According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, one person was injured or killed in a drunk driving accident every 2.3 hours in 2023. That’s a total of 7,131 crashes for the entire year, with 186 people killed and 3,580 people injured. The state’s drunk driving laws are strict, but that doesn’t prevent impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel and causing devastating injuries.

If you’re injured in a drunk driving accident, you’ve got a lot to deal with: severe pain, high medical bills, and insurance companies that are determined to minimize your compensation as much as possible. At Nowlan Personal Injury Law, we make it our mission to hold negligent drivers accountable and secure the settlement you need to recover.

Why Hire Us for Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim?

Nowlan Personal Injury Law has been Rock County’s premier personal injury law firm for over 130 years. Our current team brings over 50 years of combined experience to the table; we care about your well-being and use that experience to get the best results for you. Here’s why so many injured clients have trusted us with their personal injury claims over the years:

• Proven Track Record with Million-Dollar Results: Our skilled attorneys have recovered over $74 million in settlements and verdicts for injured clients. When drunk drivers cause severe injuries, we demand maximum compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
• Former Insurance Defense Experience: Our personal injury lawyers worked for big insurance companies before switching sides to represent injury victims. We know how they defend against claims, delay payments, and minimize settlements. When insurance adjusters try to blame you for the motor vehicle accident or downplay your injuries, we know exactly how to respond.
• Solid Investigations: Drunk driving cases require immediate action to preserve evidence before it disappears. We work with accident reconstruction experts, toxicology specialists, and medical professionals to build cases that prove intoxication and causation. Our investigators obtain police reports, witness statements, security footage, and cell phone records that show what really happened.
• Access to Experts: We maintain relationships with top medical specialists who can properly diagnose and treat your injuries while providing detailed reports for your case. Our legal team also works with economists and life care planners to calculate the full value of your damages, including future medical costs and lost earning capacity. 
• No Fee Unless We Win: We handle all drunk driving accident cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay attorney fees unless we recover fair compensation for you. This arrangement allows you to get top-quality legal representation without upfront costs while you’re dealing with medical treatment expenses and lost income. We advance all case costs, including expert witness fees, investigation expenses, and court filing fees so you don’t have to.

Why You Need Wisconsin Drunk Driving Lawyers

Insurance companies often try to settle drunk driving cases quickly for low amounts. Having a personal injury attorney who knows how to value these cases properly and negotiate accordingly can dramatically increase your settlement amount. They can determine whether other parties share fault for the accident, potentially maximizing your compensation, and work with medical experts and economists to calculate the full value of your damages.

Many injury victims don’t know that they have only three years to file a personal injury lawsuit in Wisconsin. You have to move even more quickly to collect evidence: for example, security footage is usually deleted within 30 days, and if witnesses aren’t from the area, they can be hard to track down later. A Wisconsin drunk driving lawyer will give your personal injury claim the best chance of success by acting fast and building the strongest possible case for maximum compensation.

What Compensation Can You Get After a Wisconsin Drunk Driving Accident?

When an intoxicated driver leaves you with serious injuries, you may be able to claim a wide range of economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages represent the measurable financial losses you suffer as a direct result of your drunk driving accident injuries. They include:

• Medical Expenses: These costs include emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays, and rehabilitation that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for severe injuries. Ongoing care includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and follow-up appointments that add thousands more to the total bill.
• Lost Wages: If you’re unable to work, Wisconsin law allows you to recover your full salary, including overtime, bonuses, and benefits you would have earned during your recovery period. Documentation of your employment history and pay stubs helps calculate your loss of income.
• Future Medical Costs: These expenses must be calculated when your injuries require ongoing treatment. For example, spinal cord injuries may require lifetime care costing millions of dollars, while traumatic brain injuries often need years of rehabilitation and cognitive therapy.
• Lost Earning Capacity: This damage applies when your injuries prevent you from returning to your previous job or limit your ability to work full-time. It considers the difference between your previous income and what you can earn with your current limitations. 
• Property Damage: These costs cover vehicle repairs or replacement, along with personal items like electronics, clothing, and other belongings destroyed in the crash.

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate victims for the physical pain and emotional trauma that accompany serious accidents. They include:

• Pain and Discomfort: This compensation addresses the chronic pain you may experience from your injuries. Medical records documenting your pain levels and treatment help establish the value of this damage.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This damage covers activities you can no longer participate in due to your injuries, such as sports, hobbies, and recreational activities you previously enjoyed. Social activities and family time that become difficult or impossible after the accident also factor into this calculation.
• Emotional Distress: Many drunk driving accident victims experience anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Some even develop a fear of driving or being a passenger in vehicles. This emotional impact often requires professional counseling and therapy to address properly.
• Disfigurement and Scarring: This damage applies when your injuries result in permanent scarring, burns, or other disfigurement that affects your appearance and self-confidence. The location, size, and visibility of scars all influence the value of this damage.
• Loss of Consortium: Serious injuries often affect marriages and family relationships when the injured person can’t participate in activities they previously enjoyed together. This damage recognizes that drunk driving accidents affect entire families, not only the direct victim.

Punitive Damages

Under Wisconsin Statute § 895.043(3), punitive damages are available if the defendant acted “maliciously toward the plaintiff or in an intentional disregard of the rights of the plaintiff.” This means that the defendant’s conduct must have been deliberate and demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety and rights of others. 

In the context of drunk driving, courts have recognized that operating a vehicle while intoxicated can meet the threshold for “intentional disregard” of others’ rights. Factors that may support a claim for punitive damages include a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC), prior DUI convictions, and aggravating circumstances such as causing a fatality, injuring multiple people, or having minors in the vehicle at the time of the offense.

Generally speaking, Wisconsin caps punitive damages at the greater of twice the amount of compensatory damages or $200,000. However, this cap does not apply in cases where the defendant operated a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant. 

Who Pays Your Compensation After a Drunk Driving Crash?

Wisconsin requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $10,000 for property damage. These minimum amounts often fall far short of covering serious injuries from drunk driving accidents, leaving victims to seek additional compensation through other means. Many drunk drivers don’t carry insurance at all, making it even more difficult to recover adequate compensation.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you when the drunk driver doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for your injuries. This coverage is optional in Wisconsin, but it’s often the only way to recover compensation when the at-fault driver lacks adequate insurance. 

Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the drunk driver has some insurance, but not enough to cover your full damages. This coverage pays the difference between the at-fault driver’s policy limits and your actual damages, up to your policy limits. Wisconsin allows you to stack multiple policies if you have coverage on multiple vehicles, potentially increasing the total amount available.

Wisconsin’s Dram Shop Laws and Third-Party Liability

Wisconsin’s dram shop laws and third-party liability rules recognize that other parties sometimes share responsibility for drunk driving accidents. If any of these situations apply, it can increase your financial compensation.

• Dram Shop Liability: Wisconsin law holds bars, restaurants, and liquor stores liable when they serve alcohol to visibly intoxicated customers who then cause drunk driving accidents. Evidence such as receipts, surveillance footage, and witness testimony can prove that an establishment over-served the drunk driver before the crash.
• Social Host Liability: This liability applies when private parties serve alcohol at events like weddings, parties, or gatherings where guests become intoxicated and cause accidents. Property owners face responsibility if they knowingly provided alcohol to visibly intoxicated guests or minors who then drove and caused crashes. 
• Employer Liability: Companies face liability under Wisconsin’s respondeat superior doctrine if an employee causes a drunk driving accident while performing work duties. Employers who serve alcohol at work events or allow employees to drink during business functions may also face liability if those employees cause accidents afterward.

Types of Injuries in Wisconsin Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving crashes tend to be more catastrophic than typical traffic accidents because impaired drivers are usually speeding or indulging in especially dangerous behavior. The force of these high-speed crashes can cause painful injuries like the following. 

• Traumatic Brain Injuries: These injuries tend to require years of rehabilitation. Victims often experience permanent cognitive impairment, memory loss, and personality changes. Recovery may involve speech therapy, occupational therapy, and ongoing neurological monitoring.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: A spinal cord injury can cause partial or complete paralysis. Victims become dependent on wheelchairs and require extensive home modifications, ongoing care, and assistive medical equipment. The lifetime cost of care for spinal cord injuries often reaches millions of dollars.
• Broken Bones And Fractures: These injuries frequently occur in the arms, legs, ribs, and pelvis, where impact forces are concentrated. Victims often require multiple surgeries, physical therapy, and extended time away from work while bones heal properly. Complex fractures may result in permanent limitations and chronic pain.
• Internal Organ Damage: Damage to organs like the liver, spleen, and kidneys are often life-threatening. Victims may not show symptoms immediately after the crash, making quick medical attention vital. Emergency surgery and ongoing monitoring for internal bleeding are typically required for full recovery.
• Burn Injuries: These injuries happen when vehicles catch fire after impact or when hot metal and fluids come into contact with passengers. Victims often require skin grafts, reconstructive surgery, and face permanent scarring that affects them both physically and emotionally. 
• Psychological Trauma: Many accident victims develop anxiety, depression, or PTSD. Victims require professional counseling and medication to address these conditions. The psychological effects often interfere with their ability to return to normal activities and work.

Get a Free Consultation From a Wisconsin Drunk Driving Lawyer

Drunk driving accidents in Wisconsin can leave victims facing years of medical treatment, rehabilitation, and financial hardship. The Wisconsin drunk driving lawyers at Nowlan Personal Injury Law help victims hold intoxicated drivers accountable and recover the compensation they need to rebuild their lives. From investigating the accident and gathering evidence to negotiating with insurance companies and preparing for trial, experienced attorneys handle every aspect of your case while you recover

If you’ve been injured by a drunk driver in Wisconsin, we’re here to help. For more information or to schedule a free initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call us today or fill out our online contact form now. We represent clients in Janesville, Beloit, Sun Prairie, and across Wisconsin.

While most personal injury lawyers will charge up to $500 per hour to provide their legal services, I understand that this isn’t feasible for most people when you already have medical bills piling up, likely offset by time off work. That’s why I operate under a No-win, No-fee policy.

If you don’t win compensation in your case, you don’t owe me anything.