Wrongful Death in Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents

Unfortunately, when a person crashes while driving drunk, it’s rarely only the driver who suffers the cost. According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than a third of all people killed in fatal drunk driving accidents are people other than the drunk driver, including passengers, drivers and passengers in other vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.

In 2011, the NHTSA reports, nearly ten thousand people (9,878) lost their lives due to drunk driving. While the total number of fatal crashes in the United States has declined in recent years, the proportion of fatal accidents involving a drunk driver remains the same. And the NHTSA estimates that drunk drivers cost this nation nearly $60 billion a year.

Anyone who’s had a family member killed by a drunk driver knows there’s more hurt and damages than just the medical bills and lost income that Michigan no-fault insurance will pay for. In fatal drunk driving accidents, every member of the family experiences deep emotional and psychological suffering. And the financial impact of losing a primary wage earner can take a toll for years and years. If a surviving spouse doesn’t have high-value job skills or can’t work, financial recovery may never come at all.

What to Do When Family Members Die in Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents

In fatal drunk driving accidents, Michigan law permits the victim’s surviving family members to obtain compensation for the loss of their loved one through a wrongful death tort. By bringing a lawsuit against the drunk driver, or against his/her estate if they also died in the crash, the wrongful death victim’s family can recover both economic damages in excess of those paid by no-fault insurance and non-economic damages, which no-fault insurance doesn’t pay at all. Non-economic damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death lawsuit include loss of society and consortium, loss of support, and more. The estate of a person killed by a drunk driver can also receive compensation for pain and suffering the victim experienced prior to death.

No one likes to think about a lawsuit when they are grieving the loss of a loved one, but getting started as early as possible is critical to success and to recovering the full value of the damages. In Michigan, survivors of a wrongful death victim have up to three years to file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, the longer a family waits, the more difficult it will be to identify and locate evidence and witnesses to support the case. Over time memories fade and documents get archived or destroyed. The more time passes between the death and the lawsuit, the more difficult, and thus expensive, it is to build a case and the less likely the victim’s family is to receive the full value of the damages suffered.

In Michigan, the wrongful death attorneys at Sachs Waldman, P.C., can help families who’ve had loved ones killed in fatal drunk driving accidents. We have the experience to evaluate your case, conduct an investigation and give the you the best chance of recovering the full value of the damages you have suffered. We take wrongful death cases on a contingency basis, meaning you don’t owe us anything unless we recover damages for you. Call our Detroit personal injury attorneys’ office at 1-800-638-6722 to schedule a free consultation.