If you were injured by a drunk driver in North Carolina, you have the right under state law to receive compensation for your injuries from both the drunk driver and any person or business that served them alcohol. The experienced drunk driving accident lawyers at Counsel Carolina Injury Law can help.
Our personal injury law firm serves all of North Carolina. From our offices in Hickory and Raleigh, there is a drunk driver accident lawyer near you ready to assist, whether you live in North Carolina or were passing through.
With more than 70 years of combined experience, our North Carolina DUI accident lawyers deliver more.
Under North Carolina law, NCGS section 20-138.1 prohibits a motorist from operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an impairing substance or where the driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08 or more. Depending on the person, that could be as little as 2-3 drinks in the span of a couple hours.
Under North Carolina law, it is illegal for a business to sell alcohol to a person who is visibly intoxicated or to a minor. If a business violates this law and sells alcohol to an intoxicated person who subsequently causes injury or damage, the business may be held liable for damages under the state’s dram shop liability laws.
Overall, North Carolina’s dram shop liability laws are designed to hold businesses accountable for the sale of alcohol to intoxicated individuals and to provide a means for victims to recover damages for injuries and damage caused by such individuals. It is important for businesses that sell alcohol to be aware of these laws and to take steps to ensure that they are in compliance with them in order to avoid potential liability.
Hiring an attorney at Counsel Carolina Injury Law after a drunk driving accident can provide numerous benefits. DUI accident and dram shop lawyers know how to conduct initial investigations and save important evidence (before it could be destroyed) that might be needed for your case. We work with experts, law enforcement, and first responders to prove what happened in your accident. We can also assist with getting you appropriate medical care and treatment.
If you’re injured by a drunk driver, it isn’t always clear if the driver was drinking alcohol at a business, friend’s house, or at home before the accident. Drunk drivers will often lie about where they drank alcohol to try and avoid further punishment. Special investigations are often needed to find everyone responsible for the accident, including the business or person that served or sold alcohol to the drunk driver. Experienced DUI accident lawyers, like our firm, know how to do this.
Drunk driving accident liability in North Carolina is determined by the state’s laws and regulations, which outline the rules and guidelines for determining who is responsible for damages and injuries resulting from a drunk driving accident.
According to North Carolina’s laws, the driver who is found to be at fault for the accident is responsible for any damages or injuries that occur as a result of the accident. This includes medical bills, property damages, and other costs related to the drunk driving accident.
In general, here’s what the drunk driving accident claim process could look like:
Knowing what to do after being injured in a drunk driver accident can be overwhelming. Here are our professional answers to some common questions our drunk driving accident lawyers hear.
The initial moments and days after your drunk driving accident are critical, not only for your well-being but for your chances for compensation, as well. These are the most important steps to take after your injury accident:
Determining the average settlement for a drunk driving accident claim is difficult because there are so many different types and severity of injuries. In North Carolina, according to statewide statistics, car accident cases settle for an average of $25,700, but a number of facts go into the value of a case. Those include:
However, cases may settle for more than the average when one of our Raleigh drunk driving accident injury lawyers is on your side. Settlements involving drunk drivers are typically much more than an average car wreck can because drunk driving accidents involve punitive damages. Punitive damages are a way to punish a drunk driver for their dangerous behavior and conduct. That can be tens of thousands of dollars (or more) extra in settlement compensation.
Dram shop liability refers to the legal responsibility of a business that sells alcohol to a person who subsequently causes injury or damage while under the influence of alcohol. In North Carolina, dram shop liability laws are governed by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Act.
Dram shop laws apply to serving alcohol to a person who should not have been served. They apply in two situations. The first is where North Carolina law makes it illegal to knowingly sell or serve an intoxicated person any alcoholic drink who then causes a dram shop drunk driving accident (NCGS section 18B-305). The second is where a vendor sells an alcohol drink to an underaged person who causes an accident (NCGS section 18B-121).
Both of these laws apply to businesses and establishments that sell or serve alcohol, including:
Although some of the liability for drunk driving cases will fall on the drunk driver or the owner of the vehicle, the business or person who over-serves the drunk driver under North Carolina’s dram shop laws can also be found liable. This type of liability is in addition to — not in the place of — the liability against the drunk driver. That means a victim may be entitled to hold the drunk driver, the owner of the vehicle, and the establishment (or social host) that served the alcohol accountable for a drunk driving accident.
The reason for investigating dram shop liability in a drunk driving accident is for two important reasons. First, it is to hold businesses liable who are creating dangerous situations on our roadways. These establishments are making money and getting a benefit from serving marked-up alcoholic drinks, and they should not be able to profit off the harm they can cause to others. They owe duties to the public to serve alcohol safely and prevent drunk driving accidents.
Second, it is important to expand the amount of possible insurance coverage/compensation that a victim may recover. Most bars or restaurants have much higher insurance policies for negligent accidents than a private individual (drunk driver). In most cases, the victim of a drunk driving accident is seriously injured. So bringing claims against the establishment or person that served alcohol to the drunk driver allows the drunk driving accident victim to recover the full amount of coverage that he or she may be entitled to under North Carolina law.
A victim who is injured by a drunk driver who was over-served may be entitled to seek compensation for his or her injuries from the business that over-served the drunk driver. In order to recover damages, a victim will need to establish that the business knew or should have known that the drunk driver was intoxicated when they served them. Experienced dram shop attorneys are able to prove that in a number of ways:
