July 2, 2018
What If You Are Hit By a Drunk Driver in Michigan?
So the big question, what if you are hit by a drunk driver in Michigan. Suppose you are driving back home for your late-night shift. A drunk driver blew through a red light and hits your rear fender. The strike badly damages your car and the drunk driver is responsible for the accident. Who will be then liable for your injury? A Michigan Auto Accident lawyer can help in this situation.
It is always difficult to estimate who is responsible for the accident if the other party is a drunk driver. There is a possibility that both of the drivers are responsible and the accident happens due to the negligence of both parties. You need to provide enough proof that the other party is liable for your injuries. You need to provide the proof even if the other party is arrested for driving under the influence. Maybe both of you are partially at fault. To determine who is responsible when one of the party is injured, you need to see the facts and the cause of the incident.
How to determine the fault and liability
Whenever someone is hit by a drunk driver in Michigan, there is a common perception that the drunk party is liable for injuries. But in the law, you need to clear the actions of the impaired driver that are responsible for your injuries and the accident. So, it is better to know the elements of negligence case:
Duty: Whenever you are driving on the road, you need to follow the rules of the driving and respect the safety of others.
Breach of Duty: Speeding and reckless driving constitutes breaches of duty.
Cause in Fact: The driver who was hit by the drunk driver suffers injuries while the other driver does not. This element focuses on the actual causation of the injuries.
Proximate Cause: If the injuries of the driver are out of scope then he cannot prove the impaired driver was the proximate cause of the injury.
Damages: The plaintiff has to provide proof for the damages to bodily injuries or the vehicle.
Even if you are Partially at fault.
It is possible that both of the plaintiff and the drunk driver are partially at fault. Suppose you are reading a text while changing lanes and the other driver got confused and was not able to respond at the time and you suffer both vehicle and body injuries due to the accident. If the other party was not drunk responded in time, if you were not texting then you would not have cut off the driver in the first place. In this case it is difficult to say who is liable.
If you file a case and the other party proves that you are partially at fault. This is referred to as contributory or comparative negligence. Many states use the comparative theory of negligence to reduce the damages by the percentage of fault of the plaintiff. Although, the courts always take a strong action against drunk drivers as they are aware of the dangers posed by distracted driving. In the end, it always depends on the court to decide who is at fault. A Michigan Auto accident lawyer or a Detroit auto accident lawyer can be of great value to those injured in a car accident in Michigan. Consult with a Michigan Car Crash Attorney at Elia & Ponto.
