Callahan & Blaine

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI) is a crime that leads to thousands of deaths every year. Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have made great strides in reducing the number of alcohol related deaths by lobbying for tougher punishments. Unfortunately, their valiant efforts to curtail drunk driving may have had an unintended effect; as the laws become tougher, the number of hit and run accidents has actually increased.

Why? Impaired drivers may flee the scene, hoping to sober up before they are taken into custody. In many states, “leaving the scene” carries a much lesser penalty than causing an accident while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Repeat DUI offenders are especially likely to hit and run, believing they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. These drivers make up the largest percentage of hit and run killers.

Adding to the problem is the lowering of blood alcohol limits that trigger “impaired” driving charges. Social drinkers may panic and run, believing that a few glasses of wine with dinner will put them over the legal limit.

Unlicensed drivers are also very likely to flee the scene; this is especially problematic in California, where some groups estimate as many as one million unlicensed drivers are zooming about on our highways.

Callahan & Blaine, California’s Premier Litigation Firm, is one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the state of California. In fact, in the last five years alone our lawyers have obtained over $1.2 billion in verdicts and settlements, including a $7 million settlement for a cyclist who was left with a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a newspaper delivery truck, and a $7.25 million settlement in a case when a man was run over trying to board a city bus in Orange County, California.

Our success in litigating and negotiating personal injury cases comes from our uncommon approach; we handle each personal injury case as though it were a complex business litigation case, attacking it from every angle possible. While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide.

If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of a hit and run or DUI accident, please contact our California law firm for expert legal counsel.