Accidents Involving
Intoxicated Truck Drivers
If you or your family have been injured in an accident with
an intoxicated truck driver, you likely wish to seek legal restitution. Unfortunately, even the most “open and shut”
cases can turn into legal nightmares without experienced help.
Cases involving intoxicated truck drivers often have
multiple defendants. Even an accident
involving a sober truck driver can be incredibly complex due to the large
amounts of money involved when dealing with commercial insurance carriers, but
when the driver is intoxicated, the dram shop cause of action often comes into
play.
Dram shop law essentially states that, when an intoxicated
person injures someone else, the establishment that served the intoxicated
person the alcohol might be partially liable. For instance, if a restaurant served an already-intoxicated truck driver
more alcohol and then the truck driver was in an accident, the victim could
file a claim against the restaurant as well as the driver.
These cases are further complicated by a gross negligence
charge. When a driver of a commercial
vehicle knowingly operates that vehicle while intoxicated, the driver is
considered grossly negligent. This fact
may help your case, but only if you have an experienced attorney who knows how
to use it. The attorneys employed by the
defendant’s commercial insurance carrier will do whatever they can to dispute
any claims of gross negligence.
There are even technicalities in place that can make this
exceedingly simple for them. For
instance, some insurance policies are considered null if the holder of the
policy commits an intentional
tort. This
means that you may not be eligible for any money if the defense attorneys
succeed in presenting your case in a particular way.
In other words, you need a team of experienced personal
injury attorneys to make sure your case is seen for what it is. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices in Dallas
have twenty years of experience with cases just like yours. Let us help you make sure your case is
handled fairly and that your damages are covered.
Related articles:
Questions answered in this article:
What is the Dram Shop Act?
Who is responsible: truck driver or the trucking company?