Woodstock DUI Accident Injury Lawyer
The changes that affect our lives rarely come from the places or circumstances we expect. Still, those among us who have had their lives instantly transformed by a catastrophic accident with a drunk driver often wonder why that particular misfortune found them. It is a cruel fate to fall victim to such a knowingly reckless act. At the very least, anyone who has suffered life-altering injuries in a collision with a DUI driver should have experienced, committed legal support so that they can hold the driver accountable and obtain the compensation they deserve. If a crash involving a DUI driver in the Woodstock, Georgia-area has left you or a loved one injured, get the legal help you need. Contact the Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC today.
Our Woodstock DUI Injury Law Practice
Attorney Kyle Koester knows something about unexpected life changes. Stricken with a heart condition as a teenager, he lost his ability to pursue his first passion – playing football – and confronted the harsh reality of how life can change in an instant, seemingly without rhyme or reason. Kyle found purpose in that setback, however. He channeled the never-quit spirit he’d learned on the gridiron into helping others who found themselves on the outside-looking-in because of unexpected tragedy, and became a lawyer who fights for victims of preventable, catastrophic injuries. One of Kyle’s particular missions is to make sure the law protects victims of DUI accidents so that they get the financial compensation they deserve. Many Georgia residents who suffer injuries in DUI crashes wonder if they can ever rebuild their lives. Kyle knows the answer to that question: yes, they can, and he can often provide valuable help. Together with his team of seasoned legal professionals, Kyle has the know-how and experience to show DUI victims and their families that no matter how bad the hand they have been dealt, turning to Georgia car accident law can ensure that justice gets done and that they receive the financial support necessary to find strength, purpose, and healing after a DUI tragedy.The Tragic Toll of Georgia DUI Accidents
In 2018, 375 died in alcohol-related crashes on Georgia roads, accounting for a quarter of all traffic fatalities in the state. Thousands more Georgians suffered injuries in collisions with DUI drivers; tragedies that happened despite the state convicting over 20,000 drivers for DUI that year. Here in Cherokee County, we lose a handful of citizens every year to drunk driving tragedies. Between 1,500 and 2,000 more of our friends and neighbors get injured in traffic crashes annually around the county, many drunk driving-related. 479 Woodstock-area drivers were convicted for a first DUI in 2018. DUI crashes inflict seemingly-indiscriminate, catastrophic injuries. Oftentimes, the victims who suffer the most seem to be the most innocent among us; beloved children, friends, and parents. The fact that drunk drivers frequently escape serious harm in the accidents they cause only makes victims’ pain seem more unbearable. Some of the more common injuries we see as lawyers for DUI accident victims include:- Traumatic Brain Injuries. Drunk driving accidents often happen at relatively high speeds, owing to the DUI driver’s recklessness and impaired driving abilities. The force of the impact often results in occupants of the other car taking violent blows or jolts to the head, the prelude to suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI). DUI crash victims who sustain a TBI can end up profoundly impaired by their injuries. Many lose, and never fully regain, consciousness. Others struggle with cognitive or motor tasks they used to take for granted, find themselves incapable of regulating their emotions, and suffer from persistent headaches, fatigue, “brain fog”, and other debilitating effects.
- Spinal Cord Injuries. Violent collisions with a vehicle driven with a drunk driver can also twist, bend, and batter bodies in the other car, inflicting damage to victims’ spinal columns and the vital bundle of nerves vertebrae protect. Swelling, bruising, or tearing of the spinal cord can cause partial or total paralysis in victims, leaving many confined to wheelchairs and in need of significant financial support to adapt to a life instantly-transformed.
- Crushed & Amputated Limbs. Auto accidents involving drunk drivers can crumple cars, send them tumbling, deforming the passenger cabin and pinning, or even severing, occupants’ arms and legs. Victims who survive this trauma frequently face a life changed by the functional, or total, loss of a limb, and the pain, disability, and daily challenges that inevitably follow.
- Internal Injuries. The force of a collision with a drunk driver can inflict massive harm even to occupants who wear their seatbelts and have airbags. The strain and stress a seat-belt or airbag puts on a human body, alone, can rupture and tear internal organs. Dangerous internal bleeding leads to life-threatening health complications that may require a lifetime of care to manage.
Woodstock DUI Crash Victims’ Legal Rights
Victims of DUI crashes have rights. As citizens, they have the right to expect a DUI driver will face criminal penalties for his or her reckless, harmful conduct. As individuals who suffered injuries because of that conduct, they also have the right to seek compensation from the DUI driver, and anyone else legally responsible for the driver’s actions, through the Georgia civil legal process. At the Law Offices of Kyle E. Koester, LLC, our focus is on the second of those rights: the right to compensation for injuries caused by a DUI driver. Prosecution of DUI drivers for violation of Georgia criminal laws is the job of the Cherokee County District Attorney. What we do is different. We pursue money damages on behalf of Woodstock-area DUI crash victims, so that they get the financial support they need to rebuild after a senseless, tragic accident.Legal Liability for Damages in a DUI Crash
In Georgia, a person whose careless, reckless, or intentionally-harmful actions injure someone else will have legal liability for money damages. When we talk about “suing” someone for injuries, that is the basic concept we have in mind. Someone did something wrong, and you got hurt as a result. That person should pay you for the costs and losses you sustained. In the vast majority of cases, DUI drivers who get into crashes have legal liability for injuring crash victims. (Most of the time, the driver’s liability insurance covers those injuries, which is why you may have heard lawyers on TV talk about getting an “insurance settlement” in a car accident case.) However, DUI drivers do not necessary constitute the only “parties” with legal liability for hurting someone in a crash. Georgia law may also hold other people, or companies, accountable for the DUI driver’s actions. For example:- If the DUI driver crashed a commercial vehicle while on the job, then the driver’s employer may have legal liability to the accident victims, because Georgia law generally holds employers responsible for the actions of their employees in the line of work, and because oftentimes employers know the driver is someone who has a substance-use problem but allowed the driver to take the wheel anyway.
- If a bar or restaurant served the driver while the driver was “in a state of noticeable intoxication,” knowing the driver was about to get behind the wheel, then the owner of the bar or restaurant may have legal liability for harm the driver causes in a subsequent crash.
Types of Damages for a DUI Crash
Crash victims often come to us wanting to know how much money they can recover for injuries caused by a drunk driver. Our answer is usually: “it depends.” Here are the basics. Anyone injured in a Georgia car accident that was not their fault, whether caused by a drunk driver or any other reason, may have the right to seek compensation to help pay for the harm caused by their injury. These “damages” that a crash victim can recover typically include:- Medical costs to help pay for the care and treatment of an injury;
- Lost wages and future earnings to make up for time the victim misses from work while healing or because of a disability;
- Repair and replacement costs to fix property damaged or destroyed in an accident with a DUI driver;
- Expenses for services the victim has to hire to manage day-to-day living after an accident, like childcare, transportation, or keeping house;
- Pain and suffering to compensate the victim for the physical and emotional trauma of an injury;
- Loss of life enjoyment & damage to personal relationships to pay for the impact of an injury on the victim’s life.
How We Help
Just what does a lawyer do for someone suffering from catastrophic injuries inflicted by a senseless DUI crash? Well, it varies from case to case. Generally, though, we make it our mission to pursue every available avenue for getting victims the money they need and deserve to heal from their injuries and move forward with their lives. Pursuing that mission can include:- Investigating Accidents. We often find it necessary to dig into the facts of a DUI accident to figure out exactly what happened; not just in the accident itself, but the whole sequence of events that led to the tragic encounter between our client and the DUI driver’s car on a Woodstock-area road. By investigating the facts, we aim to build the strongest possible case for our clients against any party or parties who have legal liability and the resources to pay.
- Negotiating with Insurance Companies. As we mentioned earlier, much of the time a DUI driver’s auto liability insurance policy will represent the source of payment for our client’s injuries. Insurance carriers do not write big checks willingly, however. It often takes skilled and determined negotiating to get them to acknowledge and pay the amount of damages a DUI crash victim deserves. We spend a significant amount of time facing down insurance companies on behalf of our clients.
- Going to Court. Sometimes insurance companies or others who have legal liability to pay our clients damages for a DUI accident refuse to do the right thing. Instead, they choose to fight against our clients’ claims. It’s unfortunate when that happens, but our team also has the skills and know-how to take a client’s DUI crash injury case to a Georgia court and to explain to a judge and jury why our client deserves maximum compensation.
