drinks, depending on the size of individual and how their body can process alcohol.
Additionally, if you are under 21 and have a BAC of .02 percent or higher or a commercial driver with a BAC of .04 percent above, you will be arrested for DUI.
Washington, DC has clear dram shop laws under the Restaurant Revitalization and Dram Shop Clarification Amendment Act of 2024. These laws allow injured people to sue businesses that serve alcohol irresponsibly when that service leads to injuries.
Under DC law, a bar or restaurant can be held liable when they:
For example, if a bar continues serving someone who is slurring their words or stumbling, and that person later causes a drunk driving accident, both the driver and the establishment can be held responsible for the resulting injuries.
This law protects the public by holding businesses accountable when they put profits ahead of safety by overserving alcohol. However, you must file your claim within specific time limits – three years for personal injury cases and two years for wrongful death claims.
Because of contributory negligence laws, if the injured party was also the drunk driver, they will not be able to recover any compensation, no matter how severe their injuries may be.
In normal circumstances, if you are a passenger involved in a car accident, you would be able to file a claim for your injuries with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Yet, it may be a little more complicated in a drunk driving crash.
If the passenger knew that the driver was drunk at the time of the accident, they may be found partially at fault and their claim could be dismissed. However, there are factors that could affect the outcome, such as:
If you were a passenger in a drunk driving accident, your first step is to speak with a qualified drunk driving accident attorney from Regan Zambri Long to learn what options are available to you.
Your first step is to make sure everyone in your vehicle is ok. Try to move to safety if you are able to and call 911 to let them know about the accident and injuries that were sustained.
Next, try to gather as much information as you can from the scene. Get photos of the scene and of the damage to the vehicles. Get the contact information from the other drivers and any passengers involved. And finally, speak with any witnesses and get their contact information.
When emergency services arrive, give a brief statement then go to the hospital. Even if you don’t think you were injured in the accident, it’s best to get checked out.
Finally, call Regan Zambri Long for help with the claim process. Our attorneys can explain what your legal options are and speak with the insurance company on your behalf.
If you suffered serious injury as a result of a drunk driver’s dangerous actions, you deserve compensation for your injuries. The experienced attorneys at Regan Zambri Long can help you better understand your legal rights, including your right to compensation.
Our attorneys have years of experience dealing with a wide range of personal injury claims, including drunk driving car accident claims. Your rights after a drunk driving accident are very similar to your rights after any type of car accident. The leading attorneys at Regan Zambri Long can help you take a look at those rights.
Contact Regan Zambri Long today to learn more about your right to compensation after a drunk driving accident.
