Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

Car Wrecks | Product Liability | Slip and Falls | Medical Malpractice | Catastrophic Injuries

Lexington, KY Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys

Drunk driving may be responsible for more accident-related injuries and wrongful deaths than any other single factor on Kentucky and Tennessee roadways. The law in both states law makes it very clear: when a drunk driver strikes another motorist or pedestrian, he or she is civilly liable for the resulting injuries or death. The attorneys at Freeman Childers are who you need to handle your claim for injuries and damages caused by a drunk driver.

But what about the persons and businesses who sold alcohol to the drunk driver? Do they have any responsibility to the injured victims? In many cases, they do. This is an area of Kentucky law known as dram shop liability, and it deals with the responsibility of the owners and employees of bars and other establishments to stop serving intoxicated patrons. If you’ve been struck by a drunk driver, the personal injury attorneys of Freeman Childers would like to discuss your case with you.

In civil law, a “dram shop” is any establishment that serves or sells alcoholic beverages (i.e. a bar, restaurant, or package store). In 1988, Kentucky passed the “Dram Shop Act” to protect bars and restaurants from overreaching claims of liability by the victims of drunk drivers. The Act states that licensed establishments and their employees are not responsible for off-premise accidents as long as certain conditions apply:

The person who purchased the alcoholic beverages must be of a legal age to drink
A reasonable person would not have believed him or her to be intoxicated.

In other words, the protection does not apply if the bar or restaurant failed to screen an underage drinker or continued to serve a person who appeared to be drunk. If either of these conditions exists, or if the accident occurred on the premises of the establishment, the protections of the Dram Shop Act do not apply.

At Freeman Childers, we deliver!

When the Corbin, KY personal injury firm of Freeman Childers, Attorneys at Law represents you, we examine all aspects of your case to determine which parties to name in the lawsuit. When it comes to dram shop cases, we want to know:

How many drinks did the driver or at-fault party consume at the establishment?
If the person is underage, what measures did the staff take to verify his or her date of birth?
Was the patron loud or unruly prior to leaving?
Did anyone offer to call a cab?
Did the patron arrive alone (indicating that he or she drove)?
Did the bartenders and servers receive training on identifying intoxicated persons?

The answers to all of these questions have a bearing on your personal injury case.

If you have been involved in a car wreck anywhere in Kentucky or Tennessee, contact our personal injury law office as soon as possible.

If you have been injured in a car, truck, or motorcycle wreck, don’t hesitate to seek immediate emergency medical attention. Your health and safety are paramount, and it won’t damage your case. But then make certain that you bring your accident and injury case to the personal injury firm of Freeman Childers as soon as possible. The sooner our personal injury attorneys can review your accident, the better we can represent you in your pursuit of compensation.

What to Do if You’ve Been Injured:

If you need emergency care or assistance, call 911.
Document everything that took place, including pictures, a police report, notifying managers of a business or workplace, or anything else that may help tell the story of what happened.
Call us at 606-528-1000 or message us here for a free case evaluation to discuss the details of your claim.
We’ll take over after your claim is reviewed and begin the process of ensuring you receive proper treatment, working with insurance adjusters, and overall representing you and your claim to ensure maximum recovery.
Once you have finished treating, we will work to reach a maximum settlement for the value of your claim or explore filing a lawsuit to ensure you receive everything you deserve.