Ylla Gosney, Attorneys at Law can help you or someone you care about that’s been injured in a car accident caused by another driver being under the influence in Norman. A car accident is never easy to deal with. When the other driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, everything tends to feel more overwhelming. But it doesn’t change your options, and our team will be there to guide you through it. Set up a free consultation today to talk through your options.
Do You Need a Lawyer After a DUI Accident?
Not every accident requires legal help. If the crash is minor and nobody is seriously hurt, you may be able to work things out directly with insurance. But DUI-related accidents are rarely simple. There can be questions about the other driver’s impairment, what the police found, how serious your injuries are, and who’s ultimately responsible.
In situations like that, having our team step in and handle the process can make things easier on you. That usually includes taking care of things like:
- Figuring out what actually happened
- Getting the police records
- Keeping track of your injuries
- Handling the back-and-forth with the insurance company
- Taking the next step if we need to
Most people don’t expect how time-consuming and frustrating the insurance process can be, even when it’s pretty clear that the other driver was under the influence. But insurance isn’t your only option with one of these accidents.
What You Should Look For Right After a DUI Accident
Even though a DUI accident can be extremely disorienting, it’s still a car accident. And in those first few moments after, you may not even realize the other driver is impaired.
That might become more obvious once you interact with them—assuming they stick around. But this isn’t the time to confront them or try to figure out what’s going on. Your focus should be on:
- Calling 911 and reporting the accident so police and medical help can respond.
- Sticking to the facts when police arrive and explain what happened from your perspective.
- Letting the police handle the other driver. They’re trained to look for signs of impairment and investigate whether alcohol or drugs played a role.
- Letting EMTs look you over. If you’re injured, have them take you to a hospital for treatment.
From there, though, you can try to get a few basics like:
- Pictures and videos of the vehicles, road conditions, traffic signals, and any visible injuries
- Names and contact information of witnesses or bystanders
- License and insurance information from the other driver
Getting these things are important, but not at the risk of your own health and safety. Don’t try to push through injuries to get them. Then as things settle down in the coming days, other things will start coming in that can help you, like:
- Your medical records
- The police report and any arrest reports
- Results from the other driver’s blood tests or field sobriety tests
- Pictures of your injuries as they have progressed or worsened
- Surveillance or traffic cam footage of the actual collision
For as important as these things are, they won’t make your claim an automatic win. It’s more about getting what you can to show what happened and what the accident has left you facing. And from there, it’s about knowing what your options are.
What Your Legal Options Look Like After a DUI Accident in Norman
One thing that surprises many people is that there are usually two separate processes happening after a DUI accident. The first is the criminal case that gets handled by the state. But the other—and for you, arguably more important—process is your civil case. That’s the part that focuses on you: your injuries, your bills, and how your life has been affected.
And from that perspective, things work like a normal car accident claim, where you either:
- File an insurance claim out of court
- File a personal injury lawsuit
Most cases don’t go to trial, but having that option is important because it often influences how insurance companies approach the claim. Whichever option you decide to go with, it’s about getting “damages” relating to your:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Current lost income or loss of future earning potential
- Repair/replacement costs for your car
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Wrongful death expenses in fatal accidents
There are also time limits for bringing a personal injury or wrongful death claim. The deadline depends on the circumstances, so it’s important to find out what applies to your situation rather than waiting too long.
Legal Responsibility for DUI Accidents in Norman
A DUI is one of the clearest examples of negligent driving. But one thing that people don’t always think about is that legal responsibility doesn’t necessarily stop with the driver—even though the driver will usually carry most of it.
It’s basically about narrowing down what happened and whether anyone else played a role in what happened. That can include questions like:
- Who owned the vehicle?
- Did someone knowingly allow an impaired person to drive?
- Did another driver contribute to the accident?
- Were there problems with the vehicle itself?
- Did road conditions or a traffic signal play a role?
Depending on the circumstances, other parties could potentially include:
- Another driver involved in the accident
- The person who owned or provided the vehicle
- A vehicle or parts manufacturer
- A government agency responsible for road maintenance or traffic signals
- Pedestrians or bicyclists, depending on what happened
There’s also the reality that Norman is a college town. That means you have a mix of students, longtime residents, visitors, and people coming into town for OU games and other events.That doesn’t automatically make someone responsible for an accident. But it does mean there can be a lot of different circumstances surrounding a DUI accident, and the details matter.
Common DUI Accidents in Norman
Since they all happen for the same basic reason, it’s actually pretty easy to see the patterns that come with DUI car accidents here in Norman:
- Rear-end collisions. You’re slowing down because traffic ahead of you is slowing down, but the other driver doesn’t react in time. This can happen pretty easily when someone’s judgment and reaction time are impaired.
- Head-on collisions. The driver drifts across the center line or ends up going the wrong way. When that happens, there usually isn’t much time for anyone to get out of the way.
- T-bone or side-impact accidents. These often happen when an impaired driver runs a red light or blows through a stop sign without really seeing what’s happening around them.
- A driver may be going too fast, lose control, or overcorrect after making a mistake. Once the vehicle starts to go, things can get dangerous pretty quickly.
- Pedestrian accidents. This is a bigger concern around areas like the University of Oklahoma and Campus Corner, where there are a lot of people walking around. An impaired driver may not see someone in a crosswalk or realize how close they are.
- Bicycle accidents. A cyclist can be right there, but an impaired driver may not notice them, may misjudge the distance, or may drift into their path.
When you look at all of these together, the pattern is usually the same. It’s not that the road itself is unpredictable. It’s that the driver’s ability to react in time is gone, and that’s what leads to the collision.
And in a college town like Norman, that can become an even bigger problem when you have students walking or biking around campus, people leaving restaurants and bars, and visitors unfamiliar with the area.
Ylla Gosney Can Help After a DUI Car Accident in Norman
Driving under the influence can have serious consequences for everyone on the road. But that doesn’t change what you and the rest of your support system are left with when you’re the one who’s injured.
That’s where our team at Ylla Gosney, Attorneys at Law can really help you. We’ll explain what your options look like and what the path forward will probably involve. Set up a free consultation today to get started.