Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

In my last post, we discussed an incident in which a drunk, wrong way driver caused 9 different motor vehicle wrecks on I 85 in Atlanta. Obviously, the fact that this guy was drunk in the middle of the afternoon suggests that he might have some alcohol problems. If he has previous arrests for drunk driving, then he may have minimum insurance, no insurance or insurance with a low rated carrier.

What about the 9+ victims? How are their cases resolved if there are multiple injured victim's suing for limited insurance proceeds? Suppose the drunk driver has a 25/50 policy. The drunk driver's attorney may file an "interpleader" action, whereby he tenders the total policy limits of $50,000 to the court and asks the court to apportion the proceeds. The drunk driver's attorney could also individually negotiate with each victim. Either way, some or all of these victims will not be fully compensated.

Can the victims sue the drunk driver for more money irrespective of the policy limits? Sure, assuming he has any money. There is also the possibility that the driver has other insurance on other vehicles or, if he was on duty at the time, that his employer could be held liable. How do you find out all the liability insurance available? Read the accident report first. If you cannot identify additional policies, then contact an drunk driving accident attorney.

The best protection against a drunk driver who has zero regard for others however, is a good uninsured or underinsured insurance policy. Do not ever skimp on UM coverage. I have the maximum UM insurance I could obtain. I have seen people with $1,000,000 in liability insurance who have only $25,000 in UM. Big mistake. A bad driver with multiple DUIs is most likely to have no insurance, minimum limits insurance or simply have a poorly rated insurance company. You need protection from bad drivers.

Protect yourself by maxing out on UM. It is relatively inexpensive coverage and a great value.

A drunk driver caused a rush hour pileup in Atlanta last Wednesday. According to police, the man caused 9 different wrecks, and one victim was seriously injured. The incident occurred when the drunk driver drove his commercial vehicle the wrong way up Interstate 85 and the Buford Highway connector near Buckhead. The driver, Richard Jernigan was charged with DUI, reckless driving, hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident and driving on the wrong side of the road. The perpetrator attempted to flee, but some local witnesses caught and physically detained him. Good for these folks.

This man's behavior in driving under the influence of alcohol is obviously horrible. That being said, there are two things about this drunk driving incident that are really troubling. First, the man was seriously intoxicated in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday. He was drunk during rush hour when children were likely playing in the residential neighborhoods near or around Piedmont and Monroe. Thank goodness he was stopped before he wreaked more havoc. Second, because there were so many accident victims, it is likely that none will be fully compensated from the insurance policy of the drunk driver.

While insurance policies do cover DUI accidents, victims' recoveries can be limited by the liability insurance policy. Typically these policies are written so that there is one dollar policy limit for each individual crash victim and another for all crash victims. For instance, the policy may read "25/50". This means that the most any one victim can obtain is $25,000 and the most that all victims can get is $50,000. Even if a drunk driver kills someone, under the 25/50 policy, the most that drunk driver victim's family could sue for is $25,000. Even if multiple victims are killed, the most the insurance company is required to pay out under that policy is $50,000.

How do you protect yourself? Please see my next post for an answer.

Police: Drunk Wrong-Way Driver Caused 9 Crashes, WSBTV.com, June 18, 2009