Victims of drunk drivers are often told by insurance companies that they have three years to sue. While that is technically true, we always sue immediately in these cases. We do that for two reasons:
1.) Drunk drivers are criminals. They often leave the jurisdiction after their arrest. If they leave and you cannot serve them your lawsuit, there is no case and the insurance company for the drunk does not have to defend them, or pay you anything. So, in these cases we sue at the earliest possible opportunity to make sure we have the drunk and his insurance company on the hook to pay for our client's injuries.
2) Ask yourself, where did the drunk get intoxicated? Often times the answer is, at a bar. THE BAR might be an excellent ADDITIONAL DEFENDANT, provided you sue early enough. Lawsuits against a bar for "tanking up" the drunk and putting him on the road must be brought within ONE YEAR of the accident. Often times we don't know about the bar or that there even was a bar involved until we take the deposition of the drunk and make him tell us where he was drinking. These claims are called Dram Shop claims and can be very valuable and a great source of additional compensation for our injured clients.
If you meet with an attorney who does not want to bring lawsuit immediately in such a circumstance, they are probably the wrong lawyer for the job.
At Anderson Hemmat we bring lawsuits against drunk drivers and the bars they drank at all the time, and if you're hurt by a drunk driver we can help you too. Call us for a free consultation.
