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Victims of DUI accidents seek appropriate justice
Getting behind the wheel after drinking more than the legal limit of alcohol is not only dangerous for the person driving but it is more dangerous for anyone who encounters that person. Driving under the influence could lead to a car accident, resulting not only in damage to property but also great bodily injury or possibly death.
Citizens count on the justice system to serve a punishment that fits the severity of the crime. However, to those harmed by someone driving under the influence, some punishments do not seem appropriate.
Examples of lenient DUI punishments
News headlines frequently announce that another celebrity has gotten into trouble for driving under the influence. Follow-up stories often explain how judges have sentenced the celebrities, some of whom are not first-time offenders.
Lindsay Lohan was first arrested and convicted for drunk driving in 2006 after getting into a car wreck in Los Angeles. The judge sentenced her to probation. After violating her probation, Lohan went to jail for a very short period of time and eventually went into treatment for addiction to alcohol.
Since then, Lohan has been convicted of another DUI, cocaine possession, jewelry theft, and another car accident made while violating her probation. With all of those convictions, the most time Lohan has spent in jail was two weeks. She was sentenced to probation, rehabilitation completion requirements, and community service, including 360 hours of unpaid service at the office of the county coroner.
Lohan’s attorney is asking the court for a deal regarding the latest car accident, where she would undergo intense therapy with regular screenings, as well as establishing a nonprofit foundation for youth where she will give inspirational speeches to groups such as schools and hospitals.
Bobby Brown is another celebrity who has been in the news recently, after being sentenced to 55 days in jail, four years of probation, and the completion of an 18-month alcohol rehabilitation program after his latest DUI and driving with a suspended license conviction. Previous DUI convictions in 1996 and 2012 were the causes of Brown’s suspended license.
Getting justice when a DUI is involved
It has been said that judges often sentence celebrities much more strictly than they would regular citizens, simply to prove that breaking the law comes with consequences. Somebody who has been harmed by a person who was driving under the influence might feel like the above two examples were too lenient, as are many punishments that come with DUI convictions.
Getting justice as a victim in a car accident where the other driver had been drinking may seem difficult, considering the apparent leniency of punishment given to those convicted of DUIs.
Victims injured in a DUI accident need to know their rights and have an attorney who will advocate for them. An attorney experienced in drunk driving car accidents will pursue compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering as well as additional monetary damages through a punitive damage claim.
Our founding attorney, Scott J. Corwin, has more than 30 years of experience in representing victims of DUI and drunk drivers injured in all forms of motor vehicle, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian and bicycle accidents, in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and throughout the state of California.