First, let us acquaint ourselves with some alarming statistics: 250,000 people have died in alcohol-related accidents in the past 10 years; 25,000 people die each year in alcohol related accidents; 500 people are killed weekly and 71 people daily in alcohol-related accidents; one American life is lost every 20 minutes in an alcohol-related car crash; and one out of every two Americans is likely to be involved in an alcohol-related accident in his lifetime. Every year, 708,000 persons are injured, 74,000 of them seriously, in alcohol-related crashes. About 2,000 people receive injuries each day in alcohol-related accidents.

A recent study reveals that alcohol-impaired drivers cost American taxpayers $21 - $24 billion dollars per year. According to a recent National Geographic report, alcohol abuse costs American society $136 billion and 65,000 lives annually.

The rise in the number of accidents often goes hand-in-hand with binge drinking, meaning having at least five drinks at a time. Binge drinkers were 13 times more likely to report driving while they were alcohol-impaired, and most of them admitted they often had far more than five drinks per binge.

If you receive injuries in a drunk-driving accident, you may be entitled to compensation from the drunk driver or his insurer. Under certain circumstances, even injured pedestrians and their close family members are entitled to receive compensation. Such compensation usually includes payment for medical treatment, past and future lost income, and emotional distress damages.

In some limited instances, the injured person is entitled to get recovery from the provider of alcohol to the driver, usually a bar or restaurant. Such cases against third parties are, however, more complicated and difficult to prove. Punitive damages are meant to punish malicious or reckless drivers, and to deter such conduct in the future.