WTF. Drunken Daughter of Houston Judge tries to sue.

[PepperElf]

And I don't care if he slammed on his brakes, either

yeah because there's legit reasons to slam your brakes... such as seeing something ahead of you that you don't want to hit... like another stopped car, a kid running into the road, a free cookie...

the only thing the drunk has on their side is that the sober driver didn't have insurance... but that wasn't the sober driver's fault. it was a company car and the company had let the insurance lapse.

in my opinion, the only way to "win" would be to prove that her alcohol status did not contribute to the accident, and it may be hard to prove. i mean yes, it's possible to have someone cut you off and slam the brakes... but your state of inebriation may affect how quickly and accurately you respond to the sudden change in driving conditions.

[One-Fang]

Regardless of obeying all other traffic laws, the accident would never have happened if he did the responsible thing in the first place.

What - had slightly less alcohol that day? If he'd had the .038 that was just under the limit (or whatever it was) the other driver wouldn't have run the red? That's one of the most limited ways that you can consider that situation. While driving over the limit is stupid, it wasn't persephone's client's drink driving that caused that accident. It's entirely plausible the same person would have been in the same intersection (or even any other person) if he hadn't drunk at all. The cause of the accident was clearly the sober driver. To say it "would never have happened" if the drunk one hadn't been drunk is ... well ... not very well thought out.

But in this specific instance (rear ending another vehicle when you are drunk) there doesn't seem to be the same possibility. I'm guessing that concepts similar to persephone's post are why it got accepted as a suit - it might very well be that the sober driver somehow caused the accident, and this should be proved or disproved in court.

Imagine - if persephone's case had been the situational details, would we all be saying how disgusting it was for the drink driver to be suing the sober one? I know I wouldn't.

Just pointing out that some gut-reactions, even in this thread, may not be entirely appropriate at all times.

[crazylegs]

a free cookie...

If I *ever* see that as a reason for a rear end shunt I will hunt you down and give you the biggest box of cookies I can find!