Drunk driving in Missouri is not a victimless crime. Each year, alcohol-impaired motorists kill hundreds of innocent individuals and injure countless more. The victims who survive these horrific accidents can face injuries ranging from bumps and bruises to traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage, all of which can be compounded by the emotional trauma of having their lives change so suddenly.
This is why working with an experienced Missouri drunk driver accident lawyer from Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers is essential. Our legal team understands how serious the injuries these accidents cause can be, and fight to ensure victims are compensated fairly.
Driving under the influence is a crime in Missouri, and those who commit the offense can face fines and incarceration. They can also be responsible for paying damages to the people they hurt in drunk driving accidents. Before that can happen, however, victims must file claims and prove their losses are connected to the driver’s reckless behavior.
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed by a drunk driver, contact our experienced Missouri drunk driver accident attorneys. We will handle all aspects of your case, from investigation to settlement or trial. You have a limited time to act, though, so reach out to us for a free consultation as soon as you can.
How Often Do Drunk Driver Car Accidents Happen in the State of Missouri
Between 2019 and 2023, a total of 983 individuals were killed by a substance-impaired driver, a figure that works out to an average of 16 impaired driving-related deaths every month. The majority of those impaired drivers were males between the ages of 20 and 29.
Additionally, though these crashes occurred throughout the state, a significant number occurred near major cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, and Joplin.
In 2019 alone, a total of 157,038 traffic crashes were recorded in Missouri, 4,957 of which involved an alcohol-impaired driver. That number can be further broken down to 123 fatal crashes, 1,801 injury wrecks, and 3,043 collisions that resulted in property damage.
Various attempts have been made to identify who is more likely to drink and drive. Males tend to drive drunk at higher rates than females, and younger people are more likely to do so than those older than 30.
There does not appear to be any difference between people with white-collar jobs and those who work in manual labor, though at least one study suggests unemployed people are more likely to drive drunk than those who are employed.
To learn more about Missouri drunk driving accident statistics, contact our experienced Missouri drunk driver accident lawyers. We specialize in car accident cases involving drunk drivers and can help.
Why Is Driving Drunk in Missouri Such a Dangerous Thing to Do?
Driving while impaired by alcohol is a risky, reckless choice. That is primarily due to the fact that alcohol negatively affects any person’s ability to safely drive a vehicle in numerous ways, such as those listed below.
However, alcohol is not the only substance that can cause these effects. Illegal drugs and even certain prescription medications can negatively impact your vision, judgment, and reaction times. Drivers have a legal obligation to avoid consuming substances that can compromise their ability to safely drive, even if those substances are legally prescribed.
Nevertheless, alcohol (and some medications) can cause perilous conditions such as the following:
Impaired Vision
Alcohol consumption can lead to blurry vision, double vision, and trouble focusing on objects, all of which can make it challenging for a driver to identify other vehicles or individuals while driving. Even if they can see them, the effects of alcohol can make it challenging for a driver to focus and accurately judge their distance from them.
Poor Judgment
Though some refer to alcohol as “liquid courage,” the substance does not actually increase your bravado. Instead, it prevents you from making sound and well-reasoned decisions that account for clear and present dangers, meaning you are more likely to take needless risks.
Delayed Reactions
An alcoholic beverage can act as a depressant, making your movements more laborious and slower. And that can be deadly for you or others when you get behind the wheel. Even if you can see and comprehend an imminent danger, your body may not respond in time to avoid a crash.
Difficulty With Coordinated Actions
Safe driving requires strong hand-eye coordination to control your vehicle while staying aware of your surroundings. Alcohol makes coordinated movements more difficult, thereby reducing your ability to drive safely. For example, even if you turn your wheel to avoid a crash, you might floor the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
For immediate legal assistance from an experienced Missouri drunk driver accident attorney, contact our legal team today. We offer free case evaluations.
What Are Missouri Laws for Drunk Driving?
Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is the technical term for driving under the influence in Missouri. It is a crime and can give rise to a civil lawsuit in the event that the drunk driver injures or kills others.
A driver can also be arrested, charged, and convicted even if they do not get into a crash or injure any person when operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
A driver is “intoxicated” if they have recently consumed any amount of alcohol and cannot safely drive their vehicle as a result. A person is also considered “intoxicated” by alcohol if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 or greater.
That is a “per se” limit, meaning that the law automatically considers someone with this high of an alcohol concentration to be too intoxicated to drive.
When bringing a civil case against a drunk driver, the injured party must first show that the driver had a duty to drink responsibly and then violated that duty by becoming intoxicated.
That threshold can be met by either showing that the person’s alcohol concentration was 0.08 or higher or that their alcohol consumption negatively affected their ability to drive, thus leading to your crash.
Missouri’s Dram Shop Laws
Missouri also has a “dram shop law,” RSMo Section 537.053, that allows victims of drunk driving accidents to bring a civil cause of action against a bar, tavern, or other similar establishment.
This particular course of action is intended to point out businesses that have served alcohol to someone under 21 or to someone already visibly intoxicated who then got behind the wheel and caused a crash.
Penalties and Punishments for a DWI in Missouri
The penalties for DWI in Missouri are listed in Missouri Revised Statute §577.010. A first-time offender can be convicted of a class B misdemeanor, which could result in up to a six-month jail sentence. A repeat drunk driver, or one who causes injury or death to others, will face more severe felony charges that could result in a lengthy prison sentence.
Other potential consequences of a DWI conviction include fines, probation, and other ancillary penalties. A DWI will also affect a person’s driving privileges. A first-time DWI offender can face a 90-day license suspension, but the length of that suspension can increase if the driver has an elevated alcohol concentration or prior DWI arrests or convictions.
All of these consequences can flow from a single incident of driving while intoxicated. However, the process for each type of proceeding is different; just because a drunk driver faces one kind of consequence does not mean the others are automatic.
As such, it is crucial to employ a qualified and experienced Missouri drunk driver accident lawyer who understands Missouri’s civil and criminal DWI laws. Doing so will help ensure your rights are protected and provide you with the greatest opportunity to seek and obtain compensation for any injuries you suffer.
Understanding How Liability Works When a Drunk Driver Causes an Accident Missouri
When bringing a drunk driving injury lawsuit, you must prove that the drunk driver is liable for your injuries. Liability refers to an individual’s responsibility, and it is dependent on causation.
A drunk driver, for instance, is liable to you when their impaired driving is the primary cause of the accident in which you sustained your injuries.
So long as your financial, physical, and mental harm are all able to be derived as a result of the crash, you and your Missouri drunk driver lawyer can pursue compensation against the drunk driver.
If some other intervening person or event is primarily to blame, however, the drunk driver would not be liable for your injuries.
What Is Negligent Entrustment?
In some cases, the drunk driver is not the only person responsible for your injuries. An establishment that served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person could also be to blame, for example, as can anyone who allows the impaired driver to use their car.
“Negligent entrustment” is a type of civil suit brought against someone who entrusted another with a dangerous or deadly instrument that was then used to injure another person. These instruments include vehicles, weapons, or similar objects.
A successful claim of negligent entrustment would require that you show the person to whom the instrument was entrusted was known to be reckless, a habitual user of alcohol or drugs, or visibly impaired when they received the instrument. Their reputation or impairment must be such that no other reasonable person would have entrusted the person with the vehicle, gun, or other object.
In the context of a drunk driving case, a claim of negligent impairment can be brought against someone who allows another who is visibly intoxicated to borrow a car to drive. Such a claim is also appropriate when someone allows another (who is regularly known to drink) to use their vehicle when it is reasonable to assume they will become drunk.
For more information on negligent entrustment in drunk driver related accidents, schedule a free consultation with the Missouri car accident lawyers from our law firm today.
How Is Negligence Proven in Drunk Driver Accidents in Missouri?
An essential element of every successful drunk driving accident lawsuit is proving the driver responsible for the crash was negligent. Negligence itself refers to engaging in behaviors or actions that an objectively reasonable person would not. In the context of a drunk driving lawsuit, there are two ways to prove negligence.
First, you can prove that the driver’s alcohol concentration was 0.08 or greater. That is known as “negligence per se” and does not require any additional evidence of impairment or inability to drive safely, as the law presumes that no reasonable person would operate a vehicle with an alcohol concentration that violates the law.
You can still prevail in an injury lawsuit even if you do not have proof of the other driver’s alcohol concentration exceeding 0.08. To do so, you would need to show that the driver was impaired to such a degree that they could not safely drive and that no reasonable person in their condition would have tried to operate a vehicle.
Hospital records, surveillance footage, law enforcement reports, and other forms of evidence can all be useful in establishing that a person was under the influence. With the help of a resourceful and knowledgeable attorney from Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers, you can quickly secure that evidence for use in your case.
Drunk Driver Accident Lawsuits: The Difference Between Civil Liability and Criminal Liability
A Missouri drunk driver can face both civil and criminal liability for driving under the influence and injuring others. Although the two types of liability are related, they are ultimately independent of one another. In other words, an impaired driver can be found civilly liable but not criminally, and vice versa.
Criminal liability punishes the driver for violating Missouri’s laws against drunk driving. These cases are generally brought by a government prosecutor who must prove liability beyond a reasonable doubt. If a criminal case against the driver is successful, the driver can face incarceration, fines, probation, alcohol or drug treatment, and other penalties.
A civil case is brought by someone who was injured or affected by the drunk driver’s actions. They may choose to have a privately retained lawyer represent them and pursue their case in order to help recover compensation for the losses and injuries they’ve experienced.
What Damages Can I Be Compensated For After Being Injured by a Drunk Driver in Missouri?
Following a Missouri drunk driving accident, you can pursue compensation for two general types of damages. The first type is called economic damages, and these include financial expenses such as medical bills, wages you did not earn because you could not work, and any reduced future earning capacity caused by permanent disabilities.
Economic damages can also include the reasonable future expenses you will incur because of your injuries. For example, you can seek compensation for home health services or therapeutic services you are likely to need to fully recover.
The second type of damages, called non-economic damages, compensates you for your intangible pain and suffering and your loss of enjoyment of life. If you develop anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder because of the crash, for instance, the effect these conditions have on your daily life can also be compensated.
In exceptional cases, a judge may also award you punitive damages, which serve to punish the drunk driver for exceedingly reckless or intentional behavior. These damages are not available in every case; however, your drunk driving accident lawyer will fight for them when appropriate.
How Much Is My Missouri Drunk Driver Accident Claim Worth?
It is impossible to give a precise, “one-size-fits-all” estimate of what a drunk driving accident injury claim is worth. Your medical bills, the time you miss from work, and your emotional and mental trauma will all be considered in determining the amount of damages you can reasonably expect.
If your loved one died in a drunk driving crash, additional considerations will also affect the value of your claim. The decedent’s earning potential and financial contributions to your family, their funeral expenses, and the emotional loss you have experienced as a family member will impact your claim’s worth.
Working with an experienced Missouri drunk driver lawyer is the best way to ensure you are seeking the damages you are entitled to. Your attorney can gather documentation quantifying your losses, help you evaluate the settlement offers you receive, and make an informed decision about how to pursue the compensation you deserve.
Is There a Time Limit for Filing a Drunk Driver Accident Claim in Missouri?
If a drunk driver in Missouri has harmed you, your legal rights come with an expiration date. Missouri’s personal injury statute of limitations, RSMo Section 516.120, gives victims hurt by a drunk driver five years from the date of the crash to file their claim against the driver. This period begins the moment the accident occurs.
In the event that your loved one died in a drunk-driving wreck and you are seeking wrongful death damages, you have even less time to take action. RSMo Section 537.100 gives wrongful death plaintiffs just three years from the date of their loved one’s passing to commence legal action.
Once the applicable statute of limitations expires, so too does your right to pursue compensation. As such, it is crucial you reach out to a Missouri drunk driver accident attorney as promptly as possible following your crash to ensure your rights are protected.
Skilled Missouri Car Accident Lawyers Specializing in Drunk Driver Accidents
A Missouri drunk driver attorney from Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers is a professional and skilled advocate dedicated to your recovery. Our entire team is committed to helping individuals in St. Louis and throughout Missouri recover the compensation they need following any type of car accident.
Do not let the injuries or losses you’ve sustained in a drunk driving accident define your future. You are entitled to damages, and your attorney will help you pursue them. Contact Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers today and schedule a free case consultation.
