Drunk drivers put everyone both on the road and off at risk of serious injury or death. Drunk driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle accidents. It is estimated that over 500,000 injuries and 10,000 deaths are caused each year by drunk drivers.  In the most recent statistics available, nationwide drunk drivers account for nearly 40% of all vehicle accident related deaths annually.

Regardless of whether the intoxication is due to alcohol or drugs, or a combination of both, or legal or illegal drugs, the common denominator in all drunk driving accidents is the impaired ability of the drunk driver to safely operate a vehicle.

Attorney David Altman has been honored as one of the Best Attorneys of America and received the NAOPIA TOP TEN (10) award.  The National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys is an organization devoted to recognizing the top Personal Injury lawyers in the nation and less than 1% of the more than 1 million attorneys in the United States have received this prestigious award.

Our law firm handles all aspects of personal injury cases with our no recovery, no fee guarantee. Please contact the Law Offices of David Altman, a top Saint George personal injury law firm dedicated to helping drunk driving injury accident victims and winning their cases for over thirty five (35) years in Utah and California.

If you have suffered a serious personal injury in St. George, Salt Lake City or anywhere else in Utah and are seeking aggressive, competent and superior legal representation, please call us for a free no obligation, confidential consultation at (435) 688-9999.

Restaurants, bars and clubs can incur liability to the accident victim in situations where it can be proven that those facility knew or should have known that their patron would be driving, could not safely operate a motor vehicle yet continued to provide the inebriated person with more alcohol.

Victims of a drunk driving accident are entitled to recover special damages for all of the financial expenses caused by the drunk driver including ambulance and hospital charges, current and future medical bills as well as reimbursement for vehicular damage, car rental, loss of wages and diminishment of earnings capacity.  In addition, general damages for pain and suffering are always recoverable.

Punitive damages are intended to punish the drunk driver and set an example or warning for others.  Punitive damages can only be awarded if injury victim first receives a verdict for compensatory damages for economic losses and general damages for pain and suffering.  Once those damages have been awarded to the victim, punitive damages can be established by proving negligence or gross negligence by clear and convincing evidence.  

As a general rule, punitive damage awards should not exceed a ratio of three to one over compensatory damages. In Utah when punitive damages are awarded, the victim may have to share the award with the state; the victim is entitled to keep the first $50,000.00 of any punitive damage award, thereafter the balance of punitive damages is split equally between the victim and the State of Utah.