Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer in Queens, NY

A drunk driving accident can upend your entire life in an instant. You may be watching medical bills stack up as you’re unable to work, while the driver responsible for your injuries may seem to be facing no real consequences. You deserve better than that – and New York law may give you the right to hold that driver accountable.

At The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C., our Queens drunk driving accident lawyers are ready to fight for the full and fair compensation you’re owed. We’ll handle every aspect of your claim while you focus on getting your life back on track. Contact us today to discuss what we can do for you in a free consultation.

How a Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Can Help with Your Case

Our experienced Queens drunk driving accident attorneys can take on all the heavy lifting at every stage of your injury claim, including:

• Investigating the accident scene and collecting evidence to establish how the crash occurred
• Obtaining evidence of the drunk driver’s citations, toxicology results, and any prior DWIs
• Gathering and organizing your medical records to document the full extent of your injuries
• Working with medical experts to connect your injuries to the drunk driving accident
• Identifying all liable parties, including the drunk driver and, if applicable, the business or person that illegally served them
• Filing a no-fault insurance claim on your behalf to help cover your immediate losses
• Calculating the full value of your car accident injury claim, including anticipated future losses
• Communicating and negotiating with insurers to counter lowball offers
• Preparing a strong fault-based claim if your injuries meet New York’s serious injury threshold
• Representing you at depositions, hearings, and trial if your case doesn’t settle

Why Choose The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. for Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim?

If a drunk driver causes you severe injuries, you deserve a skilled lawyer who will fight for every dollar of compensation you’re owed, not one who treats you like a number on a spreadsheet. At The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C., we deliberately keep our caseload limited so we can give your case the focused attention it deserves. When you come to us for help, you’ll work directly with a dedicated team that knows your story and is invested in your outcome from initial consultation to final claim resolution.

Our Queens car accident attorneys have years of experience going up against insurance companies that want to pay as little as possible on valid injury claims. We’re familiar with the tactics adjusters use to minimize and deny claims, and we know how to counter them at every turn.

Our drunk driving accident lawyers work hard to back up your case with thorough medical documentation and expert testimony so we can demand a full and fair settlement on your behalf. And if an insurer refuses to offer what you deserve, we won’t hesitate to take your case to trial.

We handle cases on a contingency-fee basis, which means you pay nothing up front for us to get started on your claim. Our fee comes from any compensation we recover for you, so we only get paid if and when we win your case.

You shouldn’t have to fight insurance companies while trying to recover from a drunk driving car accident. Let The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. handle all the legal details so you can focus on healing.

Drunk Driving Laws in New York

New York law prohibits anyone from operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, which includes:

• Legally impaired – The driver’s ability to safely operate a vehicle is affected by alcohol or drugs.
• Legally intoxicated – The driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08% or higher.
• Aggravated driving while intoxicated (DWI) – The driver’s BAC is 0.18% or greater, or they are driving impaired with a child passenger 15 or younger.
• Commercial motor vehicles – The driver’s BAC is 0.04% or higher.

If you’re a drunk driving accident victim, these legal standards matter because they can establish that the driver who hurt you was breaking the law at the time of the crash. A BAC test result, police report, or DWI charge can serve as powerful evidence in your injury claim.

In certain cases, state law may also hold the business or person that illegally provided the alcohol liable. This means there may be additional parties who bear responsibility for your injuries beyond the drunk driver alone.

Legal Options for NY Drunk Driving Accident Victims

If a drunk driver injured you in Queens, New York law gives you a few potential avenues for recovery:

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Claim

New York is a no-fault insurance state. This means that regardless of who causes an accident, your own auto insurance policy covers your basic economic losses, such as medical expenses and part of your lost earnings, up to your policy limits. PIP coverage applies whether you were a driver, passenger, or pedestrian.

You don’t need to prove that the other driver caused the crash to access this no-fault coverage. However, no-fault benefits often don’t cover the full extent of an injury victim’s expenses, and they don’t compensate you for non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Car Accident Injury Claim Against the Drunk Driver

To pursue full compensation from the drunk driver, you’ll need to file a fault-based claim. New York law says you can only file this type of claim if your injuries meet the “serious injury” threshold. In this context, serious injuries include those that result in:

• Fractures
• Permanent loss of use of some part of the body (organ, member, function, or system)
• Limited use of a body function or system
• Significant disfigurement
• Dismemberment
• Loss of a fetus
• The inability to perform normal daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days following the crash
• Death

Dram Shop Claim and Social Host Liability

NY law may allow you to hold a business responsible for your injuries if it knowingly served alcohol to someone who was visibly intoxicated, which led to the crash. Social hosts may even be liable for knowingly providing a minor with alcohol. Your car accident attorney can help you determine if these claims may apply to your case. 

Filing a Drunk Driving Accident Lawsuit

If your injuries qualify under New York’s serious injury threshold, your attorney can file a fault-based insurance claim against the intoxicated driver to pursue compensation beyond what no-fault benefits provide. However, if the driver’s insurance company won’t play fair, a lawsuit may be necessary.

Gathering Evidence

Your lawyer will start the process of preparing your lawsuit by thoroughly investigating the accident to collect evidence and establish the drunk driver’s liability. This might include obtaining police reports, toxicology results, witness statements, and medical documentation that ties your injuries to the crash.

Initiating the Lawsuit and Discovery

Next, your attorney will file the paperwork to initiate the car accident lawsuit. The case will then enter the discovery phase, where both sides exchange evidence and take depositions.

Negotiation and Trial

Throughout this process, your attorney will continue to negotiate with the other party and their insurer to pursue a fair settlement. If the other side won’t offer reasonable compensation, your attorney can take the case to trial and present your claim before a judge or jury.

It’s worth noting that many drunk driving accident cases settle before they ever reach a verdict. However, having an experienced attorney who is fully prepared to go to trial often puts meaningful pressure on the other side to offer a fair settlement beforehand.

Compensation Available After a Drunk Driving Accident

After a drunk driving car accident in Queens, New York’s no-fault system should cover your immediate medical expenses and a portion of your lost earnings up to your policy limits, regardless of fault. But if your injuries are serious, you could be entitled to much more through a fault-based claim against the drunk driver.

Depending on the circumstances, the full range of compensation available to you after a Queens drunk driving accident may include:

• Medical expenses, including emergency care and follow-up treatment
• Future medical costs for ongoing care
• Lost wages for the time you couldn’t work due to your injuries
• Reduced future earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term
• Out-of-pocket expenses related to your accident and recovery
• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress and loss of quality of life
• Wrongful death compensation for families who lost a loved one in a fatal drunk driving accident

Deadline to File a NY Drunk Driving Accident Claim

In New York, you typically have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss that deadline, the court will likely refuse to hear your case, which would mean losing your right to recover compensation from the drunk driver.

Three years might sound like plenty of time, but drunk driving car accident cases require thorough investigation and preparation. The sooner your attorney gets to work, the better your chances of preserving critical evidence and developing a strong claim.

This is why you should contact a Queens drunk driving accident attorney as soon as possible after the crash. Your attorney can file all necessary claims and legal documents on time, keep your case on track, and make sure no deadlines slip through the cracks while you focus on your recovery.

Get in Touch with Our Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys in Queens, NY

The Queens car accident lawyers at The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. are ready to put our experience and aggressive advocacy to work for you. Contact our office today to arrange your free initial consultation and take the first step toward the accountability and financial recovery you deserve.