A drunk driver’s guilty plea doesn’t automatically win your civil lawsuit. That conviction, however, unlocks a powerful legal doctrine called negligence per se, which allows your attorney to prove the driver’s negligence without a lengthy fight over their carelessness.
An experienced personal injury lawyer uses the driver's conviction as a powerful piece of evidence to build your case for fair compensation.
Key Takeaways for Negligence Per Se
- A criminal case punishes the driver, while a civil case seeks to compensate a victim for their losses.
- The legal tool of negligence per se allows you to use a safety law violation to prove the other driver's fault based on the breach of that law.
- A DWI conviction offers compelling evidence, but other safety-law violations, like speeding or texting while driving, may also apply.
- Even with a conviction, you must still present clear evidence connecting the driver’s illegal act to your specific injuries and financial damages.
- Insurance companies may still challenge your claim, making a lawyer's involvement critical for protecting your rights.
What’s the Difference Between a Criminal Case and a Civil Claim?
After an accident, the legal system creates two separate and distinct cases. The State of New York may pursue a criminal case against the at-fault driver. The government files these charges, and a prosecutor's job is to prove the defendant violated a specific law.
A criminal conviction results in penalties like fines, license suspension, or jail time. This case focuses entirely on punishing the wrongdoer for breaking the law. It doesn’t typically provide compensation to you for your injuries.
Your personal injury claim is a civil action. You, the injured party, file this claim to seek financial recovery for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other harms. An attorney advances your interests in the civil court system.
Different Standards of Proof
A key distinction between the two cases involves the standard of proof. In a criminal trial, the prosecutor must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a very high bar, reflecting the serious consequences of a conviction.
In a New York civil claim, your attorney must prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence. This standard means you only need to show that it’s more likely than not that the other driver’s actions caused your injuries. A driver's DWI conviction in a civil case greatly helps you meet this standard.
A Closer Look at Proving Negligence
To succeed in a personal injury claim, your lawyer must typically establish four key elements:
- Duty of Care: Your lawyer must first show that the at-fault driver owed you a legal duty to operate their vehicle safely, a responsibility every driver has.
- Breach of Duty: Second, they must demonstrate the driver breached, or violated, that duty through a specific action. When a driver breaks a safety law, the principle of negligence per se can automatically establish this breach.
- Causation: Third, they must prove a direct link between the driver's breach and the injuries you sustained.
- Damages: Finally, they must provide documented proof of your damages, such as medical bills and pay stubs, to calculate the value of your claim.
The Legal Shortcut: Defining Negligence Per Se
The doctrine of negligence per se offers a more direct way of establishing negligence. This legal rule states that an action may be considered negligent if it violates a law designed to protect public safety. Instead of arguing that the driver’s behavior was unreasonable, your attorney proves the driver broke a specific safety statute as evidence of negligence.
Traffic laws, from DWI statutes to speed limits, exist to prevent accidents and protect everyone. When a driver violates one of these laws and causes a collision, the court may consider the first two elements of negligence—duty and breach—satisfied based on the statutory violation. This tool gives you a significant advantage when pursuing your claim.
How a Driver’s Violation Establishes Fault
Suppose a driver runs a red light at an intersection in Manhattan and hits your vehicle. The law requiring drivers to stop at red lights is a safety statute. By running the light, that driver violated the statute.
Under the negligence per se rule, that violation serves as evidence of negligence. Your attorney no longer needs to argue in detail that a reasonable driver would have stopped.
The driver broke the law, and that action helps establish their carelessness, satisfying a critical component of proving negligence.
The Power of a Guilty Plea or Conviction
A guilty plea or a conviction at trial serves as strong evidence in a drunk driving accident civil claim. The criminal court's decision establishes that the driver did, in fact, break the safety law in question. This formal judgment provides powerful leverage in your civil case.
Your attorney can present the court's official records as part of your claim. This evidence makes it very difficult for the driver or their insurance company to deny that a violation occurred.
The focus of your case can then shift from proving the driver was careless to proving the full extent of the harm you suffered.
What Traffic Violations Can Establish Negligence Per Se?
While a DWI conviction presents a clear-cut case, many other traffic infractions can form the basis of a negligence per se argument. An attorney uses the driver’s conviction for these violations to build a strong foundation for your claim.
Common violations in New York City include:
- Speeding: Exceeding the posted speed limit on roadways like the FDR Drive or a local street in The Bronx violates a fundamental safety rule.
- Reckless Driving: This charge applies when a driver unreasonably endangers the safety of others, such as by aggressively weaving through traffic on the BQE.
- Running a Red Light or Stop Sign: Failing to obey traffic signals is a direct violation of a law intended to prevent intersection collisions.
- Texting While Driving: New York has specific laws prohibiting the use of handheld electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle, and violations can constitute negligence per se.
Why Your Civil Case Still Requires Additional Proof
The drunk driver's guilty plea automatically doesn’t mean you’ll automatically win your civil lawsuit. Using a criminal conviction in a civil suit is a major step forward, but it doesn't guarantee a specific outcome. Winning your case requires more than just proving the other driver acted carelessly.
You must still complete the remaining steps of a personal injury claim. This is where an attorney's work becomes essential.
Connecting the Violation to Your Injuries
Your lawyer must draw a clear line from the driver’s illegal action to the injuries you sustained. This element, known as causation, means showing that the driver's specific act of negligence directly resulted in your harm.
For example, your lawyer must demonstrate that the driver’s illegal lane change, and not some other factor, caused the collision that injured you. Your legal team gathers specific evidence to establish this connection.
A thorough investigation is crucial for building a case that links the driver’s violation to your damages.
Key pieces of evidence include:
- The Police Report: This report contains the investigating officer’s observations about the accident scene and often includes an initial assessment of fault and any citations issued.
- Witness Statements: Statements from people who witnessed the accident can confirm the driver's actions, such as speeding through a red light.
- Your Medical Records: These documents create a detailed timeline of your injuries from the moment of the crash and document the medical care you required.
- Expert Medical Opinions: A medical professional can explain the nature and severity of your injuries and link them directly to the forces involved in the accident.
Documenting Your Damages
After establishing both negligence and causation, the final element of your case is proving your damages. This involves compiling a comprehensive record of all the ways the accident has impacted you physically and financially. An attorney helps you identify and calculate every category of loss.
You can seek compensation for various forms of harm, and a successful claim accounts for every loss related to the collision.
Common categories of damages include:
- Medical Treatment: Compensation can cover everything from the initial ambulance ride and emergency room care to surgeries, physical therapy, and future medical needs.
- Lost Income: You may recover wages lost while you were unable to work and compensation for any reduction in your future earning capacity due to a long-term injury.
- Pain and Suffering: This accounts for the physical pain and emotional distress the accident and your injuries have caused.
- Property Damage: This includes the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any other personal property damaged in the crash.
How Insurance Companies Respond to a Criminal Conviction
You may expect a driver’s conviction to make the insurance company offer a fair personal injury settlement immediately. Unfortunately, that's not always how it works. Insurance adjusters have a job to do: protecting their company's profits by minimizing payouts.
Even when faced with a conviction for a serious offense, the insurer may still try to downplay the value of your claim. Adjusters may use certain tactics to reduce the amount they have to pay.
Watch for these common approaches:
- Disputing Causation: An adjuster might admit that their client was convicted of DWI but argue that the collision was caused by something else, such as road conditions.
- Questioning Your Injuries: They might go through your medical history to find a pre-existing condition and claim your pain stems from that old injury, not the drunk driving accident.
- Making a Low Initial Offer: The insurance company might make a quick, low offer, hoping you’re stressed and will accept less than your claim's full value before you speak to a lawyer.
- Delaying the Process: Some insurers may intentionally drag out the claims process, hoping you’ll become frustrated and give up or accept a lower amount.
How a Lawyer Builds a Negligence Per Se Claim
An experienced attorney knows how to use the at-fault driver's conviction to your advantage and counter the insurance company's tactics. They handle every aspect of your case so you can focus on your recovery.
A New York DWI lawyer takes several important actions:
- Securing All Records: Your attorney formally obtains certified copies of the driver’s conviction, police reports, and any other official documentation needed to prove the traffic violation.
- Building a Comprehensive Case: They gather all the evidence needed to prove causation and document the full scope of your damages, leaving no stone unturned in valuing your claim.
- Managing All Communications: Your lawyer becomes the single point of contact with the insurance companies, shielding you from adjusters’ tactics and aggressive questioning.
- Negotiating a Settlement: Armed with powerful evidence like a criminal conviction, your lawyer negotiates for a settlement that fairly reflects your losses.
FAQ for Negligence Per Se
What Happens if the Other Driver Fights the Criminal Charge?
The two legal actions are independent, so your civil case can proceed even while the criminal case is ongoing. An attorney can start gathering evidence and building your personal injury claim right away.
Can I Still Sue if the Driver Was Acquitted in Criminal Court?
Yes, you can still file a personal injury lawsuit even if the other driver is acquitted in criminal court because the standard of proof is much lower in a civil case. An acquittal only means the prosecutor failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, not that the driver wasn't careless.
In your civil claim, your attorney only needs to show it was more likely than not that the other driver's actions caused your injuries. This much lower burden of proof means your personal injury case can succeed where the criminal case failed.
How Does Negligence Per Se Apply if the Driver Broke a Minor Traffic Law?
The doctrine of negligence per se can apply to certain violations of a safety statute, ranging from failing to yield the right-of-way to other traffic to other traffic safety violations. As long as the law was in place to prevent the type of harm that occurred, a lawyer can argue that its violation constitutes negligence.
Does a Conviction Affect How Much My Case Is Worth?
A conviction strengthens your leverage but doesn’t directly increase the monetary value of your claim. The value depends on the severity of your injuries, the amount of your medical bills and lost wages, and the impact on your quality of life. The conviction makes it easier to prove the liability portion of your claim.
How Long Do I Have To File a Lawsuit in New York?
New York has a three-year statute of limitations that sets a strict deadline for filing most personal injury lawsuits. Speak with a lawyer promptly after your accident to make sure you protect your right to pursue compensation. Missing the deadline may prevent you from ever recovering for your losses.
Take Control of Your Recovery
The other driver's criminal conviction is a key piece of evidence, but it’s just one component of a successful personal injury claim. At Hach & Rose, our attorneys know how to use every tool available, including the doctrine of negligence per se, to hold careless drivers accountable.
We’re ready to put our experience to work for you. Contact us today through our online form for a free consultation about your case.