When a bar or restaurant serves alcohol to a patron who is already intoxicated, they can become liable for the damage caused when their patron stumbles out of the door and gets into their car, even if they kill someone.

This is called “dram shop liability,” and your DUI crash lawyer will investigate the facts of your case to discover if there is any evidence proving that the bar or restaurant negligently served the drunk driver before they caused the crash.

The fact that a crash victim was driving a motorcycle or that the motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet is not considered comparative negligence in SC (see, Mayes v. Paxton and SC Code Section 56-5-3660).

A motorcyclist has the right to sue and recover full and fair compensation for their injuries when they are struck by a drunk driver, and the insurance company’s attorneys are not permitted to argue that riding a motorcycle is an inherently dangerous activity or that a motorcyclist was comparatively negligent for failing to wear a helmet.

Restitution is compensation for a crime victim that is ordered by the criminal court when a defendant is sentenced. It is limited, and it orders the defendant personally to pay you. This means that you are not likely to get paid until after the defendant serves their prison sentence, and, if you are paid restitution, it will likely be in small monthly payments through a probation office.

You are entitled to full and fair compensation, however, in the civil courts through a personal injury or wrongful death action filed by your DUI crash lawyer.

In most cases, there is only one type of relief that the Court can order in a personal injury lawsuit – financial damages.

Once you prove liability, you must then prove the damages that were caused in each of the following categories, and a jury will award financial compensation based on the evidence provided by you and the insurance company’s attorney.

• Medical expenses – both current and future expenses, including hospital bills, doctor bills, emergency transport, medications, medical equipment, physical rehab, and all medical costs that were a result of the accident,
• Lost wages – lost income due to the injuries and loss of future income when there is a lost earning capacity due to disability caused by the crash,
• Property damage – to the motorcycle or any other property that was damaged,
• Future care – including the costs of long-term care when needed,
• Disfigurement and scarring,
• Funeral expenses when there is a wrongful death,
• Pain and suffering,
• Emotional distress,
• Loss of society and companionship,
• Loss of consortium, and
• Punitive damages when the at-fault driver’s conduct was willful, wanton, or reckless – and there is no cap on punitive damages in SC when the at-fault driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Punitive damages are capped by law in South Carolina, but not when the defendant was drunk.

If the defendant was convicted of a felony related to the collision (felony DUI or DUI fourth offense, for example) or if they were drunk at the time of the crash, there is no cap on punitive damages in SC.

When someone is killed by a drunk driver, the personal representative of the deceased victim’s estate is responsible for settling the estate’s claims, which includes retaining a Spartanburg DUI crash lawyer to file a wrongful death claim against the drunk driver and possibly a dram shop action against the bar that served them.

The wrongful death action compensates the victim’s family for the loss of their loved one, while an accompanying survival action compensates the victim (their estate) for injuries they suffered while living.