Drunk Driving Accident Attorney in Crofton

Local Trial-Ready Attorneys Fighting for Drunk Driving Victims in Anne Arundel County

When an impaired driver causes a crash, the criminal case the state pursues is only part of the picture. As a Crofton-based civil litigation firm, Skipper Law, LLC represents injured victims and surviving families in the civil personal injury claims that follow. Our attorneys are admitted to practice in Maryland District and Circuit courts, the Court of Special Appeals, the Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. That range means we can take a case as far as the facts and your recovery may require.

We handle drunk driving accident cases through every stage, from early evidence preservation and insurance negotiations through courtroom litigation. Online consultations are available alongside standard in-office and phone contact.

If you or a family member was injured by an impaired driver in the Crofton area, don’t wait to speak with an attorney. Call our Anne Arundel County office today at (410) 919-2121 to discuss your options.

Your Civil Claim Is Separate from the Criminal DUI Case

Maryland prosecutes drunk driving offenses as criminal matters, typically in District Court. Your compensation claim is an entirely separate civil personal injury action, usually filed in Circuit Court, and the outcome of the criminal case doesn’t decide yours.

Civil cases use a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard: the evidence needs to show only that it’s more likely than not that the driver’s impairment caused your injuries. That’s a meaningfully lower bar than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard applied in criminal court. A driver who is acquitted of DUI charges, or whose criminal case is still pending, can still be held liable in a civil proceeding.

Breathalyzer results, blood test data, and DUI charges are generally admissible as evidence in a Maryland civil case and can help establish the driver’s negligence. One practical concern: victims who delay starting a civil claim while waiting for the criminal case to conclude can lose evidence, lose witness recollections, and, if they wait long enough, lose the ability to file at all. Maryland’s statute of limitations gives personal injury victims three years from the date of the accident to bring a claim.

Maryland’s Contributory Negligence Rule & Why It Matters

Maryland applies a pure contributory negligence standard. A plaintiff found even one percent at fault for the accident is legally barred from recovering any compensation, no matter how severe the injuries. This is one of the strictest standards in the country, and it’s why building an airtight liability case matters from the very beginning.

Defense insurers know this rule and use it aggressively. In drunk driving cases, they routinely investigate victims, looking for any possible contributing fault, including a minor traffic infraction at the moment of the crash. Maryland doesn’t have dram shop laws, so bars and restaurants generally can’t be held liable for overserving a patron who later causes a crash. The at-fault driver is the primary defendant in most cases. Social host liability may apply in limited circumstances when alcohol is knowingly provided to a minor who then causes an accident.

If you have any concern that a question of fault might affect your claim, speak with a plaintiff-side attorney before making statements to any insurer.

Why Drunk Driving Accident Victims in Crofton Choose Skipper Law, LLC

We aren’t a directory listing or an out-of-state call center. We’re a Crofton civil litigation firm, and we represent the injured party, not insurance companies or defendants. Attorneys Matthew D. Skipper and Jeffrey A. Kahntroff bring documented courtroom experience before Maryland judges and juries, and we use that trial readiness in settlement negotiations.

Our personal injury case results include recoveries across a range of serious injury and wrongful death matters. These are past results and are not a promise of what any future case may produce.

• Six-figure recovery for a victim of a multiple-rollover accident with less than $20,000 in medical expenses
• Policy limits paid to a man who lost mobility due to another’s negligence
• Near policy limits recovery for the family of a young woman wrongfully killed by a negligent driver
• Substantial recovery for a victim whose injuries required surgery (Anonymous v. BJ and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.)
• Recovery for a victim struck by a large truck that failed to stop at a red light

We commit to prompt responses to client inquiries and center your goals in every decision we make about your case.

Ready to talk? Reach Skipper Law, LLC by phone at (410) 919-2121 or schedule an online consultation at your convenience.