Drunk Driving Accidents in Allentown: Your Rights as a Victim

Drunk Driving Accidents in Allentown: Your Rights as a Victim

Drunk driving accidents are among the most devastating collisions on Allentown’s roads. Unlike a typical traffic accident where a momentary lapse in judgment may be to blame, a drunk driving crash involves a driver who made the conscious decision to get behind the wheel while impaired. If you or someone you love was hurt by an intoxicated driver in Allentown, Pennsylvania law gives you powerful tools to hold that driver accountable and recover the compensation you deserve.

Why Drunk Driving Accidents in Allentown Are So Dangerous

Allentown sits at the crossroads of several high-traffic corridors, including Route 22 and Interstate 78, where impaired drivers pose serious risks to commuters, pedestrians, and cyclists alike. Alcohol impairs reaction time, depth perception, and the ability to process multiple stimuli at once. At highway speeds, even a fraction of a second of delayed braking can be the difference between a close call and a catastrophic collision.

According to PennDOT crash data, Lehigh County consistently ranks among the top counties in Pennsylvania for alcohol-related crashes. Many of these accidents occur late at night and on weekends, particularly along Hamilton Boulevard, Tilghman Street, and near the entertainment district in downtown Allentown. The injuries that result from these crashes tend to be far more severe than those from other types of accidents because impaired drivers often fail to brake at all before impact, leading to high-speed, full-force collisions.

Your Legal Rights After a Drunk Driving Accident in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania follows a fault-based system for motor vehicle accidents, which means the at-fault driver — in this case, the intoxicated driver — is financially responsible for your damages. You are not limited to filing a claim through your own insurance. You have the right to pursue a claim directly against the drunk driver and their insurance carrier.

There are several legal avenues available to you:

• Insurance claim against the drunk driver. You can file a third-party claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
• Personal injury lawsuit. If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, you have the right to file a lawsuit in Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas. Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102) allows you to recover damages as long as you are less than 51% at fault for the accident.
• Punitive damages. Drunk driving cases are one of the few categories of personal injury claims where Pennsylvania courts routinely allow punitive damages. These are damages designed to punish the at-fault driver for particularly reckless conduct and deter similar behavior. Driving with a blood alcohol concentration well above the legal limit of 0.08%, driving under the influence of drugs, or having prior DUI convictions can all strengthen a punitive damages claim.
• Dram shop liability. Under Pennsylvania’s Dram Shop Act (47 P.S. § 4-497), you may also have a claim against the bar, restaurant, or establishment that served alcohol to the visibly intoxicated driver before the crash. If the establishment continued to serve the driver when they were obviously drunk, that business can be held liable for your injuries.

Common Injuries From Drunk Driving Crashes

Because drunk drivers often fail to slow down or attempt any evasive maneuver before impact, the injuries from these collisions are frequently catastrophic. Some of the most common injuries our firm sees in Allentown drunk driving cases include:

• Traumatic brain injuries. The sudden, violent force of a high-speed collision can cause concussions, contusions, or severe traumatic brain injuries that may result in permanent cognitive impairment. Many victims do not recognize the early symptoms of a TBI, which can include headaches, confusion, mood changes, and memory problems that develop in the days and weeks after the crash.
• Spinal cord injuries. The force generated in a drunk driving collision can fracture vertebrae, herniate discs, or damage the spinal cord itself. These injuries can range from chronic pain requiring long-term treatment to partial or complete paralysis. Understanding how spinal cord injuries from car accidents are valued in Pennsylvania is critical because the lifetime cost of care can reach millions of dollars.
• Broken bones and internal injuries. Multiple fractures, organ damage, and internal bleeding are common in high-impact DUI crashes. These injuries often require emergency surgery and extended hospital stays.
• Wrongful death. Tragically, many drunk driving accidents in Allentown result in fatalities. If you lost a family member to a drunk driver, Pennsylvania law allows certain surviving family members to file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover funeral expenses, lost future income, and compensation for the loss of the relationship.

How Compensation Is Calculated in DUI Accident Cases

The value of a drunk driving accident claim depends on several factors, including the severity of your injuries, the extent of your medical treatment, the impact on your ability to work, and the degree of the at-fault driver’s recklessness.

Compensation in a drunk driving case typically includes:

• Economic damages: medical bills (past and future), lost wages, lost earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, prescription medications, and medical equipment.
• Non-economic damages: pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring and disfigurement, and loss of consortium.
• Punitive damages: as discussed above, courts can award additional damages to punish the drunk driver’s egregious behavior. There is no statutory cap on punitive damages in Pennsylvania, though courts consider the severity of the conduct and the defendant’s financial situation.

The insurance company representing the drunk driver will almost certainly try to minimize your claim. They may argue your injuries were pre-existing, that you did not seek treatment quickly enough, or that your damages are less severe than you claim. Having an attorney who understands these tactics and has experience litigating drunk driving cases in Lehigh County makes a significant difference in the outcome of your case.

The Criminal Case vs. Your Civil Claim

One of the most common questions victims ask is whether the criminal DUI charges against the drunk driver affect their personal injury case. The short answer is that these are two entirely separate proceedings, but they can influence each other.

The criminal case is brought by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and focuses on punishing the driver for violating DUI laws. If the driver is convicted, that conviction can be used as evidence in your civil case to help establish that the driver was negligent. However, you do not need a criminal conviction to win your personal injury claim. The burden of proof in a civil case is lower — you only need to show it is more likely than not that the driver was impaired, rather than proving it beyond a reasonable doubt.

Even if criminal charges are reduced or dismissed due to a plea deal or procedural issues, your civil claim can still succeed based on the evidence available, including police reports, toxicology results, witness testimony, and surveillance footage.

What to Do After a Drunk Driving Accident in Allentown

The steps you take immediately after a drunk driving accident can significantly impact the strength of your case:

• Call 911 immediately. Ensure that police respond to the scene and create an official accident report. If you suspect the other driver is intoxicated, tell the responding officers. They will conduct field sobriety tests and may arrange a blood draw or breathalyzer.
• Seek medical attention right away. Even if you feel your injuries are minor, go to the hospital or your doctor as soon as possible. Some serious injuries, particularly brain injuries and internal bleeding, may not show symptoms immediately. A medical record that begins on the day of the accident creates a clear connection between the crash and your injuries.
• Document everything. Photograph the accident scene, your vehicle damage, any visible injuries, and the other driver’s vehicle. If there are witnesses, get their contact information.
• Do not speak with the other driver’s insurance company without consulting an attorney first. Insurance adjusters are trained to get you to make statements that can be used to reduce or deny your claim.
• Contact a personal injury attorney. Personal injury cases in Pennsylvania are subject to a two-year statute of limitations (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). While two years may seem like a long time, building a strong drunk driving case requires preserving evidence, obtaining toxicology reports, and investigating potential dram shop liability — all of which take time.

Why Allentown DUI Accident Victims Choose Leeson & Leeson

Drunk driving accident cases require an attorney who understands both the civil and criminal dimensions of the case, who can identify all sources of potential recovery — including the driver, their insurer, and any establishments that may have overserved them — and who will not settle for less than your case is worth.

Joseph F. Leeson III is a Super Lawyers Rising Star and a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. His background as a CPA and MBA gives him the financial expertise to accurately calculate the full lifetime cost of your injuries, including future medical care, lost earning capacity, and long-term rehabilitation. This matters because insurance companies use their own financial analysts to minimize your claim — and you deserve an attorney who can match that level of analysis.

Leeson & Leeson serves clients across the Lehigh Valley, including Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the broader Lehigh Valley region. If you were hurt by a drunk driver anywhere in eastern Pennsylvania, we want to hear from you.

Frequently Asked Questions