Labor Day Weekend is often full of fun celebrations as people gather and say goodbye to the summer season. The days are usually full of activities that tend to involve drinking. With the weekend approaching, it is important to remember to not only practice safe driving, but being careful about who you are getting in a car with. If a person drinks and drives then goes on to cause an accident, it can severely injure or even kill passengers as a result. It is because of this that they can be held liable. Continue reading below to learn more and contact an experienced Pennsylvania personal injury attorney for assistance with your case.
What Should I do After a Drunk Driving Accident?
After being involved in a drunk driving accident, the first thing that should be done is to call the necessary emergency services. This includes medical services and the police so that the scene can be tended to. The police can draft an official report that can later be used as evidence in court. While this is helpful, it is still important to gather as much evidence as possible on your own. This can include taking pictures or video, gathering contact information from witnesses, etc. Medical professionals can conduct examinations on the scene, but it is important to still see a doctor for an official diagnosis, as it can also be used as evidence for a claim.
How Can I Recover Compensation?
In order to recover compensation after being injured as a passenger in a Pennsylvania drunk driving accident, the injured party is required to prove negligence. This can be done with the evidence they gather from the scene of the accident. The evidence must show the driver failed to follow the rules of the road by driving intoxicated, thus directly causing their suffering.
If negligence is successfully proven, compensation may be recovered for any physical, emotional, and financial damages the individual incurred due to the incident. This includes economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages consist of financial burdens such as medical expenses, lost wages, lost future wages, medical equipment, and more. Non-economic damages are for non-financial burdens such as emotional distress, loss of independence, pain and suffering, and more. If the accident causes the death of a passenger, the individual’s family may recover compensation for wrongful death.
Contact our Firm
If you or a loved one has been in a personal injury accident in Pennsylvania, it’s important that you contact an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney to help you with your case and to make sure that you are not taken advantage of. Contact Spear Greenfield to get the right attorney in your corner.
Call or text (215) 985-2424 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form