Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Statute of Limitations

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sunfrog77

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Is there a Statute of Limitations on a civil suit against a bar that served me alcohol & I ended up in a car accident? This happened back in January 4, 2003. My passenger ended up dying 6 days later from injuries sustained in accident. I woke up out of coma 4 days after she passed away. I was convicted of 2nd Offense DUI, & DUI Causing Death with Reckless Disregard. I spent 4 years in a WV State Prison for Women for this. Basically, all I want to know is if I can still go after the bar that served me the alcohol. I do know that the passengers family sued the bar we were at, but can I or has the time ran out. Thank you for your time in this matter. This was an unfortunate accident & I did not do it on purpose. I would take it back if I could.
 
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I know you think you didn't do it on purpose but you aren't taking responsibility for it either. You want to sue the bar and profit from your friend's death? That is how a jury will see it even if you are not barred from suing by the SOL. You aren't going to be able to recover money for this. You are contributorially negligent. You drank, you drove, you are not going to be able to walk off with money because you made bad choices. YOUR victim can, but YOU can't.
 
I have taken responsibility for what happened. First of all, you have no right to judge me because I did not give all the details of the accident. I was served 1 & a half beers, which was on the register receipt in evidence. The passenger was also my girlfriend at the time. I caught her cheating on me outside in the parking lot & broke up with her without any type of violence. She hit me on the right side of my head with a beer bottle, then cut the left side of my neck with a serrated edged knife. In return, this severed my jugular vein. I applied pressure on it with my hand & tried to get to the hospital, but I lost consciousness from lack of blood & being hit in the head. We hit into the basement of a house going approximately 55-60mph. For your information I have taken responsibility for my part in the accident, but she was to blame as well. We were both to blame because yes I got behind the wheel, but she attacked me. I live with the fact that I have a death on my shoulders everyday. I don't want to profit from her death as you said. I want to get what I need in order to cover the cost of my own debts from the accident. I am now disabled because of it & suffer greatly. You on the other hand judged me & you had no right because you don't know the whole story. Believe me I pay every day for what happened back on that fateful night!!!
 
I have just as much right to judge you as anyone else. You drank, you drove and anything after that is just extra information. You have a serious problem if you think any of the other information you provided relieves you in the least from the murder that you committed. You have not taken responsibility. You just want to pass it on to anyone else you can blame.
 
They served you just 1 1/2 beers? I don't understand why you want to sue them, unless you were visibly drunk at the time they served it. . .
 
God is the one who judges, not humans!!!!

First of all, jharris352 you are not God, so therefore you are not to judge others. Since the accident I have turned my life over to God & I have asked for forgiveness for what happened on that night. I know according to the words of God that He has forgiven me & is not convicting me as a murderer like you did. I am far from a murderer!!! You on the other hand are a sinner just as all the people of the world are. It was an unfortunate accident & I have taken responsibility for the part that I played in the events of that night. I did not even defend myself to her when she attacked me. I simply tried to get to the hospital for emergency assistance. I am not a murderer!!! raskalnikov my BAC level was so high because she & I had stayed out all night before the accident doing drugs & drinking. Because of the trauma from my severe head injuries, & other injuries, my BAC levels rose from trauma & loss of blood. Once again, it was an unfortunate ACCIDENT!!!! I am not a MURDERER!!! Her own Mother is the one who turned off her life support even though she had brain activity. So that makes her Mom the murderer not me!!! My parents stayed by me the whole time praying & kept my life support going & I made it through by the grace of God. He spared my life & it wasn't to judge people as I have been judged!!!
 
I'm sorry for what you went through, Sunfrog. I was just wondering what the bar did wrong.

Basically, it sounds like you want to sue the bar for serving you while you were already clearly intoxicated/on drugs?

How did they measure your BAC? A blood draw, or breath test?

It just seems to me that the only action you have against the bar is if you can prove you were clearly totally out of it, or your girlfriend was, and they shouldn't have served you, or her (saying their serving her caused her to act crazily, etc.)

Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I'm not judging you. I just want you to let me know what you think the bar did that was wrong.
 
Blood Draw

I was given a blood draw when transported to hospital. I died once at the scene & once when I got to the ER. They had to give me blood & get me stabilized. I did not consent to them taking any blood to check for my BAC. Plus the drugs that we had done the night before didn't even show up in my blood system, which I really don't understand that. Anyway, I know for a fact that I was not intoxicated while I was at the bar. I even know that I only drank 1 & 1/2 beers, which was on the receipt where I paid for the drinks & her 3-4 drinks. Her BAC when she was taken to the hospital was well above mine. They said that my BAC was a .333, which .4 is alcohol death. If I was so intoxicated, how in this world did I get into my vehicle, start it, put on my seat belt & drive through the parking lot without hitting other vehicles. The only explanation is that from the trauma to my head & face, lack of blood & other injuries made my BAC peak from the night before. I really don't want to sue the bar, but I was told that I should at least try to since we were there & were served alcohol. I just don't understand how or why they charged me with a felony instead of the misdemeanor. They said that I did it on purpose with reckless disregard of life. I am not a monster nor am I a murderer!!! I didn't write on here to be judged or criticized. I just wanted somebody to give me the information I was looking for. Can I even get my record expunged? Thank you for your time & kindness.
 
Your blood draw may have been tainted.

I think you should contact criminal defense attorneys in your area, and ask if they take up civil cases.

Tell them your situation, and ask if you have a case against the bar. They'll be more familiar with your jurisdiction, and know the right questions to ask you and understand if their is a case to be made or not.

I normally agree with JHARRIS, but I don't agree with his response to you on this site.

I wish you good luck in going on with your life after this horrible circumstance.
 
I don't need to be God to Judge you. Every man has the right to judge what he thinks of the actions of every other man: ESPECIALLY IN LAW. You came here asking us to judge whether you had a case against a bar for something you did. It's a little late to get self righteous and tell me not to judge.

You are the one that has to live with this girls death. You need some serious psychological help. I say that not to put you down, I too have had to get therapy at one time in my life. You have done something that racks you with guilt. The way you deal with it is to tell yourself that it's everyone else's fault. It was your girlfriend's fault, it was the bar's fault, it was anyone's fault but yours. I am sorry the whole incident happened.

Rask and I usually do agree. Strangely enough HE usually the one raking someone over the coals and I'm telling HIM that he is too rough on them. In any case, your legal question is pretty easy: You have no case against the bar. You can try but you are going to run headlong into a concept of Contributory Negligence even if the statute of limitations has not run.

Please do get some psychological counseling. You are carrying around a burden of guilt. With some help you will be able to accept it and forgive yourself for whatever amount of responsibility you do have. In any case you cant run around for the rest of your life telling people they can't judge you; they can and will judge you. Good luck.
 
raskalnikov said:
Your blood draw may have been tainted.

I think you should contact criminal defense attorneys in your area, and ask if they take up civil cases.

Tell them your situation, and ask if you have a case against the bar. They'll be more familiar with your jurisdiction, and know the right questions to ask you and understand if their is a case to be made or not.

I normally agree with JHARRIS, but I don't agree with his response to you on this site.

I wish you good luck in going on with your life after this horrible circumstance.
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Thank you for being understanding. All I wanted was an answer to my question. I don't place blame on others for the unfortunate situation that happened on that fateful night. I hate that it happened & would take it back if I could, but God won't allow me to do that. Yes, I live with pain & hurt everyday for what happened, but like I said I can't change it. I am not looking to prosper for my girlfriends death. I am looking for compensation for the pain & suffering that I had to go through because of what happened. Oh & I have been told that I could check to see if the blood draw was tainted & it was even brought up in court. Thank you again for your time & comments.
 
jharris352 said:
I don't need to be God to Judge you. Every man has the right to judge what he thinks of the actions of every other man: ESPECIALLY IN LAW. You came here asking us to judge whether you had a case against a bar for something you did. It's a little late to get self righteous and tell me not to judge.

You are the one that has to live with this girls death. You need some serious psychological help. I say that not to put you down, I too have had to get therapy at one time in my life. You have done something that racks you with guilt. The way you deal with it is to tell yourself that it's everyone else's fault. It was your girlfriend's fault, it was the bar's fault, it was anyone's fault but yours. I am sorry the whole incident happened.

Rask and I usually do agree. Strangely enough HE usually the one raking someone over the coals and I'm telling HIM that he is too rough on them. In any case, your legal question is pretty easy: You have no case against the bar. You can try but you are going to run headlong into a concept of Contributory Negligence even if the statute of limitations has not run.

Please do get some psychological counseling. You are carrying around a burden of guilt. With some help you will be able to accept it and forgive yourself for whatever amount of responsibility you do have. In any case you cant run around for the rest of your life telling people they can't judge you; they can and will judge you. Good luck.
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You're right you don't have to be God to judge others. When the time comes for you to face God, He will judge you for judging others. I did come here for answers for my question, but not to be ridiculed, judged again or slandered by someone like you. Yes, I live my life everyday with the death of my friend on my shoulders, but as I have said before, God has forgiven me for my actions on that night.

As for psychological help; I have been in therapy ever since it has happened. Throughout the years I have been through a lot of blame, guilt & so forth. But now I have been able to forgive myself for what happened because God has forgiven me. No, I will not EVER forget what happened, but I will still be able to live my life & not feel guilty for everything that happened that night. I have dealt with my part of the events of that night. I DO NOT place blame on others as you say I do. I took responsibility for my actions years ago.
 
That's good. I wouldn't sue the bar. You may try but I would think you will just be opening up old wounds like this has done. Good luck with the therapy.
 
Expungment

Since I've already been ridiculed, judged, slandered & condemned by simply asking a question on here, I do have one last question unfortunately. It's pretty simple too. How long will I have to wait before I can get my record expunged? Will it help to ask for a pardon from the Governor or what should I do? Thank you for your time in this matter.
 
It is unlikely that you will ever get your record expunged without a pardon from the Governor. Generally a few years after finishing parole, you can seek a pardon.
 
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