Mableton Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer

When someone is injured or killed in an accident by a drunk driver in Mableton, Georgia law allows two years for the victim or their family members to seek compensation for the expenses and impacts of their injury or loss through the personal injury or wrongful death claims process. An experienced Mableton сar accident lawyer from John Foy & Associates can provide assistance with this process.

Types of Compensation Available in a Mableton Drunk Driving Accident Claim

Personal injury and wrongful death claimants in Mableton can seek compensation for both the financial and psychological costs of their injury. Here are some of the types of compensation that are commonly claimed in drunk driving accident cases.

Personal Injury

Individuals injured by drunk drivers in Georgia can seek compensation for the impacts that their injury has had on their ability to earn an income, as well as any impacts anticipated in the future. Any wages, benefits, and other income that was lost due to the claimant’s injury preventing them from working can be claimed.

Additionally, if the injury causes permanent disabilities that will likely impair the claimant’s ability to earn an income, the claimant can seek compensation for loss of future earning capacity.

Claimants can also seek compensation for medical bills incurred as a result of the injury, as well as the cost of repairing or replacing their vehicle. Finally, Mableton drunk driving accident claimants can seek compensation for the impacts that their injury has had on their quality of life, such as physical pain and suffering or emotional distress.

Wrongful Death

When a person is killed as the result of a drunk driver in Georgia, their surviving spouse has the right to file a wrongful death claim. If there is no surviving spouse, then surviving children can file the claim. If the decedent did not have a spouse or children, then their parents would be permitted to file the claim.

A wrongful death claim provides compensation to the decedent’s family members for the expenses and impacts of their loss, such as expenses they paid for the medical treatment of the decedent’s final injuries, as well as the cost of a funeral service and burial or cremation.

The claimant can also seek compensation for the loss of financial support and services provided to the family and the loss of the wages, income, and benefits the decedent would have likely earned through their career.

The types of non-economic damages that can be sought through a Mableton drunk driving accident wrongful death claim include loss of care, companionship, comfort, and advice that was afforded by the decedent to their family members.

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Proving Liability

In order to obtain the types of compensation listed above, the claimant’s drunk driving accident attorney in Mableton must be able to prove the following elements of their drunk driving accident claim.

Duty

Drivers in Mableton and throughout Georgia have a duty to follow traffic laws and drive safely so that they don’t cause bodily injury or property damage to others. The first element that must be shown in proving liability is showing that the at-fault party owed the duty of care to others as a user of the Mableton roadway.

Breach

The second element of proving liability involves showing that the duty of care that the driver owed to others on the roadway was breached when the driver took actions that were contrary to the duty they owed.

In Georgia, it is illegal for drivers over the age of 21 to drive if their blood alcohol content is .08 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood or higher, and it is illegal for drivers under 21 to drive with a blood alcohol content of .02 or higher. Therefore, driving while intoxicated is contrary to the driver’s duty to obey local and state traffic laws in order to protect others.

Cause

The final element a Mableton drunk driving accident attorney must show is that the driver’s intoxication was the cause of the accident in which the claimant suffered injuries. Those injuries resulted in expenses and impacts that the claimant is seeking compensation for.

Types of Evidence Used to Prove a Drunk Driving Accident Claim

A major piece of evidence that is often introduced in a drunk driving accident claim is any documentation of the at-fault driver’s blood alcohol content, citations issued, or arrests made. Other types of evidence can include photographs of alcohol bottles at the scene, or witness testimony of the driver swerving or driving carelessly before the accident.

In order to prove the claimant’s expenses, the type of evidence often needed includes employment records to show the income that the claimant was earning before the accident, the income they lost, and any job changes or accommodations that were required for the claimant to be able to continue earning an income.

Additionally, medical bills can be shown, as well as vehicle repair bills, the cost of hiring someone to perform household services that the claimant can no longer do on their own as a result of the injury, and receipts of other out-of-pocket expenses.

A Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer in Mableton Can Help with Your Claim

The personal injury and wrongful claims processes can be difficult and stressful. While it would seem like a drunk driving accident would be a “slam dunk case,” there are complexities and issues that crop up in every claim. An experienced car accident attorney from John Foy & Associates can provide the guidance you need to make sense of the process of seeking compensation for your injury or loss. 

With over 20 years of experience, the 40 personal injury attorneys and 70 paralegals that make up The Strong Arm legal team, we are ready to provide you with the transparent communication, advocacy, and attention your case deserves. Contact us for your free case evaluation.