Michigan State Police step up enforcement every Memorial Day weekend. They have to: the long weekend is consistently one of the worst DUI windows of the year. Here's what we tell clients about hit-by-a-drunk-driver cases.
Three things converge: a Friday-Monday window with more discretionary driving, the first warm-weather weekend most people fully commit to outdoor drinking, and an absence of the structured family gatherings that anchor Thanksgiving or Christmas. The result, year after year, is a spike in late-night impaired driving on rural highways and exit ramps.
If you're driving home from a holiday gathering after 10 PM in Michigan, you're sharing the road with measurably more impaired drivers than on a normal Sunday.
When the at-fault driver was drunk, Michigan law opens the door to exemplary damages on top of compensatory damages. Juries respond differently to a drunk driver. Insurance carriers price the case differently. Settlement values can be 1.5x to 3x what a sober at-fault case would yield on identical injuries.
We aggressively pursue exemplary damages where the facts support them. They're not automatic, but they're available.
Michigan's dram shop law (MCL 436.1801) lets you sue the bar or restaurant that served alcohol to a 'visibly intoxicated' person who then caused your injury. The standard is high, the procedure is strict (notice must be served within 120 days), and the damages cap is real.
But these cases are winnable when the facts are there. We've recovered against bars that over-served drivers who later killed clients. The notice deadline is the trap — miss it and you lose the right forever. Call us immediately if a bar may be involved.
The drunk driver's criminal case is the State of Michigan vs. them. Your civil case is you vs. them. They're separate. The criminal case can help your civil case — a conviction is admissible — but it's not required for you to recover.
If the prosecutor offers a plea deal you don't like, that's not your call. Don't let it derail you. Focus on the civil recovery.
Many DUI drivers are uninsured or under-insured. Your own Michigan PIP coverage still pays your medical bills and wage loss. You may also have uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage that picks up where the at-fault driver's policy ends — or didn't exist.
We routinely find $100,000-plus in UIM coverage that clients didn't know they had.
DUI cases are some of the highest-value injury cases we handle. They reward fast, aggressive investigation. Don't talk to the at-fault driver's insurer. Don't sign a release. Call us first — free consultation, no fee unless we win.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Talk to a real attorney today.
Start a Free Case EvaluationCall (855) SWING-BIG
