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Injured by Intoxicated Person
If you have been injured by an intoxicated motorist you have more options than someone who is simply involved in a motor vehicle accident with someone who was not intoxicated. This is enumerated in the Illinois Dram Shop Act (Liquor Control Act). You or a loved one may have an additional cause of action against the establishment, or establishment(s) that served the defendant alcohol prior to an accident.
The Act requires that a bar, tavern, or restaurant must have some notice that the person is drinking, and that the Defendant is in fact intoxicated and still being served. If the Plaintiff can show that this occurred either through witness testimony or the testimony of the Defendant then the available options for recovery against the bar, tavern, or restaurant, are the following: the injured person’s medical bills, pain and suffering, any loss of means of support (if you are put out of work for awhile, and lose income from your injury(s), loss of companionship (for spouses), and a variety of other potential claims.
The full act is viewable here and interestingly enough, there are fluctuating caps on what the total amount of a recovery can be under these guidelines. Every year the Illinois Comptroller is mandated to update what is the cap for certain types of claims arising out of a bar, tavern, or restaurant violating this Act. For recent caps, you can view the comptroller limits here.
- For causes of action involving persons injured, killed, or incurring property damage on or after January 20, 2018, the judgment or recovery under the Liquor Control Act of 1934 for injury to the person or property of any person shall not exceed $68,777.44 for each person incurring damages; and
- For causes of action under the Liquor Control Act of 1934 for either loss of means of support or loss of society resulting from the death or injury of any person on or after January 20, 2018, the judgment or recovery shall not exceed $84,061.32.
Illinois Time Limits
Illinois sets a time limit of one year to file a personal injury lawsuit in the state’s civil court system under the Illinois Liqour Control Act. In most cases, this one year time limit, known as a “statute of limitations,” begins to run on the date of the accident. Sometimes, however, a statute of limitations might run from the date that you discovered you were injured, rather than the date of the event that injured you. This later date is known as a “discovery date. A qualified personal injury attorney can help guide you through this difficult time and alleviate some of the stress, plus make sure you do not let a filing time period lapse on your potential recovery.
Contact Us Today
If you or a loved one has been injured or involved in an accident involving an intoxicated motorist, we are here to help. For a confidential, compassionate, in-depth, free, and, most importantly, thorough consultation with a Rockford Personal Injury Lawyer about your drunk driver auto accident injury case in Rockford, Belvidere, Freeport, Rochelle, Oregon, Loves Park, Byron, Machesney Park, Roscoe, Rockton, or elsewhere in the State of Illinois, call or text message us at (815) 391-0089, or e-mail us 24/7/365. We offer in-office consultations, and routinely make visits to clients’ homes, hospital rooms, nursing homes, and other off-site locations to make retaining our services as easy as possible.