In February, a bill was introduced to combat
aggressive drunk driving in Maryland.
Last week, Maryland’s Senate overwhelmingly passed this legislation
(46-0) that would allow a victim injured in a drunk driving accident to recover
punitive damages from the drunk driver.
A hearing on the bill is expected on April 1st in Maryland’s
House. If the House passes the
legislation too, the bill would then go to the Governor for final approval.
Drunk
driving accidents that result in death or serious injury occur far too often in
Maryland and throughout the rest of the country. Although strict laws are in place with harsh
penalties for breaking them, it is still not enough as innocent people are
killed every day by drunk driver.
Current laws certainly have not led to any decrease in the number of
drunk drivers on the road in Maryland.
With this potential new law, not only would drunk drivers have to face
possible jail time and/or fines, they could also be liable for paying punitive
damages to injured accident victims.
Punitive damages are completely subjective and not based on any specific
numbers. They are meant to punish the
defendant for his/her reckless behavior so that it does not happen again. With current drunk driving laws in place, most
offenders do not seem to be deterred from driving drunk again. But, if they are required to pay hundreds of
thousands of dollars to victims or their families, drivers might think twice
about getting behind the wheel drunk again.
Normally,
in all other personal injury cases, punitive damages are rarely awarded because
it must be proved that the defendant had “actual malice” or “specific intent”
to harm the victim. Obtaining punitive
damages under this new drunk driving bill would be much easier and could be
applied just by the fact that the defendant operated a car while intoxicated
and injured another person.
Track
the progress of this bill (SB 605) as it makes its way through the House. Here are two websites that will keep you
updated on this bill:
If you or someone you
love has been injured or killed in a Maryland accident caused by a drunk driver
and would like more information, please call us at (301) 854-9000 for a free case
evaluation or visit us online at: http://www.portnerandshure.com/Auto-Accidents/Car-Accidents/Fatal-Car-Accidents.shtml
. Portner & Shure has several conveniently
located satellite offices throughout the state of Maryland for our clients to
meet with some of our experienced attorneys and paralegals.
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