Your Trusted Chicago DUI Accident Lawyer
If a drunk driver hurt you, or killed someone you love, in Chicago, you are carrying pain and anger no one should have to bear. Furqan Mohammed represents the victims of drunk driving, never the drivers, and fights to hold impaired drivers and those who over-served them fully accountable.
Understanding Your Right to Compensation After a Drunk Driving Accident
When a driver chooses to get behind the wheel drunk and causes a crash, Illinois law lets the victims recover compensation for their injuries, and in the right circumstances these cases can support punitive damages because the driver broke the law. In most cases you have two years from the date of the crash to file a claim against the driver (735 ILCS 5/13-202). If a bar or restaurant over-served the driver, a separate dram shop claim may be available, but it must be filed within one year (235 ILCS 5/6-21).
Who Can Be Held Responsible
More than just the driver may owe you compensation after a drunk driving crash. Potentially responsible parties include:
The drunk driver
Bars and restaurants
Social hosts
Employers
Vehicle owners
Dram Shop Claims: Holding Bars Accountable
Illinois’s Dram Shop Act (235 ILCS 5/6-21) lets people injured by an intoxicated person recover from the licensed business that caused the intoxication by selling or giving them alcohol. These claims are separate from the case against the driver and have their own rules, including a shorter one-year deadline and caps on damages. If a bar over-served the driver who hurt you, you may have a claim against that establishment as well.
As the victim of a drunk driver, you are usually not at fault at all. Illinois follows modified comparative negligence, so even if some fault is argued, you can recover as long as you are not more than 50% at fault (735 ILCS 5/2-1116).
Types of Compensation
Depending on the severity of the crash, you may be entitled to compensation for a range of losses, including:
Medical expenses
Covers emergency care, hospitalization, therapy, and future medical needs
Lost income
Reimburses wages lost due to injury and diminished earning capacity
Property damage
Repairs or replaces your vehicle and other damaged property
Pain and suffering
Accounts for physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of normal life
Loss of consortium
Compensation for harm to spousal relationships
How Furqan Mohammed Can Help
A drunk driving accident lawyer like Furqan Mohammed fights for victims, including:
- Pursuing the impaired driver and their insurer for full damages
- Bringing a dram shop claim against a bar that over-served
- Documenting your injuries and, where warranted, seeking punitive damages
- Handling everything so you do not have to face the drunk driver’s insurer alone
You do not have to wait for the criminal DUI case to protect your rights. Furqan Mohammed pursues your separate civil claim and, if needed, files suit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The firm serves drunk driving victims across Chicago, with assistance available in Arabic and other languages.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may recover medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and, because drunk driving is illegal and reckless, sometimes punitive damages. If a loved one was killed, the family may bring a wrongful death claim.
In most cases, two years from the crash to sue the driver (735 ILCS 5/13-202). A dram shop claim against a bar has a shorter one-year deadline (235 ILCS 5/6-21).
Possibly. Under Illinois's Dram Shop Act, a licensed business that sold alcohol to the intoxicated driver can be liable to the people they injure (235 ILCS 5/6-21).
No. Your civil claim for compensation is separate from the criminal case, and you do not need a criminal conviction to recover.
You may still recover through your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and a dram shop claim can provide an additional source of compensation.
