Injuries from DUI and Reckless Driving

Georgia law allows the victims of DUI and other reckless driving crimes to recover damages to compensate for their losses. If you have been seriously injured due to a reckless or intoxicated driver, you should contact an experienced attorney to
ensure that your rights as a victim are protected.

Georgia law makes it illegal to operate a moving vehicle when a person’s blood alcohol content is 0.08% or more, or when a driver is impaired to such a degree that it is less safe for the person to drive. Additionally, a DUI may occur when certain amounts of marijuana or a controlled substance are found within the body. A first and second conviction for DUI is a misdemeanor; however, a person convicted a third time is guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor.

The crime of reckless driving occurs when a driver shows reckless disregard for the safety of another person or property. This crime may seem to be subjective in nature, but the standard of reckless disregard is thought to be clear enough to allow a person of normal intelligence to determine its meaning. Examples of reckless driving may include fleeing an accident at a high speed, driving at a high speed while intoxicated, and driving on the wrong side of the road. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor under Georgia law.

A DUI or reckless driving offender may face more serious charges if a death or serious injury results from an accident. If a death is caused due to DUI or reckless driving, the offender may be convicted of homicide by vehicle. A conviction of first-degree homicide by vehicle carries with it a sentence between 3 and 15 years, and a conviction of second-degree homicide by vehicle can carry with it a sentence of up to 12 months. Furthermore, a driver under the influence may be convicted of serious injury by vehicle if he or she causes brain damage or renders a body member useless. The sentence for this crime ranges from 1 to 15 years.

All motorists in Georgia have a duty to exercise ordinary care, which is determined by the totality of the circumstances in any given situation, and a deviation from this standard may result in liability for damages. DUI and reckless driving are among the most serious of deviations from the ordinary standard of care, and the victims of such crimes may be able to recover the damages they sustained because of an offender’s actions.

Generally, for the operator of a vehicle to be held liable, the operator must have been negligent and that negligence must have been the proximate cause of the victim’s injury. In cases where the offender has broken a traffic law, the violation establishes negligence per se unless there is some valid defense. However, it must still be shown that the violation of the traffic law was the proximate cause of the accident and any injuries.

Negligence and proximate cause are ultimately determined by a jury. Two common pieces of evidence include a guilty plea and blood alcohol content. When an offender pleads guilty in a criminal proceeding, that plea may generally be admitted into evidence at a civil trial as it relates to the issue of negligence. Note that a guilty plea does not automatically show that an offender was negligent, as negligence and proximate cause may still be rebutted by the offender. Evidence showing the quantity of alcohol or drugs in an offender’s body is generally admissible in court as long as a proper chemical analysis was conducted. The amount of alcohol in a person’s blood also gives rise to different inferences. If the alcohol content was 0.05% or less, a jury may infer that the offender was not under the influence of alcohol. An alcohol content that is greater than 0.05% but less than 0.08% does not give rise to any inference of whether a person was intoxicated or not. However, a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or more creates an inference that the offender broke the law.

If liability is established, a jury may award general and special damages. General damages are intended to compensate for non-monetary injuries such as pain and suffering. Special damages consist of quantifiable losses the victim sustained. These damages may include repairing damaged property, lost earnings, and medical expenses. Punitive damages are normally allowed in these cases to punish offenders and deter them from repeating their actions.

In the tragic case of a death, a victim’s representative may be able to sue the offender for wrongful death. The recovery for a wrongful death action includes the full value of the life of the victim. The full value of a life consists of an economic element and an intangible element. The economic element is the amount of money the victim would have earned, and the intangible element represents factors that cannot be so easily quantified.

A defendant or offender may rely on several different defenses in an effort to avoid liability. For instance, a plaintiff may be barred from recovering damages if he or she could have avoided an accident by exercising ordinary care. Additionally, if the plaintiff contributed to the accident, recovery may be barred or reduced. Other powerful defenses such as assumption of risk and the last clear chance doctrine must also be taken into account. You should contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible to ensure that the case is properly prepared from the beginning.

Reckless and intoxicated drivers can destroy a life in a matter of seconds. The large financial burden that may result from a reckless driving accident is something that no victim should have to bear. If you are the victim of a serious car accident caused by DUI or reckless driving, you should consult an experienced attorney to protect your interests.

The information provided above is a very general summary of the law governing civil recovery for reckless driving accidents at the time this text was prepared. Because this analysis is subject to change depending upon recent cases and legal developments, you should not rely on this summary as legal advice. As with any important legal question, you should always consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Our lawyers are licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in Georgia.