Car Wrecks – Personal Injury Damages – Part 1
I’m Gary Martin Hays.
If you have a question you would like for me to answer, or if you would like to speak with me regarding a potential claim, please pick up the phone and give us a call right now. (770) 934-8000.
Here’s one easy thing you can do right now. Take out your cell phone and enter my number in as one of your contacts (770) 934-8000.
Auto Wrecks – Punitive Damages
Now let’s go to a question from one of our viewers:
Gary – Let me tell you about something that happened to my wife last week. And I have to admit, I am really mad about this.
My wife had just picked up our oldest daughter from a friend’s home where they were working on a project for school. They were at the stop sign about to exit the subdivision when a driver lost control of his car when he tried to turn into the subdivision. He apparently was going too fast when he realized he was about to miss his turn.
He crashed into the driver’s side of our mini-van. My wife’s left arm is broken, and she and my daughter were cut up from the flying glass.
Please know they are in our thoughts and prayers and we certainly wish them all the best as they recover from their injuries.
Let me bring in Philip Milam, the managing attorney for our personal injury department, to discuss the legal aspects of your case.
It angers me whenever a person has too much to drink and then drive on our highways.
Gary: Philip, you are right!
And to illustrate this point even more, let may share some facts about drunk driving.
I co-authored a chapter about this very subject in the best-selling book “Consumer’s Advocate” entitled “The Mourning After: Helping Families Cope After A Drunk Driving Wreck.”
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12 oz. of beer = 5 oz. of wine = 1.5 oz. of liquor
-All these drinks contain the same amount of alcohol
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A driver’s impairment is not determined by the type of drink, but rather by the amount of alcohol ingested over a specific time period.
Only time can make a person sober. Drinking Coffee, exercising, or taking a cold shower will not help.
The average person metabolizes alcohol at the rate of about one drink per hour.
* Every day in America, on average, 28 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes.
Gary: That is hard to imagine. 1 in 3 will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime.
Well let’s answer Mason’s question.
Philip:
And the two words I’d tell him we would go after – Compensation and Punishment.
Philip: By compensation, we would pursue damages against the defendant to compensate Mason’s wife and his daughter for the following:
Gary: Now let’s talk about punishment.
Philip:
Certainly, we will cooperate with them in the investigation and assist in any way we can.
The punishment I’m talking about is in the civil arena.
Gary:
Philip: These are damages the law allows us to pursue to PUNISH a defendant for their bad conduct, and to DETER the defendant from repeating the bad conduct.
Because the defendant caused the wreck while driving under the influence of alcohol, Georgia law allows us to seek punitive damages.
Gary:
When we come back, I’d like for you and I to talk more about Mason’s question.
I want us to let him know how we would investigate the claim and represent his family against the drunk driver.
Philip: I’d be happy to hang around.
Gary: We’ll take that break but let me stress to you.
Our legal professionals are standing by right now to take your call.
If you would like to speak with my law firm about your claim, we make it easy for you.
Just pick up the phone right now and give us a call at (770) 934-8000.
We’ll be right back.
Car Accident Injury Law
