A Virginia Beach, VA, Personal Injury Attorney’s Advice About Accidents With Injuries Involving Drunk Drivers
I frequently represent people who were hit on the road in Virginia Beach or elsewhere in Hampton Roads by drunk drivers. In fact, I recently met with a client who was rear-ended by a drunk driver who happened to be an off duty police officer. Nobody should drink and drive but especially not people in law enforcement and safety officials who should really know better.
The main thing that makes drunk driver cause accidents even stronger cases than regular traffic accidents is what’s called punitive damages. Under Virginia law you are entitled to full and fair compensation anytime you are hurt on the road by a driver who has been careless in causing the wreck. If the at-fault driver was more than just careless but actually consciously disregarded other people’s safety including driving while intoxicated then the law allows for punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer for their extreme reckless conduct.
As to drunk drivers, there’s a Virginia law that says if the drunk driver refuses to take the blood and alcohol testing, that can give rise to nearly automatic punitive damages. If the drunk driver has a blood alcohol test of over 0.15, which is approximately twice the legal limit for intoxication, then punitive damages may also apply. However, in order to get punitive damages you typically need to have an experienced car accident attorney who knows how to establish the toxicology to prove just how drunk the person was at the time of the accident, and to show that they knew or should have known that they were endangering others by getting on the road.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by the reckless driving of a drunk or drugged driver please give the experienced car accident attorneys at Cooper Hurley a call as we know how to prosecute these cases and to try and get you maximum compensation.
The Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley, handles automobile, truck, and motorcycle injuries as well as wrongful death, railroad injury cases and medical malpractice. John Cooper and Jim Hurley have more than 40 years of combined experience in specializing in auto injury as well as other accident claims. Attorney John Cooper has been named to Virginia “Super Lawyers” since 2010. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA, and always put the best interests of our clients first. The firm is recognized by other lawyers as “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, a national attorney rating service, for our top level of legal skill and highest ethical standards. Our motto is: “Your Injury. Our fight.” If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us at (757) 455 -0077 or contact us through this website.
