Clearly drinking alcohol and operating a motor vehicle do not mix well. Almost one-third of fatal car crashes are the result of a driver who was impaired and legally intoxicated. It is illegal to drive a car with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher. Half of all fatal auto crashes take place on weekends and are alcohol related. Statistics estimate that about three out of every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related accident at some point in their lives. In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That figure is less than one percent of the 159 self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.

But driving under the influence (DUI) is not limited to just alcohol-impaired drivers. It applies to drivers who are also impaired because they are under the influence of drugs. A person may have a zero BAC but still be arrested and charged with DUI if he or she is under the influence of a drug. The drug may be one that is prescribed by a doctor and filled by a pharmacist, or it may be an over-the-counter drug. Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18 percent of motor vehicle accidents involving fatalities.

In addition to recovering the “standard” damages (things like medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage) when one has been injured by a drunk driver, in some cases it is possible to recover “punitive” damages from the impaired driver. Punitive damages are designed to punish a driver for his or her intentional or “conscious disregard” of the law and safety of others and continues drinking even though the person knows he or she is intoxicated, knowing the he or she intends on driving afterwards. When such an intoxicated person gets behind the steering wheel of a car without any regard for the safety of other motorists on the roadway and causes an accident, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the intoxicated driver.

If you have been seriously injured or a loved one has been killed in a car crash caused by a driver who was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately so he or she can start working right away to obtain all the monetary compensation you are entitled to.