Tennessee Drunk Driving Accidents: How to Prove Liability

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) 11,000 people every year are killed by drunk drivers.  Between the hours of midnight and 3am, a drunk driver kills someone every 23 minutes.  In Tennessee, there were 284 fatalities caused by drunk drivers in 2010.  Additionally, in 2011 and 2012 there was a rise in the number of arrests for driving under the influence.

It is often the case that other innocent people are injured or killed when drunk drivers cause serious Tennessee car accidents.  Even with the stricter laws, increasing enforcement, and greater efforts to educate, there are people who continue to drink and drive and continue to injure those who do not.

In Tennessee, it is a crime to drive an automobile while under the influence of any substances that impairs safe driving.  If a driver has a blood alcohol content (“BAC”) of 0.08% or more it is illegal for him or her to operate a motor vehicle.  This creates a presumption that the driver was negligent through a doctrine called negligence per se.

The negligence per se doctrine is an important tool for a Tennessee car accident attorney.  This allows your attorney to show, through the violation of a criminal statute, that the defendant was negligent as long as three elements are met.  The first element is that the plaintiff who was injured was in the class of persons the criminal statute was meant to protect.  Meaning, was the criminal statute seeking to prevent the defendant from doing something that could harm someone similarly situated like the plaintiffs.

The second element is whether the harm the plaintiff suffered is within the class of harms the statute was designed to protect.  Essentially, was the plaintiff harmed in a way that the statute wanted to prevent a defendant from acting in such a way that it will cause this harm to the plaintiff.

The third element is that the defendant indeed violated this criminal law which was a public safety wrong, not a civil wrong.  Commonly there is a fourth element added, which is really an affirmative defense for the defendant, and that is whether the defendant’s compliance with that criminal law would have placed him or her in a more dangerous position than if he or she did not violate the statute.

Drunk drivers can also be, and often are, liable under a straight theory of negligence.  Essentially, negligence is defined as a person’s failure to meet the standard of care in which a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances would have acted which results in an unintended injury to another.

While negligence means to act unreasonably and carelessly, drivers can also be liable for injuries caused by reckless acts.  Recklessness means to be aware of and to consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm.  Persons who act negligently cause injury or death can be held responsible for the repayment of the victim’s losses.  However, when a person recklessly causes injury or death they can also be forced to pay the victim more money than necessary to make up for the harm (in addition to repaying the victim for their losses).  This additional payment is known as punitive damages.

Retaining an experienced Tennessee car accident attorney can help decide which theory of liability, if not all of them, that should be used to help prove your case.  As you can tell from the definitions, it is a rather complicated process and is heavily fact dependant.

Injuries

Injuries common in drunk driving accidents include bruises, broken bones, whiplash, had injuries, and internal injuries that are caused when the cars collide.  Death can also result to the victim of a drunk driver, sadly this usually occurs when the drunk driver can simply get up and walk away.

Who is Responsible?

The Driver

Drunk drivers can be held responsible for the potentially life changing injuries that he or she caused.  A Tennessee car accident attorney will be able to assist you in asserting your rights to compensation for your injuries to the appropriate insurance provider or to the person who caused the accident.

Those Who Served the Driver

Tennessee also allows for claims against the liquor establishment or party host who served alcohol to the drunk driver who caused an accident.  If the driver was over-served, was visibly intoxicated when served, or under the legal drinking age, the person or establishment who served them can be held liable under dram shop liability, or liquor liability laws.

Here at Bailey and Greer, PLLC our Tennessee car accident attorneys understand how to effectively pursue your claims.  Our legal team has a proven track record of compassionately representing our clients injured in car accidents which is included in our testimonials page.  Please contact us today to receive your free case evaluation by dialing 901-680-9777.  Remember, you only have one year from the date of the accident to commence your action to recover compensation.