Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is never a good idea. Most people show signs of impairment after only a single drink. Even worse, the impaired driver usually doesn’t realize that their reflexes and perception are worse than normal. When any type of alcoholic impairment results in an accident, innocent victims may be seriously hurt or killed. The Philadelphia drunk driving accidents lawyers at Wapner Newman may be able to help you get compensation after you are injured in a drunk driving crash in Philadelphia.
Damages From a Drunk Driving Accident
How Philadelphia Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys Get You Compensation
Pennsylvania has unusual car insurance rules. While you can always pursue economic damages after a car accident, whether you can pursue non-economic damages depends on what type of insurance you have and how seriously you were injured. To be allowed to pursue any type of damages, though, you must prove that the other party’s negligence resulted in your injuries or the death of your loved one. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to prove in drunk driving cases because drinking before driving is an inherently negligent act. There are a few scenarios that may apply in a drunk driving case:
You Were Moderately Injured and Have Limited Tort Insurance
In this scenario, you are eligible to pursue only economic damages. Economic damages include:
- All medical bills
- Lost wages
- Additional expenses related to your injury (like the costs of medical equipment or transportation costs)
- Therapy costs.
While economic damages are the easiest damages to get, you should still hire a lawyer before pursuing them. To get the highest possible compensation for economic damages, you need to keep meticulous records and know what type of compensation you are eligible to receive. A Philadelphia drunk driving accidents attorney from Wapner Newman can accurately determine the value of your claim and help you preserve the evidence and records you need to prove that value.
You Were Seriously Injured or Have Full Tort Insurance
In either of these situations, you have the right to all of the damages listed above as well as non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are compensation for the pain and suffering you endured due to an injury. Unlike economic damages, there is no definitive way to calculate the value of non-economic damages, and you can’t produce a bill to represent them. If a case goes to trial, a jury determines the value of these damages based on the evidence presented at trial and past precedents. Similarly, a drunk driving accidents lawyer in Philadelphia will use those precedents to negotiate a fair settlement with the insurance company whenever possible.
A Loved One Was Killed in a Drunk Driving Accident
Pennsylvania defines a serious injury as one resulting in death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. The latter two parts of the definition are subjective, and your Philadelphia drunk driving accidents lawyer may need to fight with an insurance company (or in court) to prove an injury meets that definition.
However, death is not subjective. If a closely related loved one dies, you are always eligible to pursue non-economic damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. In addition to the damages mentioned above, when a loved one dies, you can potentially get damages for:
- Loss of companionship
- Lost financial support
- Funeral and burial costs
- Lost potential future income.
Because many of these damages reflect years or even decades of loss, they are often very difficult to calculate. Without an experienced Philadelphia drunk driving accidents attorney determining the value, you are likely to get far less than you should from the insurance company.
Drunk Driving in Pennsylvania
Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a criminal act in Pennsylvania. State law defines the legal limit of alcohol as 0.08 BAC. This means that if someone has 0.08 BAC or higher while driving a vehicle, they can be arrested for drunk driving. However, just because someone with a lower BAC can’t be prosecuted, that doesn’t mean they aren’t liable in civil court.
The standards in civil law are based on negligence, and someone who drinks before driving can be found negligent even if they didn’t exceed the legal limit. If a drunk driving accidents attorney in Philadelphia can show evidence that the other driver was impaired, it shouldn’t matter whether they suffer criminal consequences for their behavior. You should still be able to get compensation for the harm they caused.
Were you seriously injured in a Philadelphia drunk driving crash? Contact a drunk driving accidents lawyer in Philadelphia from Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 to learn about what type of compensation you may be eligible to receive.
How a Philadelphia Drunk Driving Accidents Lawyer Can Help
What to Expect After Suffering a Serious Injury in a Drunk Driving Accident in Philadelphia
The first thing you need to worry about after suffering a serious injury in any type of car accident is getting medical attention. Even if you think your injuries are minor, they may be a lot more serious than you realize. The only way to determine exactly how badly you were hurt is by getting help from a medical professional. Additionally, your Philadelphia drunk driving accidents attorney will need the medical records produced by a medical evaluation to prove that you should get compensation. Without those records, you may get significantly less than the law allows.
Getting prompt medical attention protects your health and your wallet.
Once you are physically safe, you need to consider your financial situation. Between medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses related to the accident, you might find yourself in financial difficulty quickly. Insurance should cover the lion’s share of those expenses and losses, but this will only happen if you fight for your rights. Typically, insurance companies will undervalue claims because they know the rules better than claimants. To counter this, you should contact a drunk driving accidents attorney in Philadelphia as soon as possible. Your lawyer will guide you through the claim process and ensure that you get all of the compensation you are eligible for.
Why Choose Us?
Philadelphia is one of the largest cities in the U.S. This means that you have thousands of law firms to choose from. So why should you choose Wapner Newman? Probably the best reason to choose our law firm is because we get results. Our legal team has obtained hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients from verdicts and settlements.
What is the secret of our success? Experience and devotion to our clients. Every client gets a principal partner assigned to their case. But they aren’t working alone. That partner is supported by the entire law firm. This means that your Philadelphia drunk driving accidents lawyer will have hundreds of years of collective experience to call on. This combined experience allows our legal team to work swiftly and get the results that are best for our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you or a family member was hurt in a drunk driving accident in Philadelphia, you probably have many questions. At Wapner Newman, we believe that you should be as informed as possible. The following are answers to common questions we get about drunk driving crashes.
Can I purchase full tort insurance after an accident and sue for non-economic damages?
No. You must have full tort insurance at the moment you are involved in an accident. If you don’t have it, the only way you can pursue non-economic damages is if you suffered a serious injury according to Pennsylvania law.
Will the other driver always be responsible if they are drunk?
No. The circumstances of the accident still matter. If, for example, you were looking at your phone while driving and that was the primary cause of the accident, you would be partially or mostly responsible for the crash, even though the other driver was drunk.
Will I get more money if I hire a lawyer?
Most likely. Typically, even after attorney’s fees are calculated, injury victims receive more compensation when represented by a lawyer than they do without. During your free consultation, a Philadelphia drunk driving accidents attorney will provide an estimate of how much you are likely to receive.
What happens if you can’t get me money?
If we take a case, it is very rare that we can’t get money for our client. However, if that does happen, we won’t charge you a fee for our services.
If you have any more questions, a drunk driving accidents lawyer at Wapner Newman will answer your questions during your free case evaluation.
Contact Us for Drunk Driving Claims in Philadelphia
One of the worst things about drunk driving accidents is that they are avoidable. No one needs to drive after drinking. You shouldn’t be forced to pay for the poor choices of another.
Want to know how you can get compensation after suffering a serious injury in a drunk driving accident? Contact Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 to schedule a free case evaluation.