What are your rights if you were injured in a crash where one of the drivers was impaired by alcohol or drugs?
First of all, in Ulster County and in New York State, you are covered by no-fault insurance, up to the first $50k of medical or wage losses within 30 days of notice, regardless of fault. You could also sue for pain and suffering if you’ve cleared a “serious injury threshold,” including if there was a death or dismemberment, a bone fracture, significant disfigurement, or 90 out of 180 days of substantial disability. If the responsible party was provably drunk or impaired by other substances, especially when proven by a police investigation, you would have powerful evidence of gross negligence.
The court could also award punitive damages, although they often can be uncollectable judgments. It’s possible that an additional claim could be made that “dram shops” (i.e., bars and restaurants that overserved an intoxicated person), private hosts who served alcohol to minors, the vehicle’s owner, or an employer if the intoxicated party was driving a company car, are partially liable.
In a drunk driving car crash case, you may be eligible to seek compensation for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and rehab costs. By giving us a call at 845-600-0000 for a free consultation at our personal injury law offices in Kingston, NY, our experienced legal team can begin the process of conducting an investigation, collecting police reports and other documentation, and engaging accident reconstruction specialists to determine what contributed to the crash and your injuries.
Here are some of the statistics about drunk and impaired driving crashes in Kingston, NY and the surrounding county:
1. There is an impaired driver crash every other day in Ulster County
In 2022, there were 192 impaired driver crashes in Ulster County. In 2023, that went up slightly to 194, and went down somewhat to 165 in 2024 (according to preliminary statistics).
2. Roughly one in three impaired driver crashes result in personal injuries in Ulster County
In 2022, 71 of 192 total impaired car crashes resulted in personal injuries. That includes 8 of 32 in City of Kingston, 8 of 26 in Saugerties, 8 of 18 in Lloyd, 7 of 14 in the Town of Ulster, and 6 of 12 in Esopus.
In 2023, 57 of 194 total impaired crashes resulted in a personal injury, including 7 of 17 New Paltz, 6 of 19 in Saugerties, 5 of 23 in Kingston, 5 of 15 in Lloyd, and 5 of 8 in Wawarsing.
3. A small percentage of Ulster County drunk driving crashes are fatal
In 2022, there were 9 fatal impaired driving crashes out of 192. There were two fatalities in Gardiner, and one each in a number of towns.
In 2023, 4 of 194 total drunk or impaired driving crashes were fatal. That includes 2 in the Town of Rochester and one each in Gardiner and the City of Kingston.
4. Most Ulster County impaired crashes involve alcohol
In 2022, there were 145 crashes that involved alcohol, 30 that involved illegal drugs and 5 that involved prescription medication.
5. Kingston, Saugerties and New Paltz Have the Most Impaired Driving Crashes
| Rank | Municipality (2023) | 2023 Crashes | ▲ vs 2022 | Fatal | Injuries | Property-Only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingston (City) | 23 | −9 (-28 %) | 1 | 5 | 17 |
| 2 | Saugerties (Town) | 19 | −7 (-27 %) | 0 | 8 | 18 |
| 3 | New Paltz (Town) | 17 | +9 (+113 %) | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Lloyd | 15 | −3 (-17 %) | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| 5 | Rochester | 13 | +5 (+63 %) | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 6 | Ulster (Town) | 12 | −2 (-14 %) | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Shawangunk | 11 | +7 (+175 %) | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 8 | Esopus | 10 | −2 (-17 %) | 0 | 4 | 6 |
6. Impaired Drivers Usually Hurt Themselves
Of the 56 total impaired driving crashes in Ulster County that resulted in injuries in 2023, 48 of them injured the impaired driver themselves, and 8 injured someone else. There were four fatalities, 19 serious injuries, 18 moderate injuries, and 13 minor injuries.
7. Two thirds of impaired drivers in crashes were male
Of the 190 total injury crashes that were tracked in 2023, 125 of the drivers were male, and 65 were female.