Client sustained life-threatening injuries after being hit by a driver who passed away at the scene. We obtained close to the policy limits with an additional claimant pre-suit and negotiated medical liens down over $250,000.
Get The Justice You Deserve
Legally Reviewed By:
"*" indicates required fields
Getting hit by a drunk driver is an event that stays with you. There’s the fear before you know how badly you’re hurt, then the anger once you learn the crash was preventable. Someone made a choice to drive impaired, and now you’re left dealing with the damage. With the help of an experienced lawyer, you don’t have to handle the aftermath alone.
Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm represents people in Waunakee and surrounding communities who are picking up the pieces after a drunk driving crash. We know how overwhelming this can feel, and we’re ready to help you understand your rights and what comes next.
Drunk driving crashes are more common in Wisconsin than many people realize. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 7,067 crashes involved impaired drivers across the state in 2024, resulting in 163 deaths and 3,500 injuries. That means someone was killed or injured in an alcohol- or drug-impaired driving crash every 2.4 hours.
These crashes are not evenly spread throughout the week. They cluster on weekends, particularly late at night and into the early morning, with activity peaking between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. as bars close and impaired drivers head home. Regardless of when the crash happened, police reports, test results, and witness accounts may help show whether the driver was impaired.
A lot of people assume that if a bar over-served the driver who hit them, the bar can be held responsible too. In Wisconsin, that’s usually not the case. Wisconsin Statute 125.035 gives bars, restaurants, and other alcohol sellers broad immunity from civil liability when they sell or serve alcohol to an adult, even if that person was visibly intoxicated.
There are a few narrow exceptions. An alcohol provider may be held responsible if it knew or should have known that it was serving someone under 21 and the alcohol was a substantial factor in causing an injury to another person. The immunity also does not apply when someone forces another person to consume alcohol or falsely represents that a drink contains no alcohol. Outside of those specific situations, Wisconsin law places responsibility on the driver, not the establishment that served them.
This matters because it shapes where your claim is actually headed. In most cases, that means the impaired driver and their insurance company, rather than a bar or restaurant, are the ones you’ll be pursuing compensation from.
Every drunk driving case is different, but depending on your injuries and losses, you may be able to recover compensation for the following:
In some cases, the facts surrounding an impaired-driving crash may also support a request for punitive damages. However, punitive damages are not available in every drunk driving case. Our dedicated lawyers can help you understand what applies to your specific situation.
Wisconsin law sets a deadline for filing a personal injury claim. In many cases, a Wisconsin personal injury lawsuit must be filed within three years of the accident. However, some exceptions may change the deadline.
Evidence in drunk driving cases, like police reports, toxicology results, and witness accounts, is easier to gather and preserve the sooner a case gets underway.
You deserve a legal team willing to dig into the details of how your crash happened, not one that treats your case like a number on a spreadsheet. Pemberton Personal Injury has spent years representing injured people across Wisconsin, and we bring that same commitment to every Waunakee client who calls on us.
Here’s what you can expect when you work with our firm:
We prepare every case as if it may go to trial rather than accepting what is simply easy or fast. This is part of The Pemberton Promise: our commitment to fight for the maximum recovery our clients deserve and carry the legal burden so they can focus on healing.
If a drunk driver hurt you or someone in your family in Waunakee, you don’t have to sort through insurance calls and medical paperwork on your own. Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm is ready to look at what happened, explain your options in plain terms, and help you decide what to do next.
Reach out to us today to schedule a free case evaluation. We’re ready to listen to your story and help you seek the justice you deserve.
Insurance companies profit when you lose. Every claim they deny, every settlement they lowball, every injured person they convince to accept less—that’s money in their pocket. And they’re very good at what they do.
At Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm, we’ve made it our mission to take on the insurance companies that put profits over people. We know every underhanded tactic they’ll use to cheat you out of fair compensation, and we’re prepared to fight fire with fire. When insurance adjusters see us coming, they know they’re in for a real battle. You didn’t ask to be injured.
You didn’t ask to fight a billion-dollar corporation. But now that you’re here, you deserve lawyers who will go to war for you. We don’t settle for less than full compensation, we don’t back down from tough fights, and we don’t let insurance companies bully our clients. PERIOD.
Life following a serious injury can bring intense emotions and pain. Accident victims often hope to get their lives back on track, only to be held back by the demands involved with personal injury claims. This is especially the case for individuals who become hospitalized. Wherever you are in the process, we’d be glad to help.
Our injury lawyers in Wisconsin step up to represent you. At Pemberton, we provide this advocacy at every step in the injury claims process so you can be on your way to feeling like yourself again.
Contact our Waunakee personal injury attorneys at (608) 448-6242 to speak with one of our experienced attorneys. We will create a plan together to help you protect your rights and get you back to your life.
$40M+ Won For Our Clients
Client sustained life-threatening injuries after being hit by a driver who passed away at the scene. We obtained close to the policy limits with an additional claimant pre-suit and negotiated medical liens down over $250,000.
In this car accident case, the client suffered catastrophic injuries in a head-on collision when the at-fault driver crossed the center line. Her injuries included multiple broken bones in the chest, ribs, wrist, and ankle, internal injuries requiring intestinal surgery, and a damaged artery in the spine. With medical expenses exceeding $4,000, we secured the at-fault driver’s full insurance coverage and pursued an additional $1,000,000 from the client’s own insurance policy. We also negotiated a reduction of more than $468,000 in outstanding medical costs to ensure the client received maximum financial recovery for her life-altering injuries and permanent impact on her ability to work.
The client’s loved one suffered a fatal injury in an auto collision that resulted in over $382,000 in medical bills. Acting as the family’s second attorney, we navigated difficult policy-limit issues and secured a $1,000,000 settlement. While the case had greater overall value and the family would have liked a higher recovery, they chose to settle to avoid prolonged litigation and move forward.
“If you ever need an attorney, he would be the first one I recommend”
“Focus on healing and we will take care of everything on the legal side”
“If you ever need an attorney, he would be the first one I recommend”