Drunk drivers still crowd Lafayette’s roads after last call or a game at Ross-Ade, and a single wrong-way turn onto Sagamore Parkway or I-65 can leave you badly hurt through no fault of your own.
A Lafayette drunk driving accident lawyer helps injured people in Tippecanoe County hold an impaired driver accountable for the harm they caused. Vaughan & Vaughan’s job is to turn a police report and a hospital bill into a claim the other side has to take seriously.
Our family has represented injured Hoosiers since 1913. Call (765) 742-0056 or use our online contact form for a free consultation.
Why Choose Vaughan & Vaughan for Your Lafayette Drunk Driving Accident Claim
Vaughan & Vaughan brings our deep Indiana roots and a focus on serious crash injuries to every drunk driving case in Lafayette. Our approach is built around the client, not around moving files quickly, and that shapes how we handle claims against impaired drivers and their insurers.
Here’s what sets the firm apart when you work with our Lafayette injury attorneys.
An Indiana Law Firm Since 1913
Vaughan & Vaughan has served injured people across Indiana since 1913, and that history means something in a Tippecanoe County courtroom. We know the local courts, the local roads, and the way these cases tend to move. Longevity like this is rare, and it comes from doing right by clients decade after decade.
Deep Tippecanoe County Knowledge
Vaughan & Vaughan knows the roads and intersections where serious Lafayette drunk driving crashes can happen. Teal Road, South Street, and South 18th Street each carry their own risks late at night. That local knowledge helps us investigate how a crash unfolded and identify evidence tied to the location.
Focused on Serious Injury Claims
Vaughan & Vaughan concentrates on serious injuries from vehicle crashes, so drunk driving cases are squarely within our wheelhouse. We spend real time on evidence, medical records, and the long-term cost of an injury.
You Pay Nothing Unless We Win
Vaughan & Vaughan works on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win your case. A free consultation costs you nothing either, and it gives you a clear read on where your claim stands.
Ready to talk it through? Call Vaughan & Vaughan at (765) 742-0056 or reach out through our online contact form today.
Can the OWI Case Help Your Injury Claim?
A Lafayette drunk driving accident lawyer can use evidence from the driver’s operating while intoxicated (OWI) case to strengthen your civil injury claim. Police reports, breath or blood test results, witness statements, and other records from the criminal case can help show that the driver was impaired when the crash happened.
An OWI conviction can also support your lawyer’s argument that the driver violated a safety law. But the criminal case doesn’t automatically prove the value of your injury claim. Your attorney still has to connect the crash to your injuries and document the losses you suffered.
That can mean gathering records from Franciscan Health Lafayette East or IU Health Arnett Hospital, reviewing your treatment, and calculating costs that could continue for months or years.
The criminal case can help establish what the driver did, while your Lafayette drunk driving lawyer builds the separate evidence needed to show what that conduct cost you.
Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Drunk Driving Crash in Lafayette?
Our drunk driving lawyers in Lafayette and our in-house former police lieutenant can investigate whether the impaired driver or another party could be responsible for your crash. Under Indiana’s Dram Shop Act, a bar or restaurant can face liability in certain cases involving alcohol service to an intoxicated person who later causes harm.
Figuring out every responsible party takes investigation because the answer is rarely handed to you. A single crash can involve the driver, an establishment that served alcohol, and insurance coverage nobody mentioned at the scene.
Your lawyer can investigate several possible sources of liability or coverage:
- The Impaired Driver: The person who chose to drive drunk can be held responsible for causing the crash, and their auto insurance is usually the first source of coverage.
- A Bar or Restaurant: An establishment can face liability when the facts meet Indiana’s dram shop requirements.
- A Social Host in Some Cases: A person who furnishes alcohol can face liability in limited circumstances under Indiana law.
- UM/UIM Coverage: If the drunk driver has too little insurance or none at all, your lawyer can review your own policy for Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage.
How Does Indiana’s Fault Rule Affect Your Drunk Driving Injury Case?
A lawyer can fight attempts to shift part of the blame to you because Indiana’s comparative fault rule can directly reduce or eliminate your recovery. The Indiana Comparative Fault Act reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault and bars recovery if you’re found more than 50% at fault.
This is why insurance adjusters ask pointed questions after a crash. If they can argue you were speeding or distracted, they can try to increase your share of fault and reduce what they pay. Your Lafayette drunk driving accident attorney can answer that pressure with evidence rather than guesses.
Useful evidence can include the police crash report, breath or blood test results, dashcam or nearby business camera footage, and witness accounts. Our team gathers and compares that evidence to challenge an insurer’s version of how the crash happened.
Reviewing the most common causes of serious Lafayette accidents can also help you understand how fault gets sorted out on local roads.
What Compensation Is Available After a Lafayette Drunk Driving Crash?
Your Lafayette drunk driving accident lawyer can help you seek compensation for your losses tied to the accident, such as your trip to the ER, time away from work, and personal suffering. That starts with calculating hard numbers like medical bills and missed paychecks, and it can extend to harder-to-measure harm like pain and the loss of things you used to enjoy.
Punitive damages can also be available in some Indiana cases, subject to state law and statutory limits. The full value of a claim often isn’t clear until your medical condition is better understood, which is why early insurance offers can fall short.
An adjuster who calls three days after the crash doesn’t yet know whether you’ll need surgery or months of therapy, and neither do you. Settling too soon can close the door on costs you haven’t discovered yet. Vaughan & Vaughan builds each claim around the specific damages a client has suffered.
Depending on the facts of your case, your lawyer can pursue compensation for losses such as:
- Medical Expenses: Your claim can include emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, rehabilitation, and future treatment tied to the crash.
- Lost Income: Your lawyer documents wages you missed while recovering and any lasting reduction in your ability to earn.
- Pain and Suffering: A claim can account for the physical pain and emotional harm caused by a serious crash.
- Punitive Damages: In qualifying cases, your Lafayette drunk driving accident attorney can determine whether the facts support a request for punitive damages.
How Do Insurance Companies Handle Drunk Driving Claims?
An Indiana drunk driving accident lawyer protects your claim when an insurance company looks for ways to reduce what it pays after a drunk driving crash. Even when its insured driver was arrested for OWI, the insurer’s job is to protect its financial interests, not to calculate your losses for you.
An insurer doesn’t have to deny the entire claim to reduce its value. Adjusters can dispute injuries, question treatment, push for an early settlement, or try to shift some blame to you.
Our lawyers recognize those tactics and respond with evidence:
- The Quick Lowball Offer: Your lawyer can compare an early offer with your medical records, lost income, and expected future costs before you sign away the claim.
- Recorded Statement Requests: An attorney can handle insurer communications and help prevent an adjuster from taking your words out of context.
- Disputing Medical Treatment: Your Lafayette drunk driving lawyer uses medical records and provider opinions to connect your treatment to the crash.
- Delay and Silence: An attorney keeps the claim moving, follows up on unanswered demands, and files suit when litigation becomes necessary.
“Every single incentive of an insurance company is aligned against them, regardless if it's a third-party claim against a wrongdoer or it's an underinsured claim even against their own policy.” — Attorney and Director of Operations Charles J. Vaughan
How Our Lafayette Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers Build Your Case
A Lafayette drunk driving accident lawyer from Vaughan & Vaughan builds your case by preserving evidence, proving fault, documenting your losses, and handling the insurer for you. Camera footage gets overwritten, witnesses forget details, and other evidence can become harder to find with time.
Moving quickly helps our investigative team preserve proof of what the impaired driver did. From there, the work shifts to documenting your losses in full. Your lawyer can collect medical records, and our on-staff Licensed Practical Nurse can review your prognosis and help identify future costs tied to your injuries. A claim backed by detailed evidence is harder for an insurer to dismiss or undervalue.
If the insurer won’t make a reasonable offer, your attorney can prepare the case for litigation instead of asking you to accept less just to end the claim. Vaughan & Vaughan handles car accident cases in Lafayette and can take a drunk driving claim to court when the facts and circumstances call for it.
FAQ for Lafayette Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
Do I Need a Lafayette Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer if the Driver Was Already Arrested?
The driver’s arrest doesn’t handle your injury claim or pay your medical bills. The OWI case belongs to the state and focuses on the criminal charge, while your civil claim seeks compensation for your injuries and losses.
A Lafayette drunk driving accident lawyer can pursue that separate claim, gather evidence from the crash, and deal with the insurance company for you.
Can I Still Recover Money if the Drunk Driver Had No Insurance?
You could still have a source of coverage through UM/UIM insurance. The amount available depends on the policies that apply to the crash and the extent of your losses. A lawyer can review the available insurance policies and pursue coverage that applies to your claim.
Is the Bar That Served the Drunk Driver Responsible for My Injuries?
A bar can face liability when the facts meet Indiana’s Dram Shop Act requirements. Proving that type of claim requires evidence about the driver’s condition, what the establishment knew, and the alcohol it served before the crash.
Our team can investigate the hours before the wreck to determine whether a third party could share responsibility.
What if the Police Report Suggests I Share Some of the Fault?
A police report doesn’t make the final decision about civil fault. Indiana’s comparative fault law can reduce your recovery based on your percentage of fault and bar recovery if you’re found more than 50% at fault.
A drunk driving accident lawyer in Lafayette can challenge an unfair fault argument with footage, witness statements, physical evidence, and other records.
How Much Is My Lafayette Drunk Driving Accident Claim Worth?
The value of your Lafayette drunk driving accident claim depends on your injuries, medical costs, lost income, available insurance, and how the crash affected your life. No lawyer can guarantee a dollar amount before reviewing the evidence.
Our attorneys can document your losses and build a demand around the full effect of the crash rather than an insurer’s early estimate.
Talk to a Lafayette Drunk Driving Accident Attorney Today
A Lafayette drunk driving accident attorney can take over the insurance and evidence work while you focus on your recovery. Vaughan & Vaughan has represented injured Hoosiers since 1913 and can investigate the crash, document your losses, deal with the insurer, and prepare your case for court when necessary.
Call Vaughan & Vaughan at (765) 742-0056 or use our online form to get your free consultation.
