Area law firm uses ad campaign to warn drunken drivers

The Buffalo News
3/7/03

By Lisa Haarlander

Personal experiences with drunken drivers have motivated the partners at a local law firm to put drunken drivers on notice.
O'Brien, Boyd & Giangreco has launched an ad campaign reminding that there are civil, as well as criminal, penalties for getting behind the wheel after too many drinks.
"If you do get in an automobile accident after drinking too much and you injure someone, or worse, you're going to need the services of an attorney," says a deep, no-nonsense voice in the ad.  "But it won't be this law firm.  We don't represent drunk drivers.  We sue them."
Chris O'Brien, a partner in the plaintiffs personal injury law firm, nearly lost his younger brother to a drunken driver in 1986 on Millersport Highway in Amherst.  His brother suffered numerous injuries as did the two passengers in the car.  The driver of the other car died.
"It strikes a deep emotional chord with us," O'Brien said.  "We're not saying that everyone doesn't deserve representation.  But don't think that you're going to be able to skate if you beat the criminal (charge) and you injure someone.  If you injure someone, we will pursue you to the end."
Steven Boyd, another partner and former television reporter, recalls covering a story in Wisconsin about a drunken driver who killed several members of a family who were on vacation and traveling in two cars.
"The car burst into flames.  The children in the second car watched with their grandparents as their parents were incinerated before their eyes," he said.  "It's frustrating that no matter how much information is out there that these people still drink and drive and hurt people."
New York State police reported 10,182 crashes involving a legally drunken driver in 2000, representing about 11 percent of all accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The average cost of an alcohol-related fatality was $1.5 million and $156,000 for an injured survivor.
In Erie and Niagara counties, 16 people died and 857 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes in 2000, the most recent year for which data is available from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
And it's not just the driver of the car who may have to pay.  Under New York State law, the owner of the car can also be held responsible, even if they were not in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
"If you loan that car to someone and they're drunk or negligent without being drunk, you can be on the hook," Boyd said.
It's not always easy creating an ad campaign for a law firm, especially when it comes to personal injury, said James Gillan, president and creative director of Paragon Advertising, which created the "We Sue Drunk Drivers" campaign.
"I wanted the ad to have a public service aspect," he said.  "It makes you think that you might pay for this for the rest of your life."