Punitive Damages of $200K To Compensate Drunk-Driving Victim

A Virginia personal injury lawyer has worked hard to help his client keep the $200.000 in punitive damages compensation as a result of a crash caused by a Virginia drunk driver.

The amount of the verdict was decided by a jury in Rockingham County, Virginia. Rockingham County is typically considered one of Virginia's least friendly jurisdictions when it comes to victims of others' recklessness.

The drunk driver crashed head-on into the victim's car after traveling across a median strip, and reportedly said, "Oh, hell yeah!" when the police officer asked him if he had been drinking before the crash. The drunk driver had two previous DUI convictions, and his BAC was measured at 0.32 percent.

Lawyers paid by the that the verdict is too much, and have tried to reduce the amount the insurance companies must pay as a result of the drunk driver's conduct.

North Carolina Insurers Required to Give Consumers Clearer Information

The North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill into law, effective January 1, 2009, that may help consumers of automobile insurance. The new law requires insurers who provide motorist coverage to give "reasonable notice" to consumers of their right to purchase up to $1 million of such coverage.

Before this law came into effect, insurance companies commonly provided rejection/selection forms to consumers that addressed this possibility. Many complications arose as a result of the use of these forms. The new requirement of "reasonable notice" may help consumers to better understand what it is they are buying, and what range of coverage is potentially available to help them in their time of need.