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Information and Resources for Drunk Driving Accident Law, Settlements, and Lawsuits for Accidents Caused by Drunk Drivers
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Drunk Driver Accident Laws, Lawsuits, and Settlements for Bodily Injury and Wrongful Death Accidents Caused by Drunk Drivers
Despite tougher drunk driving penalties, drunk driving accidents continue to claim the lives of more than 10,000 people per year and cause injury to hundreds of thousands more. Despite stiffer penalties, massive public service campaigns, and an increased awareness of the dangers of alcohol-impaired drivers, approximately 300,000 people drive under the influence of alcohol each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drunk drivers are responsible for nearly one in three traffic-related fatalities each year and about 800 injuries per day.
Alcohol-impaired motorists face a much higher risk than sober drivers of causing collisions that result in permanent, disabling injuries. While the exact percentage can vary by state, generally speaking non-commercial drivers with a BAC over the legal limit (.08 BAC under federal law) or with impaired driving ability can be convicted of drunk driving. This legal limit can be much lower for certain designated groups of drivers, such as commercial drivers and minors. While a drunk driving law enforcement investigation and subsequent conviction can provide strong evidence of negligence when pursuing a claim or lawsuit against a drunk driver, drivers can be still be “at fault” even if they have consumed less than the legal limit.
Drivers impaired by alcohol (or prescription or illicit drugs) often experience mental and physical impairment that leads to devastating accidents that cause severe injuries or fatalities. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., intoxicating substances like alcohol can impair coordination, cognition, perception, balance, comprehension, attention, concentration, and other brain functions necessary for safe driving. Alcohol also diminishes a driver’s physical responses, causing: slowed reaction times; impaired vision; diminished the ability to judge distance, speed or position; distorted the ability to track a vehicle’s position in the road and position in relation to other vehicles, signs, road shoulders, and center islands or medians.
According to one source, motorists with a BAC of .10 percent or above are seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. Tragically, victims of drunk drivers tend to suffer severe and even life-threatening injuries because the impaired driver often will completely fail to recognize a threat or to respond in time to mitigate the severity of a collision. For example, people tend to drink in the evening hours, and alcohol tends to make drivers drowsy. Individuals who have consumed too much alcohol also tend to fall asleep at the wheel. Sleeping drivers cannot take any evasive action nor brake to reduce the force of impact in a collision.
While drunk driving constitutes an extremely unsafe driving practice that endangers everyone on the road, drivers impaired by alcohol tend to engage in multiple risky behaviors simultaneously. Intoxication can decrease a driver’s inhibitions so that he or she overestimates his driving ability and underestimates the risk of a collision. Many drunk driving accidents also involve at fault parties who also speed, tailgate, multi-task behind the wheel, weave in and out of traffic, and engage in other negligent driving practices that tend to cause drunk driving accidents.
“Drunk drivers are responsible for nearly one in every three fatal car accidents.”
Individuals under the influence of alcohol also tend to cause the bulk of head-on collisions. Alcohol-impaired drivers can be confused or fail to perceive warning signs so that they enter the interstate in the wrong direction. When a person dozes off for even a few seconds, the vehicle can drift into the adjacent lane causing a devastating head-on collision. Drunk drivers also are prone to impaired perception and judgment. For example, these impairments might mean a drunk driver moves into the lane for oncoming traffic to pass another vehicle but misjudges the distance and time needed to complete the passing maneuver safely.
Sadly, drivers who exercise caution and focus their attention on the road often have no ability to avoid a collision when a wrong-way driver rushes toward them in the same lane. When a drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction rushes toward you, there might be no safe option to avoid a head-on collision.
A recent tragic story about a woman who was killed in a fatal head-on accident provides a potent reminder of the danger intoxicated drivers traveling the wrong way pose to others who share the road. The woman was driving her Ford Explorer on I-85 northeast of the Atlanta Metro area. The woman collided with a semi-truck near Braselton in Jackson County before hitting another tractor-trailer and a van. Media reports indicated that law enforcement authorities suspected the crash was alcohol-related.
Pursuing Compensation in an Auto Collision Claim or Lawsuit
Since drunk drivers often do not take any action to avoid a crash or mitigate its severity, drunk driving accident injury victims often suffer severe, disabling injuries or even wrongful death. If you are injured by a drunk driver, he or she can be negligent for violating the rules of the road or engaging in other reckless driving practices. A drunk driving injury victim could receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Because of the egregious nature of drunk driving, the court might even award punitive damages. Courts award punitive damages to punish especially egregious behavior and to discourage such activity in the future. If you lost a loved one to a drunk driver, a wrongful death action could provide compensation for the estate of the deceased as well as the harm suffered by certain family members depending on state law.
” Drunk driving victims should seek advice on protecting their legal rights as soon as possible to avoid unintentional mistakes that compromise your claim. Click here to receive a free case review and consultation with an experienced national car accident law firm.”
DRUNK DRIVING COLLISIONS– STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS – BY STATE
ALL 50 STATES HAVE ADOPTED STRICT DEADLINES FOR FILING DRUNK DRIVING INJURY LAWSUITS. THESE DEADLINES ARE REFERRED TO AS THE “STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.”
Revealing the Impact of the Statute of Limitations on Car Accident Settlements and Lawsuits
Regardless of the merits of a drunk driving accident claim, a settlement must be reached, or a lawsuit commenced within the specified period under a state’s statute of limitations law. If a car accident injury victim fails to take the required actions or file a lawsuit within the deadline, the right to pursue a lawsuit usually will be barred. The deadline that applies depends on the type of claim, and where the injury victim seeks financial compensation. Drunk driving injury victims need to know what legal deadlines apply for personal injury claims, because if you fail to file in a timely manner consistent with the statute you will be barred from receiving any financial compensation.
Why you can’t delay in filing your drunk driving accident claim
Delays in seeking compensation can result in the victim being barred from any recovery regardless of the merits of the claim. Given this harsh consequences of failing to comply with the statute of limitations, car accident victims need to know this important deadline for personal injury claims. These legally imposed deadlines vary depending on the state where the injured person seeks compensation and the type of claim asserted.
Factor that may impact the legal time deadlines in your case:
- Where the accident occurred.
- If a governmental party is involved: If a government entity is a party to your claim, shorter time limits could apply along with special notice requirements to the government entity before it can be sued. If a federal entity has negligently contributed to a car accident, such as a federal employee performing his work functions for the government at the time of a collision, the lawsuit might be subject to different statute of limitations deadlines
- If the injured party is a minor: This is a rare circumstance where the deadline could be extended. If the victim is a minor, the statute of limitations would be prolonged up until the point the party is an adult, depending on the state law.
- If there are multiple parties and multiple types of claims, there can also be multiple statute of limitations and notice requirements that apply. For example, a breach of contract claim and a personal injury claim might have different time limits.
- Jurisdiction: The jurisdiction that applies to the claim impacts which time deadlines apply. For example, a breach of contract claim and a personal injury claim might have different time limits depending on the jurisdiction.
As you can see, there’s a great deal of complexity in determining the strict time limitations that apply to your claim. Keep in mind this list is not exhaustive of all the potential exceptions and factors that may affect which time deadline to apply. The best way to navigate through all these complexities is to speak to an experienced accident attorney who can explain your legal rights and file your claim in a timely manner.
Aside from the statute of limitations and contractual deadlines, practical circumstances make it important to act promptly to preserve your rights. Insurance policies also have provisions that impose time limits and notice requirements. Even if the policy should cover the claim, the insurance company can use the failure to provide timely notice to justify denying the claim.
Delay also can compromise the value of a claim or lawsuit because evidence might disappear, and the recollection of witnesses might fail. While a claim might still be pursued even if important evidence vanishes, a weaker case means the claim has less monetary value.
A seasoned drunk driving accident injury attorney can investigate and preserve evidence that might be lost or modified by the at-fault individual. This is a reason why car accident victims should contact an attorney for information on steps to protect the injured person’s right to legal compensation. Click here for a free assessment of your claim.
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