Greedy Trial Lawyer
Punitive Damages For Driving Under Influence And Causing Injury
Category: Torts For Our Time
A fellow personal injury trial lawyer, Joel Bieber of Richmond, has reported on the common attitude of insurance companies and adjusters when their insured drivers are found to have been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI). Joel tells of an adjuster who claims the DUI facts should not make any difference in the negotiation of the settlement. Joel makes the point that the laws of Virginia allow for the award of punitive damages in DUI cases. He vows to let juries decide whether the defendant driver should be punished by the award of greater damages as provided by statute. Go for it, Joel!
In Joel's own words:
Today, while negotiating a personal injury claim with an insurance adjuster, I reminded the adjuster that his insured had been cited for fleeing from the scene and driving while intoxicated. Despite all this, the adjuster just laughed and commented that he did not think that evidence would really matter to a jury. He stated that he was merely going to evaluate the claim based upon the bodily injury suffered by my client.My law firm will continue to attempt to bring these cases to a jury, in the hope that justice will be done in the final verdict.
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Comments
The adjuster can evaluate the claim assuming that the defendant is a reincarnation of Pope John Paul II, too, but he or she would be wrong.
Juries punish drunk drivers through higher compensatory damages verdicts, punitive damages verdicts, or both. Anyone who says to the contrary is bluffing. Anyone who believes to the contrary is living in never-never land.
Posted by: John Day at February 2, 2006 06:25 AM