We Sue Drunk Drivers And Make Their Insurance Company Pay!
by Bret Schnitzer
We have sued drunk drivers many times. The terrible truth about drunk drivers is that often times their insurance companies “admit liability” immediately before trial to allow them to prohibit the Jury from learning they were drunk. Think about how unfair that is. The insurance company fights liability throughout the entire litigation, and makes the victim and their attorney hire experts and take depositions to establish that the drunk driver was in fact drunk. This can require the attorney to invest considerable time and money deposing everyone who processed any testing to establish the chain of custody of the testing. The Michigan rules of evidence of established strict guidelines to the admission of testing results to ensure that were not tainted and/or testing equipment properly calibrated or sterilized. If it was a PBT test then the Police officer also needs to be deposed and brought in to testify.
In some cases, an expert witness needs to be retained to establish the effects that the blood alcohol percentage or drugs testing percentage had on the driver to cause the accident. All these procedures cost both time and money and allow the insurance company to fight liability at every turn. Their attorneys may spend hours examining and cross examining the witnesses as the insurance company tries to find some technical flaw that they can use to exclude the alcohol results. Some insurance companies simply sit back and wait to see if the injured parties attorney does everything they need to do to prove their client was drunk. If the injured parties attorney is not highly experienced sometimes they fail to do what is necessary to prove the drunk drivers liability. If proper witnesses are not retained or timely listed , witness lists are not filed timely, discovery is not done properly, the insurance company may get an opening to defend the case on liability even under extreme circumstances of a highly intoxicated drunk driver.
The insurance company is generally very happy to take advantage of an attorney who is not properly prepared, too busy or not experienced enough to deal with the drunk driving accident. On the first day of trial the insurance company generally files an “admission of liability” once they are convinced that the injury attorney has or will be able to establish the defendant was drunk. If the inexperienced / unprepared lawyer did not file witness lists in a timely manner or hire experts, or subpoena witnesses properly it may be too late and the drunk driver wins. Even when the highly experienced attorney “jumps through all the hoops” the insurance company may wait until the first day of trial admits liability and file’s a “motion in limine” arguing to the Judge that since they have “now” admitted fault there is no legitimate reason that the jury should know that their client was “drunk” because they have “now” admitted they were at fault for the accident. That sounds pretty unfair doesn’t it, yet many Courts will agree that once the defendant “admits liability” the fact that the defendant was “drunk” is not coming in as evidence.
The SchnitzerLaw Attorneys have, however, established a novel and proven method to prevent the insurance company to pull this stunt under many more circumstances. Many lawyers, even those who are experienced injury attorneys do not know or understand this method of preventing the insurance company from admitting liability and thus hiding the fact the defendant was drunk from the jury. The implimentation of this novel method It takes place at the beginning of the case not the end. That makes it extra important to hire the Schnitzer Law Attorneys now If you are hurt by a drunk driver we will certainly implement this procedure which makes it more difficult for the insurance company to a hide the fact that the drunk driver was drunk from the jury. Call us for a free consultation at (313) 389-2234.