Our Lake City drunk driving accident lawyers at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. know how to hold drunk drivers and their insurance companies accountable for your injuries or even the death of a loved one. If a drunk driver recently affected your life, get a call in our Lake City office.
We take drunk driving accident claims seriously. For example, we obtained $2,500,000 for a client who was a victim of a drunk driving semi-truck accident. That truck driver had a blood alcohol content (BAC) four times the legal limit, and we held parties accountable for the injuries to our client.
Alcohol Consumption and Driving
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), around 28 individuals lose their lives every day on U.S. roads due to drunk drivers, and one person dies every 52 minutes because another person got behind the wheel after having too much to drink.
Despite increased public awareness, national and state campaigns, pleas from families who have lost loved ones, and multiple options for alternative transportation, drunk driving is still a severe issue in our country and Florida today. In one recent year, 746 people lost their lives in crashes involving alcohol, drugs, or both in Florida.
While Florida’s legal definition of drunk driving is a BAC of 0.08 percent or greater, a BAC of far less can impair driving. Even though a driver may not face criminal charges for drunk driving, they may still be liable for your accident if it’s determined they have some amount of alcohol in their blood.
A BAC of 0.02 percent causes:
- Some loss of judgment
- Relaxation
- Altered mood
- Decline in visual functions, specifically rapid tracking of a moving target decreases
- A decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time or to have divided attention
A BAC of 0.05 percent causes:
- Exaggerated behaviors
- The potential for loss of small-muscle control, such as focusing the eyes)
- Impaired judgment,
- Lowered alertness
- Release of inhibitions
- Diminished coordination
- Decreased ability to track moving objects
- Difficulty steering,
- Delayed or decreased response to emergency driving situations—such as a child darting out into the road or blowing a tire
A BAC of 0.08 percent causes:
- Muscle coordination becomes poor, which impacts balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing
- Difficulty detecting danger
- Poor judgment
- Lack of self-control, reasoning, and memory
- Reduced concentration
- Short-term memory loss
- Diminished speed control
- Decreased information processing capability, for example, signal detection and visual search
- Impaired perception
A BAC of 0.10 percent causes:
- A noticeable decline in control and reaction time
- Slurred speech
- Poor coordination
- Slowed cognition
- Decreased ability to brake appropriately and maintain lane position
A BAC of 0.15 percent causes:
- Significantly decreased muscle control
- Vomiting may occur
- Marked loss of balance
- Severe impairment in vehicle control and attention to driving
- Severely diminished visual and auditory information processing necessary for driving
As you can see, a BAC of all different levels can hurt someone’s driving skills. Not knowing their BAC or how alcohol would impair their driving is no excuse.
Injuries Caused by Drunk Driving Accidents
Injuries arising from drunk driving accidents can be severe or even catastrophic. Even drivers who are under the legal BAC limit can cause serious injuries, which might include:
Burns
Sometimes drunk driving accidents end up with vehicles in flames. Victims who survive can face any degree of burn on any part of their body. Burns commonly cause scarring and disfigurement. They may require plastic surgery with skin grafts, which may risk infections and even more complications.
Broken Bones
While bones are the most durable parts of the human body, the force of a car accident can fracture any bone.
Car accidents frequently break:
- Wrists
- Hands
- Arms
- Shoulders
- Ribs
- Necks
- Backs
- Pelvises
- Legs
- Angles
- Feet
- Skulls
Some breaks require only minimal care, such as a few weeks in a cast or splint and over-the-counter pain medications. Others can require multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, narcotic pain meds, physical therapy and may never fully heal the way they were before the accident.
Head Injuries
The head has little protection in motor vehicle accidents. Facial gashes and lacerations are common. A victim can suffer a fractured skull, a concussion, or an even more severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs can kill people. Those who survive may suffer personality changes, mood disorders, or seizure disorders, and they might never care for themselves again.
Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)
Even though discs and vertebrae protect the spinal cord, it is not immune to injury in drunk driving accidents. It can become damaged, bruised, or severed, leading to temporary or permanent paralysis of limbs and bodily functions below the injury site. Those who suffer these injuries will need therapy and may require constant medically supportive care for the rest of their lives.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries such as whiplash may sound benign compared to other potential injuries. While they are less serious, victims with these injuries also have pain and sometimes require medical help to recover. In addition, some soft tissue injuries can take even longer than broken bones to heal.
Amputations
Accidental and necessary amputations can arise from alcohol-related accidents. Severe accidents can cause limbs to be severed or traumatically injured. Even if they aren’t entirely severed, the trauma suffered can leave medical teams with no other option but to amputate. This often happens with crushing injuries or if a limb is left severely mangled.
Internal Injuries
Internal injuries can be among the most severe suffered in drunk driving accidents. Internal organs such as the spleen, liver, or lungs can become bruised and bleed. Internal bleeding of this magnitude can become fatal. Therefore, drunk driving accident victims need medical attention as soon as possible, in part to diagnose and treat any internal injuries or bleeding.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Drunk driving accident victims can also suffer invisible mental and emotional injuries, the most common being PTSD. Those who suffer from PTSD may have difficulties sleeping, concentrating, or maintaining relationships. They might also suffer from depression and anxiety. Many require cognitive therapy and medications. Even though such injuries are invisible, they can take just as long, if not longer, for victims to recover from.
No matter what type of injuries you suffer or the symptoms you have immediately following a drunk driver accident, it’s imperative that you seek medical attention right away. Many of these injuries have much better outcomes the sooner you treat them. Some are life-threatening and have no symptoms, so see a physician as quickly as possible.
When Should You Call a Lake City Drunk Driving Accident Attorney?
While getting medical care is paramount after a drunk driving accident, meeting with an experienced Lake City drunk driving accident lawyer is also of the utmost importance. Once you are medically stable, call our office to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our Lake City drunk driving accident attorneys. If necessary, we can come to our home or hospital room.
The sooner you get legal representation, the better.
The many reasons for this include:
- The statute of limitations – Under Florida law, you have four years from your accident to file a legal claim. If you miss this deadline, you cannot use the civil court system to pursue compensation for your injuries and damages.
- Protection from insurance companies – Insurance adjusters love to find out that claimants don’t have legal representation. They call them as soon as possible, hoping to get them to say something that will harm their claim or to get them to accept a minuscule settlement compared to the amount they really deserve.
- Preserving evidence – Collect and preserve evidence supporting your claim as soon as possible. Evidence can disappear with time. Without it, your Lake City drunk driving accident lawyer may not garner the compensation your claim actually deserves. Your attorney will know what evidence your claim needs and how to collect it.
