New Mexico Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A drunk driver caused a New Mexico car accident on Interstate 25.  A child died.  The child’s mother filed dramshop claims for wrongful death and personal injuries against three liquor establishments.  She also filed wrongful death and personal injury claims against three drug companies.  Drug company employees had treated the drunk driver to eight hours of free drinks. 

In the early evening of April 29, 2005. a mother was driving southbound on Interstate 25 in Albuquerque with her three young children.  An SUV was speeding southbound at a speed in excess of ninety miles per hour.  The SUV collided with the rear of the mother’s vehicle.  Her seven year old child suffered fatal injuries.  The mother and two other children suffered serious injuries. 

The SUV driver was arrested after leaving the scene of the accident.  A test for alcohol showed that she had a blood-alcohol concentration of .21.  That was more than two and a half times greater than the DWI level of .08.  The driver was later convicted of aggravated DWI, leaving the scene, and fatal child abuse.  On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the conviction for fatal child abuse.  The court noted that the driver could have been prosecuted for vehicular homicide.

The driver had spent the afternoon drinking alcohol in a restaurant and two bars in the Northeast Heights.  Pharmaceutical company employees had invited the employees of an Albuquerque doctor’s office to lunch.  The lunch included alcohol.  After lunch, the hosts and the driver spent the rest of the afternoon drinking in two bars in Uptown.  When the driver left the second bar, she was “thoroughly intoxicated.” 

The mother made claims for wrongful death and personal injuries against the restaurant and the two bars where the driver had spent the afternoon drinking.  The mother also made claims against the pharmaceutical companies and their employees who had sponsored the lunch and the drinking.  The trial court dismissed the claims against the pharmaceutical companies and their employees under the Liquor Liability Act.  The trial court held that the companies and the employees were not liable as “social hosts” under the Act. 

The mother appealed the dismissals to the New Mexico Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court held that the drug companies and their employees had been properly sued as “social hosts” under the Liquor Liability Act.  The mother’s claims for wrongful death and New Mexico personal injury damages against the drug companies, the drug company employees, and the three liquor establishments will now be adjudicated in the trial court.

On April 9, 2011, a Toyota Lexus hit the right side of a Ford Tempo in the intersection of Airport Road and Paseo del Sol in Santa Fe.  The driver of the Lexus told police that she was escaping gunshots fired from a pursuing Ford Mustang.  The Mustang fled the scene of the accident.  

The Tempo was occupied by four people.  The driver and his two children were hospitalized.  The front seat passenger was the seventy-nine year old great-grandmother of the children.  She suffered fatal injuries.  The occupants of the Lexus were not injured.  The driver of the Mustang was later arrested.  He is facing multiple charges, including murder.  

A New Mexico personal injury lawyer could bring claims for wrongful death and bodily injuries against the drivers of the Lexus and the Mustang.  Depending on the facts, the driver of the Lexus could be found to be free of negligence.  The most culpable parties are the driver of the Mustang and the person who fired the gunshots from the Mustang.

If the driver of the Mustang and the shooter had automobile liability insurance, the insurance would not cover the damages caused in the collision.  Liability insurance policies exclude coverage for damages willfully caused by criminal conduct.  

If the driver of the Tempo had “uninsured motorist” insurance, the New Mexico car accident lawyer would make a claim for wrongful death and bodily injury damages against the insurance company under the “uninsured motorist” coverage.  Under New Mexico law, the driver of the Mustang and the shooter are “uninsured motorists.”

Under the “uninsured motorist” coverage, the insurance company is required to pay all damages for which the “uninsured motorists” are legally liable.  The exclusion for criminal conduct does not apply to the “uninsured motorist” coverage.  The insurance company would pay the damages for which the criminals are responsible.

On March 24, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., a car with five occupants was speeding down an Albuquerque on-ramp to southbound Interstate 25.  When the car reached the end of the ramp, the driver lost control.

The car veered across the southbound lanes.  A southbound van clipped the rear of the car.  The car went into a spin.  Two passengers were ejected, one landing in the northbound lanes.  Both died at the scene.  Two other passengers sustained minor injuries.  The three occupants in the van were not seriously injured. 

The police noted that excessive speed and influence of alcohol were factors in the accident.  The driver of the car had been convicted of DWI in 2008.  The driver was treated at the hospital for a possible head injury.  A test of her blood revealed a blood-alcohol concentration of .23. 

A New Mexico car accident lawyer could file claims for wrongful death damages against the driver of the car from which the decedents were ejected.  If the driver’s liability insurance is not adequate to cover the wrongful death compensation claims, the accident attorney would look to other sources of recovery.

If the decedents were “insureds” under their own auto policies, there could be a recovery under the “underinsured” provisions of the policies.  There is also the possibility that a decedent was an “insured” under an auto policy owned by a household member.

The results of the blood test indicate that the driver was highly intoxicated at the time of the accident.  A New Mexico car accident lawyer would investigate the possibility of New Mexico wrongful death claims under New Mexico’s dramshop law.  If the driver was served alcohol when she was impaired, dramshop liability could apply. 

If a bar or a retail store supplied the driver with alcohol when she was intoxicated, the alcohol provider could be liable for its proportionate share of wrongful death damages.  Under New Mexico law, liability can be imposed if the intoxication was a substantial cause of the fatal accident.

Having spent the evening drinking, a customer left an Albuquerque bar after midnight on March 27, 2011. When he attempted to drive, he hit five pedestrians. Two were hospitalized, one in critical condition. Three suffered minor injuries.

When the police arrived, the driver was given a breath alcohol test. It showed a blood-alcohol concentration at a level more than twice the level at which driving is illegal.

A New Mexico personal injury lawyer could make claims for bodily injury damages against the drunk driver. The New Mexico car accident lawyer would also make claims for damages against the operator of the bar.

Under New Mexico dramshop laws, the bar operator can be held liable for the injuries and damages caused by an intoxicated patron. If bar employees served alcohol to the drunk driver when they should have known that he was intoxicated, the operator can be held liable for damages. If the intoxication is a substantial cause of the bodily injuries, the bar operator can be held liable for its proportionate share of the damages.

The driver’s impairment was readily apparent. When police attempted to administer field sobriety tests, the driver was unable to maintain his balance. The police stopped the tests because they feared that the driver would suffer serious injury if he fell.

On December 14, 2010, an intoxicated driver caused a wrong-way collision on Interstate 25 resulting in a New Mexico wrongful death accident. The New Mexico drunk driver was driving south in the northbound lanes of the Interstate. At approximately 2:30 a.m., she collided with a northbound vehicle. The intoxicated driver died at the scene. Her passenger and the driver of the other vehicle were seriously injured.

A postmortem toxicology test revealed a blood-alcohol concentration of .26. This is more than three times the definition of impairment: .08.

The negligent driver had spent the evening in a bar in Santa Fe. When she left the bar, the bouncer saw that she was “thoroughly intoxicated.” The bouncer offered to call a cab. After the offer was refused, the bouncer called 911. He told the operator that a drunk patron was going to drive from the bar.

It is illegal for a bar employee to serve alcohol to an intoxicated patron. Under New Mexico dram shop law, the operator of a bar can be held liable for the injuries and damages caused by the intoxicated patron.

The fact that the bar employee tried to keep the drunk driver from driving and that he called 911 would not excuse the bar’s wrongdoing or exempt the bar from liability.

A New Mexico personal injury lawyer would present evidence that the bar employees served alcohol to a customer they should have known was intoxicated. The New Mexico car accident lawyer would show that providing alcohol to such a customer was a substantial cause of the wrong-way collision. The bar should be held liable for its proportionate share of the damages suffered by the injured survivors of the wrong-way collision.

At 1:30 am on December 14, Kylene Homes left a bar in Santa Fe with a friend. The bouncer saw that Homes was intoxicated. He offered to call a cab. She refused. An hour later, Homes was driving, at a high rate speed, south in the northbound lanes of I-25, just south of Santa Fe. Homes collided with a northbound ambulance. Homes died. Her passenger and the ambulance driver were seriously injured.

The Santa Fe car crash reminded us of the deaths caused by Dana Pabst three years earlier. On November 21, 2007, Pabst was southbound in the northbound lanes of 1-25. Pabst collided with a northbound vehicle that was occupied by 6 family members. The collision killed five of the family and the wrong-way driver, Dana Pabest.

The Homes and Pabst wrong-way crashes recall a notorious Christmas eve tragedy. On December 24, 1992 Gordon House was eastbound in the westbound lanes of 1-40. House collided with a car occupied by five family members. The mother and the three daughters were killed. The father was seriously injured.

Before each New Mexico wrongful death accident, Pabst and House had made u-turns in the median of the interstate. It has not yet been determined how Homes became southbound in the northbound lanes. All three drivers were highly intoxicated. It would appear that the drivers became disoriented and thought that they were driving in the right lane of a regular highway.

While it is impossible to remove blame from these New Mexico drunk drivers, it has also become clear the drunk driving, and specifically drunk drivers making u-turns in this area is all to foreseeable. Perhaps it is time for the State to do more to prevent u-turns in the median and to alert wrong-way drivers they are on a “one-way” road.

A suspicious turn of events is being reported in the Santa Fe wrongful death case. Lawyers for a Santa Fe bar have contacting authorities claiming to have knowledge of where the driver was who caused the accident earlier in the evening. Considering law enforcement officers suspect the collision is another New Mexico drunk driving accident, it seems as though there may be a possible dram shop violation involving the accident.

New Mexico dram shop law is centered around a body of statutes that prohibit bars and restaurants from selling or providing alcohol to intoxicated individuals. In the event it can be shown that the driver of the vehicle that caused the horrific Santa Fe wrongful death accident involving a local ambulance, and that such person was over-served alcohol, then the bar may be liable for some if not all of the damages that arose from the accident.

Dram shop law in New Mexico is highly specialized, and the cases are often very complex. Typically, one of the most difficult issues in proving that the alcohol served to the driver was the alcohol that made her sufficiently intoxicated so as to cause the accident.

New Mexico accidents are common. New Mexico motorcycle accidents unfortunately are also prevalent. Often with New Mexico motorcycle accident cases, it is important to overcome prejudices and show that the motorcycle driver is not at fault. Sometimes this can be difficult, while other times it is exceedingly easy.

Bizarre facts are surfacing of a recent New Mexico motorcycle accident that occurred near Espanola. The Espanola motorcycle accident occurred moments after a police officer clocked a driver racing over 100 mph. As the officer was preparing to pull over the driver, he ran a red light and struck a motorcyclist.

Other than making liability an easier task to prove, the facts leading up to this New Mexico motorcycle accident provide an example of when outrageous conduct can lead to punitive damages following a car accident.

There really is no such thing as a crystal ball. However, the Albuquerque Police Department believes they may have found something pretty close when it comes to DWI’s. It is called an Operational Deployment Resource Allocator, and it is claimed to be able to determine the locations were there is the highest risk of someone driving drunk.

Use of this DWI technology in Albuquerque is supposed to be able to take into consideration date, time, holidays, and traffic patterns to output the highest risk of drunk driving incidents. If accurate, the tool will give authorities the upper hand on where to focus their efforts to stop DWI, as well as assist drivers in Albuquerque, or throughout New Mexico in avoiding intersections where there may be a car accident.

Given the nature of New Mexico drunk driving accidents, any technology, however futuristic, certainly can’t hurt.

When asked to compute the highest risk intersections in Albuquerque during the upcoming Labor Day weekend, the machine produced the following list of the intersections with the highest likelihood of a New Mexico drunk driving accident:

1 Wyoming Blvd NE & Constitution Ave NE
2 San Mateo Blvd NE & Pan American East Highway NE
3 Griegos Rd NW & 2nd St. NW
4 Pan American East Highway NE & Montgomery Blvd NE
5 Pennsylvania St NE & Montgomery Blvd NE
6 Irving Blvd NW & Coors Blvd NW
7 San Mateo Blvd NE & Montgomery Blvd NE
8 Louisiana Blvd NE & Central Ave E
9 Wyoming Blvd NE & Menaul Blvd NE 578 10 Osuna Rd NE & Jefferson St NE

Although cannot say that I’m fully convinced with the abilities of this technology, I have to admit I find myself at Wyoming and Constitution during the Labor Day weekend I will proceed with a heightened sense of caution to say the least.

New Mexico drunk driving accidents are problems. Heck, New Mexico DWI itself is a problem. When somebody is charged and convicted with DWI, we get bothered and hope that it wont happen again. When somebody gets a second DWI there is more anger that it happened again. When a New Mexico drunk driver picks up his or her third, fourth, or fifth DWI it becomes clear that he or she is basically beyond rehabilitation and the frustration focuses on the system that allows the ongoing problems.

Well, its hard to describe what to think when a New Mexico driver picks up his 22 DWI arrests. That is exactly what happened to Delano Vigil. During his last escapade he was arrested and subsequently blew .39 blood alcohol level. Thats right, .39. It seems that Delano is trying to set two New Mexico records: the most drunk driving arrests, and the highest blood alcohol level.

Prior to his last arrest Delano had been charged 5 times in New Mexico and another 16 elsewhere. However, it appears that he wont be going anywhere for a while. Delano must now answer to warrants in San Miguel County, Bernalillo County, and Sandoval County. All warrants seem to stem from drunk driving related offenses.

As of right now, Delano is a poster buy for change in New Mexico drunk driving laws. Honestly though, as a lawyer who sues New Mexico drunk drivers, I’m not convinced that any law will keep prevent a 23rd, 24th, or 25th arrest so long has he has any access to a car. Hopefully I’m wrong.

A New Mexico drunk driver has been arrested in connection with the wrongful death accident of an Espanola man. According to reports, the drunk driver was traveling 60 mph down a residential street with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. Also in the car with the New Mexico drunk driver were two female passengers.

After the Espanola accident the drunk driver admitted to drinking vodka and more specifically, to buying it from a liquor store. If this is not enough, the drunk driver was only 18 years old, well under the required 21 years old to purchase alcohol in New Mexico.

In situations such as this, the estate of the deceased Espanola man may be able to pursue a claim not just against the drunk driver’s insurance, but also a dram shop case against the liquor store that sold alcohol to an underage customer. While authorities are still investigating the accident, they have not yet released the name of the liquor store.

New Mexico cases against liquor establishments, also called New Mexico dram shop cases, are intended to keep those who sell alcohol responsible. It is important for these New Mexico establishments not to place their goal of making money about keeping the community safe. When these liquor stores act responsibly, they run the risk of becoming liable for damages caused as a result of their own negligence.

New Mexico Drunk Driving is in the news again, but this time its not all bad. On the same hand, its not all good either. NPR recently reported on New Mexico’s affliction with drunk driving, and more specifically that it moved from leading the nation in drunk driving deaths in the 90’s, to its current ranking of 17th. The article noted that New Mexico’s fall from the 10 worst states for drunk driving deaths allowed for an extra $1.5 million dollars in federal money.

So far so good. New Mexico lowers its drunk driving rate, and gets a wad of cash in the process. However, the story on New Mexico drunk driving goes on to ask the burning question of “Why” the drop in drunk driving.

At first, the reduced drunk driving deaths in New Mexico is attributed to the ignition interlock system for which New Mexico was the first state to require the installation of after a DWI conviction. However, another Albuquerque DWI expert was interviewed as part of the study and recommends New Mexico not start patting itself on the back.

She claims that the decrease in New Mexico DWI rates is also, at least partially, attributed to a change in how the statistics are reported. It used to be that the DWI rate was based on DWI deaths per capita. This is how it was tabulated when New Mexico led the nation. The method later changed to calculated DWI deaths per miles per year traveled by each resident. Considering New Mexico is a spread out state, and many New Mexico drivers travel hundreds of miles a week, the statistics went down.

This would suggest that even though the national rating has changed, the problem is still as big as ever. Of course, as long as New Mexico moves lower and lower on the list, there is still reason to applaud. Although our New Mexico personal injury attorneys represent many drunk driving victims, this is one type of case that New Mexico has always seemed to have plenty of.

Albuquerque motorcycle accidents are too common. They often require just the slightest lapse in attention from a negligent driver and can result in some of the most serious injuries. A New Mexico motorcycle accident lawyer is aware that many times these cases involve more complex areas of damages and require special attention and care.

Unfortunately, a recent New Mexico motorcycle accident serves as a reminder to just how serious these accidents can be. Police responded to a motorcycle accident on Sunday night involving an SUV that rear-ended an unsuspecting motorcycle rider. The motorcyclist was stopped at Coors and Quail for a traffic light when he was rear-ended by a woman in an SUV. Making matters worse, the injured motorcyclist was pinned under the vehicle and required the assistance of various onlookers to be removed.

Recent reports also suggest that the woman failed a subsequent sobriety test and was arrested. This appears to be a New Mexico injury case in which no amount of money is going to be sufficient to compensate the accident victim. Separate from her criminal charges, the driver of the SUV will likely also be responsible for punitive damages in the event that sufficient insurance coverage exists.

According to statistics, during the holiday season, it is best for New Mexicans to stay indoors. The following is a list of statistics as well as their sources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 4020 people in the United States will die in a car accident between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving: 1000 people will die between Thanksgiving and New Year's in drinking related crashes.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: The most alcohol-related car accidents will occur between December 23 and January 1.

Obviously staying inside for fear of a New Mexico Car Accident would defeat the purpose of the holiday season, however, any glance at these statistics sends a signal that it is important to stay cautious and safe while on New Mexico's roads. The majority of these statistics are the result of not only drunk driving, but also fatigue, speeding, and talking on cell phones. Not only is it an obvious suggestion to avoid doing these, but it is also prudent to be aware that other drivers around you may not be so responsible.

Many New Mexican's are aware of the somber holiday news regarding a New Mexico lawyer that was involved in an New Mexico car accident that left resulted in the death of a San Felipe man. The accident occurred near a Santa Fe bar and, according to news reports, occurred when the vehicle the lawyer was driving struck a pedestrian. Initially, the pedestrian was taken to a local hospital where he was listed in critical condition, sadly, the man passed away, unable to survive his injuries.

As noted earlier, the attorney now faces both criminal and civil penalties. A sad, and legally unique aspect of the case surrounds the vehicle's passenger, a state police officer who was also assigned to the governor's security detail. New Mexico law is foggy on how to treat the conduct of a passenger who knowingly enters a vehicle with an intoxicated driver. How this translates into criminal and civil legal action against the passenger will be interesting to follow.

KOAT recently reported on the amazing ending of a horrible story. The article was about a 14-year-old Albuquerque boy who was released from the hospital four months after he was seriously injured in a New Mexico drunk driving accident. Doctors gave the boy a 20% chance of surviving, however, with the help of his family and his own perseverance, he recently returned home. During his hospitalization he not only had to endure 5 surgeries, but also spent some of the time is a coma.

As an Albuquerque accident lawyer, this story brings to light an important issue is many New Mexico injury cases, subrogation. Subrogation is the duty to reimburse health insurance or medical providers for care they provide to an accident victim who later recovers from an automobile insurance company. This "duty" is often times made binding in New Mexico health insurance contracts, or from the medical provider directly.

This is an important aspect of New Mexico car accident cases considering that a client's recovery is determined by two separate elements: how much the car insurance pays, and how much of that has to be paid back to the health insurance companies. This unique relationship means that even if liability is clear and a car insurance company pays the policy limits, it is just as important to work to reduce the subrogation claim to maximize a client's recovery.

This is certainly a complex issue, and one that cannot be fully explained in a New Mexico Personal Injury Lawyer Blog entry. However, if nothing else, it is important for victims of serious New Mexico injuries to contact an experienced lawyer who can not only get you the most money possible, but help you keep it.

KOB news reporter, Joe Vigil, recently covered a remarkable New Mexico drunk driving story about an Albuquerque man who has been arrested 24 times for DWI. At one point, the seasoned drunk driver would encourage his friends to go drive drunk around Albuquerque just to see if they could beat the charges. Despite his lengthy arrest record, 18 of his 24 cases were thrown out of court, and of the remaining six he would generally have to serve just 10 days in jail.

At the close of the story, the man says that he has changed his life and is now clean and sober going on 11 years. He also states that he hopes his story will encourage others to stop drinking and driving.

Yeah, I'm going to have to say that this may not be the best story to tell New Mexico's drunk driving population. I truly don't mean to offend the drunk driver, but I'm going on record as saying this is a bad story share with those thinking of drinking and driving in Albuquerque. I believe it would likely have the opposite effect, suggesting to many that New Mexico drunk driving accidents are not taken seriously, and drunk driving violations are beatable. Worst-case scenario, if you are hit with a drunk driving charge this story would suggest that it is a mere slap on the wrist.

How about instead we focus on the "scared straight" stories, to help with the New Mexico drunk driving epidemic. Lets instead tell stories involving serious punishments for first-time offense, or life-changing mistakes involving New Mexico alcohol-related accidents.

It is certainly wonderful that a hard-core alcoholic can turn his life around, and that is a story worth applauding and being told to many people, however, I suggest leaving out all those details about how easy it is to overcome DWI charges in New Mexico.

In August of 2003 an employee of BNSF railroad was driving near grants New Mexico when his vehicle veered into oncoming traffic killing the driver of another vehicle. Not surprisingly, the drunk driver did not have car insurance nor any substantial assets.

The New Mexico car accident attorneys that pursued the case attempted to argue that the railroad company should be responsible for their employee's conduct. The two methods of connecting an employer to an employee's negligent conduct our vicarious liability or negligent retention/hiring.

With respect to vicarious liability, the court found that because the employee was not on the clock, and instead was on his own time, his employer was not responsible for his actions. Regarding the negligent hiring, the plaintiffs argued that because the employee had a substantial drinking problem and previous DWIs, the employer should have known that such an accident was likely to occur. Again, the court concluded that because it was not the negligent hiring or retention that was the cause of the accident, the employer could not be held responsible.

As evidenced by this New Mexico car accident case, connecting an employer to its employee's negligent conduct can oftentimes be a difficult task. Sadly, in this New Mexico drunk driving accident case, there are no winners or happy endings.