What Victims of Impaired Driving Need to Know: Your Rights, Your Recovery, and Why Early Legal Help Matters.

An impaired driving crash is often a sudden, violent, and life-changing moment. In the minutes, days, and weeks after the crash, victims can be left feeling overwhelmed – managing the stressors of medical treatment, lost work, insurance calls, police investigations, and the pressure of trying to put life back together.

As a victim, you have important civil and criminal rights, and the early steps you take (or don’t take) can affect your health, your rights, and your ability to recover damages from the impaired driver who hit you.

Criminal Rights

An impaired driver will be prosecuted by the State in criminal court for operating under the influence (OUI/DUI). As a victim, you have:

• The right to be informed about court proceedings.
• The right to make a victim-impact statement.
• The right to request restitution for certain out-of-pocket losses.
• The right to have your safety considered in bail and sentencing decisions.

The criminal case involves the State holding the offender accountable under our criminal laws.

Civil Rights

Separately, you have the right to bring a bodily injury claim in civil court to recover for:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Permanent injuries or scarring
• Long-term care needs
• Property damage

* Importantly, in Connecticut, OUI/DUI is considered reckless. In addition to the above damages, our civil laws also provide for a victim’s right to recover punitive damages.

In short, the state’s role in a criminal prosecution is to pursue a just punishment and deter future crime. The State is not responsible for advocating for a victim’s financial recovery. To recover money damages, a victim should retain an injury attorney to pursue recourse in civil court.

It is Important to Seek Immediate Medical Attention

Trauma doesn’t always appear readily apparent after a serious crash. The onset of certain injuries, such as concussions, internal trauma, and soft-tissue damage, can be delayed for hours or days. Delaying medical care could harm recovery and inspire insurance companies to argue that the postponement of care is evidence that a victim either wasn’t really hurt or that the OUI/DUI crash did not cause the alleged injuries.

Getting evaluated right away protects both your health and your legal rights.

A Proper Post-Crash Investigation is Critical

Impaired driving cases require immediate and thorough investigation. Evidence disappears quickly, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Victims benefit from having early legal assistance.

An early investigation would include the solicitation of, for example:

• Dash-cam, body-cam, and surveillance video
• Witness statements
• 911 calls and dispatch audio
• Event data recorders (“black box” data)
• Photographs of the vehicles and scene
• Skid marks, debris fields, and road conditions
• The driver’s toxicology and sobriety testing
• Social media activity of the impaired driver before or after the crash

Insurance companies immediately begin their investigation and campaign to mitigate and discredit a victim’s claim. Victims should also, with professional help, act immediately to investigate and document the claim. An experienced attorney can protect a victim’s interests while they are recovering, serving as a shield against common insurance tactics designed to devalue or deny a claim.

Immediately After a Crash, You Should Not Give a Recorded Statement to an Insurance Company

One of the first things insurers do is ask victims to give a recorded statement. Insurers usually make it sound routine or required. It is not. And it is rarely in a victim’s interest. A victim should not give a recorded statement without first speaking to a lawyer.

You Don’t Have to Navigate This Alone

OUI/DUI laws give victims important rights and protections. To benefit from these laws, however, a victim’s case must be managed correctly from the beginning. Timely investigation and preservation of evidence and claims is crucial. Some insurance carriers and others will exploit the inherent complexity of our system to exploit victims. The best way for victims to protect their rights, ensure all claims are preserved, and hold impaired drivers fully responsible is by promptly hiring an experienced injury attorney.

Buckley Wynne & Parese

For over 140 years, people in CT have relied on the law firm now known as Buckley Wynne & Parese. Today, the firm’s injury attorneys focus all their experience and resources on helping individuals who have suffered serious, life-altering injuries, many of whom were victims of impaired driving. At BWP, every client is directly and personally represented by a senior partner. We never take any fees or expenses unless you recover. To learn more or request a free consultation, call (203) 776-2278 or visit the firm’s website at bwplaw.com.