Drunk driving is always a danger as we drive the roads of Indiana and Illinois, but it’s an even bigger risk during this holiday season. For those getting behind the wheel, they may or may not realize that they have a blood alcohol content (”BAC”) which exceeds the legal limit (which is .08% in both Illinois and Indiana).
Many folk, especially teenagers and young adults, believe they can judge for themselves whether or not they are drunk. The scientific reality is that a human being cannot accurately estimate their BAC and if they are “drunk” by how they feel. Nor by keeping count of the number of drinks they’ve had. Tracking the length of time between drinks? That won’t give an accurate gauge of BAC either.
Why not? Many things contribute to being “drunk” with a BAC over the legal limit. How much someone weighs is one thing. What they ate that day is another. What kind of alcoholic beverage they’ve chosen, still another.
The truth is that the only way to know someone’s BAC level is to have a gizmo (like a Breathalyzer) to test it, or to confirm that they haven’t been drinking alcoholic beverages at all. Breathalyzers are now available to the general public, and you can buy one for as little as thirty bucks online.
Drunk Driving is a Crime
Driving while under the influence of alcohol (or drugs) is against the law in both Indiana and Illinois. There are many laws in place in both states that punish those who choose to take the wheel while they are intoxicated.
Punishments range from misdemeanors to felonies. Someone who is driving drunk and causes a crash where someone dies may even face prosecution on criminal charges for manslaughter.
However, these criminal laws seek to punish wrongdoing and enforce the criminal laws passed by the state lawmakers. They do not provide relief or help to the victims of these tragic accidents, so easily prevented if the driver had simply refrained from driving the vehicle.
For that, the victims must seek redress in the civil system of laws, through personal injury claims. And here, there are provisions that help them find justice because personal injury claims can be pursued against more defendants than just that drunk driver in many situations based upon the state laws of Indiana and Illinois.
Social Host Liability: Party Guest Drives Drunk, Causes Serious or Fatal Drunk Driving Accident
The liability of a party host or social host for their guests who drink and then drive away from the event is not the same in Indiana and Illinois.
In Illinois, social hosts are NOT liable for their adult drunk driving guests who get into an accident after they’ve left the gathering. They have only limited liability for minors who drive drunk and cause a wreck. See, 235 IILCS 5/6-21.
Indiana is different. Social host liability for drunk driving is on the books for a guest who drives away drunk and causes an accident no matter how old they are. See, I.C. 7.1-5-10-15.5.
This means that giving a party on one side of the state line exposes the host to much more liability for their guests than a social host on the other side of the border who is hosting any kind of gathering where alcoholic beverages are being offered, such as:
- Cocktail parties
- Graduation celebrations
- Weddings
- Bachelor parties
- Baby showers
- Retirement parties
- Super bowl parties
- New Years’ Eve parties
- Office parties
- Birthday parties.
If someone leaves one of these events hosted in Illinois, and they drive drunk causing a fatal accident or serious crash, then the host is not liable for the damages resulting from that guest driving away drunk.
Same thing, happening in Indiana? That social host is held to a different legal duty and can be held responsible for that drunk driving accident. Key here: the social host’s actual knowledge that the person was drunk when they drove away.
Dram Shop Liability: Customer or Patron Drives Drunk, Causes Fatal Crash or Serious Accident
In both Indiana and Illinois, those who sell alcohol to customers can be held liable for drunk driving accidents. This is true if the driver was an adult or if he or she was a minor at the time of the crash. See, 235 IILCS 5/6-21; I.C. 7.1-5-10-15.5.
This means that all sorts of businesses can be held legally responsible for the drunk driving accident caused by their customer or clientele. If there are facts that can demonstrate the business knew or should have known that the person was intoxicated, then that establishment can be found legally responsible for the accident and the injuries or death that results from that person’s drunk driving.
This applies to all sorts of businesses, such as:
- corner markets, convenience stores, groceries, or liquor stores where alcohol is sold to drink elsewhere
- local taverns or hotel bars, where clientele come for the purpose of drinking alcohol
- sports arenas, concert halls, or theaters where drinks are served
- restaurants of all kinds, from pizza places and sports bars serving beer by the pitcher, to five-star gourmet dining establishments where someone leaves having had too much wine.
Personal Injury Claims and Wrongful Death Suits After a Drunk Driving Accident
Drunk driving accidents are often very serious traffic accidents where people are severely injured or killed in the crash. For the victims of that drunk driving accident, it’s important to know that there are claims which can be pursued to cover the resulting medical expenses, long term care costs, funeral expenses, rehab expenses, and hospital bills as well as the victim’s pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and more.
Knowing that the business or social host that provided the alcohol to the drunk driver can be held responsible for these resulting damages can be vital to the victim and his or her family, especially when the drunk driver had little or no insurance coverage. Proving their liability may mean investigation into the events of that day (or night), establishing their actual knowledge of the driver’s intoxication through things like witness interviews, police reports, BAC tests, credit card receipts, cell phone records, Facebook posts or Twitter tweets, security camera images, and more.
For those who have been killed in a drunk driving accident, there are also Wrongful Death Statutes in place to provide for justice to their grieving loved ones. Both Indiana and Illinois have wrongful death laws on the books to help those who have lost a loved one to a drunk driver.
Please stay vigilant against the danger of a serious car crash because of a drunk driver this season! Be careful out there!
