Steven A. Bagen | July 9, 2024 | Car Accidents
Drunk driving is a well-known threat to the safety of everyone on the road.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), estimates that every 39 minutes, one person dies in drunk driving-related accidents in America. In 2022, 13,524 Americans died from alcohol-impaired driving crashes.
In 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, getting behind the wheel of a car with a blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) level of 0.08 or higher is against the law. Utah is the only state where the limit is 0.05.
Why are these BAC levels so important? Based on the level of alcohol concentrated in one’s blood, different effects take place within the body and mind, and these effects have been measured to have certain implications when driving.
According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), in 2022, there were 5,746 impaired-driving crashes – those influenced by drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both across the state of Florida. Due to these accidents, over 3,052 injuries and 406 fatalities occurred.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car crash caused by a drunk driver, contact a local drunk driving accident lawyer for assistance.
How Alcohol Affects the Body When Driving
The first sip of alcohol can impair visual functions such as tracking objects. Those with a BAC as low as 0.02 experience body warmth and some loss of judgment according to NHTSA.
The BAC level 0.05 results in exaggerated behavior, lowered alertness, and impaired judgment. There is reduced coordination due to the loss of some muscle control and reduced response times in emergency driving situations.
The NHTSA describes a BAC level of 0.08 contributing to poor muscle coordination, resulting in unstable balance, incoherent speech, altered vision, delayed reaction times, and affected hearing. Drivers may not detect danger as alcohol impairs judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory.
At BAC levels higher than 0.08, delayed responses, poor muscle coordination, and slowed cognitive abilities increase. The inability to judge distance, speed, and time in addition to confusion, disorientation, blurred vision, nausea, and dizziness can occur. Look for these signs if you believe the other driver may be intoxicated.
Possible Drunk Driving Behaviors
The most important aspect of a car accident case involving a drunk driver is proving intoxication. The drunk driver likely acted intoxicated and unreasonable, and some behaviors can point to intoxication. These behaviors may include:
- Significant speeding
- Driving against traffic causing a head-on accident
- Aggressively weaving through traffic
- Failure to perceive a nearby vehicle parked or moving
- Swerving out of their lane
- Dismissing a stopped or slowed vehicle directly in front of their vehicle
How to Collect Evidence after a Car Accident
While you will not need to collect evidence on your own after a car accident involving a drunk driver, your lawyer can gather evidence, and there are ways you can help them.
Document your observations from the scene
Be clear and concise. Complete written documentation as soon as possible to provide a more reliable account of the incident. Take pictures and videos of damage at the scene.
You will want to document injuries and property damage to your vehicle. Note all details of the accident you can remember. Create notes of your observations of the driver if they seem impaired. If you notice slurred speech, the smell of alcohol, erratic behavior, or lack of coordination, write it down or document it on your phone.
Obtain Witness Statements
Witness testimony may help your case by offering another viewpoint of the event. Document the names of witnesses and any contact information they provide. Witnesses can testify in a case, and they may help law enforcement or the court determine fault.
Witnesses may be pedestrians, cyclists, individuals in nearby homes or businesses, and drivers or passengers in vehicles near the accident when it happened.
The most credible witnesses are those with no personal connection to anyone involved in the car accident and those with no financial gains in the outcome of the insurance claim or lawsuit filed.
Explain Concerns to the Police Officer Responding to the Scene
The officer will likely notice the other driver’s state of intoxication at the scene—they have trained to notice signs of drinking—but explain your observations to them. A comprehensive understanding of the situation will help them better understand the incident.
Once they know about the driver’s inebriated state, authorities may have the driver perform a field sobriety test and give a Breathalyzer test to determine the BAC of the intoxicated driver.
Complete and Obtain a Police Report
Authorities will note findings, document details about the incident, and gather contact information from all parties involved in the accident. It will be important to obtain a copy of the police report. This can be used for evidence if you decide to press charges or file a lawsuit to obtain financial compensation from insurance agencies or the driver if filing a civil suit.
Find Business or Residential Homes with Surveillance Footage
Look around after the accident to see if you can locate buildings, traffic lights, or homes that may contain video cameras for surveillance. This surveillance footage may help your case if you believe the other driver was driving drunk.
Note where the cameras are, write these locations down, discuss your findings with an officer, and gather the footage sooner rather than later. Some surveillance systems automatically delete footage after a certain amount of time has passed, so don’t wait to attain this valuable evidence.
Talk to a police officer or lawyer about how to access this information if you aren’t comfortable going door to door or your injuries don’t allow it.
Gather Additional Evidence For Your File
In addition to documenting all property and injuries by taking photos or videos, include detailed notes about who was involved, how the accident happened, the location, date, and time of the accident, and all other details you can remember.
If the drunk driver injured you, include medical statements, receipts from medications and therapies, and insurance claim information in addition to driver and witness information.
How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
A car accident lawyer with experience in drunk driving cases can help you in many ways. If you are healing from an injury, it will be more important for you to focus on your recovery.
A personal injury lawyer can help you with many aspects of your case.
- They can file your case in court promptly so you don’t risk the statute of limitations expiring. In Florida, you have two years from the accident date to file your case according to Florida Statute § 95.11(3)(a).
- A lawyer will fight for a fair and reasonable settlement that will cover damages and losses.
- A car accident lawyer has experience managing an independent investigation that will be imperative to your case.
- They can aid in the collection of evidence from the scene of the accident.
- A personal injury lawyer will provide you with guidance and information from the time of your initial free consultation until the case is closed.
- A car accident lawyer will advocate for your right to fair compensation in court if the parties involved in the case cannot agree on a settlement.
Types of Compensation
Car accident survivors may recover many types of compensation depending on the situation.
- Medical expenses: All expenses dealing with your medical recovery in the past, present, and future count toward medical expenses. Medications and medical devices, therapies, hospitalizations, surgeries, and follow-up appointments are included.
- Property Damages: Include any items the accident damaged. Damage to your vehicle, phone, or any items within your vehicle is a part of this compensation type.
- Lost Wages: If you had to take time off in the past, present, and/or future lost wages resulting from your accident apply.
- Pain and Suffering: If you experienced any pain or suffering due to the accident, you may recover compensation.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: You may be able to recover financial compensation if you cannot enjoy life as you did before the accident.
- Disfigurement and Scarring: If disfigurement and scarring were a result of your accident, these physical reminders deserve compensation due to the devastating effects physically and emotionally they may cause.
- Embarrassment or Humiliation: If the accident or repercussions of the accident caused you embarrassment or humiliation, you may recover compensation.
The attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates acknowledge health concerns and injuries are unique, regardless of the kind of car accident or injury endured. The team at Steven A. Bagen & Associates fiercely advocates cases with insurance companies and civil suits to guarantee you are justly compensated for your injuries and losses following a drunk driving car accident.
What to Do Next
Set up a free, no-risk consultation with an attorney who has extensive experience in car accidents involving drunk drivers.
Get a free case review from Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers. You can do this by calling (800) 800-2575 to speak directly with one of the lawyers, or reach out online and fill out a form for your free consultation.
A car accident can alter the direction of your life and affect both your physical and mental well-being. The impact can transcend your identity; it affects multiple aspects of your life including your property, transportation mode, work, and everyday routines.
The personal injury attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, PA, understand the weight and consequences of such experiences. With over 35 years of experience, the team has aided many clients by giving them the tools to reclaim their lives after an accident with a drunk driver.
Recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for clients, many accident victims have benefited from the services provided by Steven A. Bagen & Associates. By advocating for their clients, our lawyers can get you fair compensation to alleviate the financial burdens associated with the accident.
Although compensation cannot ever fully make up for the loss and trauma associated, it can provide a course of action that helps toward recovery.
If you need legal support, contact Steven A. Bagen & Associates today to determine the compensation you deserve after your accident involving a drunk driver.