Accidents caused by drunk drivers can have a detrimental impact on everyone involved. For those individuals who are struck by a drunk driver, they are often left seriously injured and in some cases death may result. Families of the victims of drunk driving accidents are often left to deal with the aftermath of these types of accidents. Whether the support is financial, physical or emotional, families are as much the victim of drunk drivers as the victims themselves. Car crashes involving drunk drivers are often difficult to understand and difficult to handle.
Some Pennsylvania residents may have heard the news story about an Illinois sheriff’s deputy who hit and fatally killed a man on July 22. The police found the deputy’s truck in the road with damage to the front end. The accident resulted in serious injury to the victim, including injuries to his ribs and rib cage, and he later died from massive internal bleeding. Following a police investigation, the deputy was charged with aggravated DUI.
Drunk drivers need to be held accountable for their actions by being found liable in court for the damage that they cause. Wrongful death resulting from drunk driving accidents is a claim that can be initiated in court.
Wrongful death claims are considered civil suits and are brought to hold the responsible party liable for the death of the victim. Since wrongful death suits do not carry incarceration as a punishment, the purpose is to make a monetary award to the victim’s family when appropriate. After losing a loved one in a drunk driving accident, nothing the court can do will make a family grieve any less. However, wrongful death suits, if successful, can assist with the medical bills and other financial burdens that a family will surely face afterwards.
Holding drunk drivers accountable for the destruction they cause is important. Victims of drunk drivers and the victim’s families have rights and these rights need to be protected.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times, “Off-duty deputy in fatal accident: ‘Oh God, I hope I didn’t kill this guy’,” Bill Dwyer, July 25, 2012