Belleville Drunk Driving Victim Lawyer
Hipskind & McAninch, LLC: Your Strongest Advocate
Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash. Drunk driving costs the United States $132 billion a year.
Campaigns to raise awareness of and reduce drunk driving have been around for decades now, and as a result, many of us worry about these (and many more) drunk driving statistics. While the number of drunk driving deaths has been cut in half since 1980, read the numbers above and you’ll see there is still a problem.
Drunk drivers are notorious for driving the wrong way down the road, in addition to performing other driving behaviors that a sober person wouldn’t dream of. These extreme behaviors can result in more severe accidents, like a head-on crash, which could lead to life-threatening, long-term injuries like a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury. These injuries require years of care with a multitude of specialists, causing medical bills to pile up – and often feel insurmountable.
If you were hit by a drunk driver, there is help available. Give our Belleville car accident attorneys at Hipskind & McAninch, LLC, a call. We’ll discuss your situation and see what we can do to get you on the road to recovery.
Illinois Drinking and Driving Laws
In Illinois, a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher qualifies a person as legally drunk, and it is illegal for that person to drive. Even with a BAC between 0.05% and 0.08%, a driver may still be cited for a DUI if his or her behavior suggests impairment.
A DUI is a criminal offense and can carry administrative and criminal penalties, including fines, driver’s license suspension and/or revocation, imprisonment, community service, rehabilitation program requirements, and breath alcohol ignition interlock device installation. Illinois estimates that the minimum cost of a first DUI conviction is about $18,030. But that money doesn’t go to the drunk driver’s victim.
If you want just compensation for your injuries and losses, you must file a civil suit.
Who Is Liable?
The most obvious answer to this question is the drunk driver. A drunk driver is considered negligent, and has failed to fulfill his or her legal obligation to drive responsibly in order to prevent accidents. However, multiple parties can be considered “at fault” in a drunk driving case.
Of the 50 states, 43 have a version of dram shop law, which is a law or statute that holds a business that sells alcoholic drinks to an intoxicated patron liable to anyone injured by the patron. Illinois’ version of this law is the “Liquor Control Act.” The act holds businesses strictly liable, meaning that as long as they sold alcohol to the patron, they can be held at least partly responsible for the injury victim’s expenses.
Similar to dram shop laws, social host laws can hold an alcohol-providing host responsible when one guest injures another. In Illinois, however, this only applies if the intoxicated person is under 21 years of age.
Get an Experienced Belleville Personal Injury Attorney
Because John Hipskind and Brady McAninch used to work for insurance companies and now exclusively represent accident victims, they understand how both sides look at a drunk driving case. This allows Hipskind & McAninch, LLC, to build you the strongest case possible, and get you the settlement you deserve.
We’re dedicated to your case, we have a five-star reputation, and you don’t pay us until we win.
Hipskind & McAninch, LLC, offers a free consultation so that we can meet you, get to know your case, and decide how to move forward without worrying you with a fee. Give us a call at 618-641-9189 any time to speak to a Belleville drunk driving victim personal injury attorney in Belleville.