Drunk driving is a negligent driving behavior that can lead to a car accident and cause significant damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. Alcohol can affect a person’s brain functioning, leading to poor judgment, worsened vision, and slow reaction times. A drunk driver cannot operate their vehicle safely and can cause a car accident by not following road rules, speeding, or distracted driving.
A drunk driving crash can lead to expensive damages, which the at-fault party can be liable for in a drunk driving accident claim. A drunk driving accident attorney can help you assess your current and future damages, prove the at-fault party’s liability, and help you pursue fair compensation for your damages. The drunk driving accident lawyers at The Russo Firm have decades of experience helping drunk driving car crash victims and can use that experience to help you pursue fair compensation for your damages.
Why Choose The Russo Firm for Help With Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim?
A drunk driving accident can negatively affect a person’s standard of living. They will have to deal with the fallout of severe injuries for the weeks, months, and possibly years after the accident just because someone decided to risk the lives of others by getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated. The drunk driving accident lawyers at The Russo Firm understand this through decades of helping drunk driving accident victims pursue compensation in drunk driving accident claims.
At The Russo Firm, we invest our time and resources into our clients to ensure they have the best chance of receiving fair compensation for their damages. Part of that investment is constant communication that allows us to understand how their medical and financial situation is developing. We craft our drunk driving claims process plan around the specifics of their case to ensure the full cost of their damages is accounted for. Contact The Russo Firm today to see how our drunk driving accident lawyers can help you recover compensation for the full cost of your damages.
The Russo Firm Case Results
A drunk driving accident attorney can help you recover compensation for damages through settlement negotiations or a court case. Each has a distinct process for which your drunk driving accident lawyer must have the experience and expertise to handle. At The Russo Firm, we have a proven track record of earning our clients compensation through both means.
We know the best way to pursue fair compensation for your drunk driving accident damages and can use that knowledge to put you in the best position. We understand how insurance companies will try to deny, devalue, or delay your claim through our decades of experience negotiating settlements with insurance companies. If we cannot come to terms on a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company, we can help you pursue compensation through a court case.
The following are some of the case results The Russo Firm lawyers have earned for their clients:
- $3.3 Million for Car Accident Caused by Drunk Driving
- $2.4 Million for Medical Malpractice Misdiagnosis
- $2 Million for Wrongful Death Trucking Accident
- $1.75 Million Product Liability Jury Award
- $650 Thousand for Car Accident Jury Award
How Drunk Driving Can Lead to a Car Accident
Alcohol can impair a person’s thinking, leading to reduced mental faculties, slower reaction time, worse decision-making, and reduced muscle coordination. The negative effects on a person’s nervous system can lessen their control over their mind and body, which is a horrible combination behind the wheel. Their exaggerated behavior, loss of visual functioning, and loss of judgment can lead to a driver making poor decisions behind the wheel which can cause a catastrophic drunk driving accident.
The following are some of the ways a drunk driver can cause a traffic accident:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Misjudging space between their vehicle and another one
- Running red lights and stop signs
- Not reading traffic control signals properly
- Not using turn signals when turning or changing lanes
- Disobeying road rules
- Failing to observe right-of-way laws
Drunk Driving Accident Statistics
The sobering reality of life as a driver in the United States is that everyone will most likely be affected by a drunk driver, whether hit by one directly or through knowing someone involved in a drunk driving accident. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), about two out of every three drivers is involved in a drunk driving accident at some point in their life. They estimate 926 people a day are injured due to drunk driving, with a drunk driving accident happening about every 90 seconds.
Drivers with lowered mental capabilities due to alcohol’s effect on the brain cannot properly control their vehicle and can cause catastrophic damages, possibly resulting in the death of those involved in a drunk driving accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 11,654 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in 2020, which was a 14% increase from 2019.
Drunk Driving Accident Injuries
A drunk driving accident can leave your body exposed to trauma that can result in severe bodily injury. Your body can receive a direct blow, blunt force trauma from hard objects, whiplash, crushing impact from being trapped between two hard objects, and penetrating trauma. Each of these can cause a severe injury that can result in intense physical pain, reduced bodily functioning, and emotional suffering that can reduce your quality of life.
The following are some of the severe injuries caused by a drunk driving accident that you can pursue compensation for:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Shoulder injuries
- Knee injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Facial injuries
- Internal injuries
- Infections
What to do After a Drunk Driving Accident
Following a drunk driving accident, you are more than likely going to have a severe injury and expensive damages that you will not be able to pay out of pocket. You should prioritize your health as well as complete steps that can put you in a position to recover compensation for your injuries. A drunk driver can be held liable for the negligent behavior that caused the drunk driving accident, and a drunk driving accident lawyer can help you determine what those steps should be.
The following are some of the things you should do after a drunk driving accident:
- Receive medical attention for severe injuries caused by the drunk driving accident
- Collect evidence at the scene of the car accident
- Exchange contact information with the drunk driver and any witnesses
- Notify your insurance company of the drunk driving accident
- Collect essential records to prove the at-fault party’s liability
- Write down all the details you can remember from the drunk driving accident
- Hire a drunk driving accident lawyer
Liability in a Drunk Driving Accident Claim
In most cases, the liable party in a drunk driving accident claim is the negligent driver that decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated. It’s this decision to drive while unfit that can cause the drunk driving accident and can leave them liable for damages in a drunk driving accident claim.
Depending on what state you live in, the person or party that provides alcohol can also be held liable for a drunk driving accident. These forms of liability include:
- Dram shop liability: This is when an establishment, such as a bar, nightclub, liquor store, restaurant, or sports stadium, is held liable for providing alcohol to a driver. This establishment can only be held liable if the driver’s intoxication was clear and obvious before they left the establishment.
- Social host liability: A social host is anyone that invites people to a social gathering that provides alcohol to the guests. They can be held liable in certain states if they provided the alcohol and knew from obvious signs of intoxication that one of their guests would be driving home while drunk.
Not every state has laws that can hold these parties responsible for a drunk driving accident claim. Before proceeding with a drunk driving accident claim, you should contact a local car accident lawyer that knows the rules for liability and which parties can be held liable in a drunk driving accident claim.
Filing a Drunk Driving Accident Claim
You can file a drunk driving accident claim to pursue compensation for damages caused by a drunk driver’s negligence. To recover compensation, you must prove the liability of the at-fault party, meaning you need to establish with evidence that the drunk driver’s intoxication led to the drunk driving accident.
Most states operate under the theory of negligence, which requires you to prove the following:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty of care, which is the standard of behavior that keeps other drivers on the road safe from harm
- The at-fault party breached this duty of care through negligence (drunk driving)
- You received damages from the drunk driving accident
- Your damages were a direct result of the at-fault party’s breach of duty of care
A drunk driving accident lawyer can help you prove the at-fault party’s liability by collecting tangible evidence that establishes the duty of care and negligence that breached it. Some of this evidence can include video and photographic evidence, medical records, police reports, witness statements, and vehicle accident reconstruction.
Damages in a Drunk Driving Accident Claim
A drunk driver can cause car accident damages through their negligent behavior that you could pursue compensation for in a drunk driving accident claim. These damages can include current damages you’ve already suffered and those losses that may occur later in life as your medical condition develops. A drunk driving accident lawyer can assess your current and future damages to determine what the full cost of your damages could be.
In most drunk driving accident claims, you can pursue compensation for economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those that have a monetary value or bill, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages are losses without specific economic value that reflect how your standard of living was affected by the drunk driving accident, such as pain and suffering, loss of society, and loss of companionship.
The following are some of the car accident damages you can pursue compensation for in a drunk driving accident claim:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Property damage
- Disability costs
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of society
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help With Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim?
As a civilian without car accident claim experience, you may make mistakes that can hurt your ability to recover full compensation for your car accident damages. Hiring a car accident lawyer with specific experience in handling drunk driving accident claims can help put you in the best position to recover fair compensation for the full cost of your damages.
They will know the best ways to go about securing fair compensation, with an understanding of the laws and processes involved with a drunk driving accident. Before proceeding with a drunk driving accident claim, be sure to hire a local drunk driving accident attorney with the experience and expertise necessary to handle the claims process properly and help you get back on your feet with fair compensation.
The following are some of the ways a drunk driving accident attorney can help with your case:
- Assess your drunk driving accident damages
- Determine which party drove drunk and caused the car crash
- Send a demand letter to the drunk driver’s insurer
- Collect evidence and important records
- Interview witnesses and experts
- Negotiate a settlement with the drunk driver’s insurance company
- Represent you in a drunk driving accident lawsuit court case
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim
At The Russo Firm, our car accident lawyers across the United States have experience helping drunk driving accident victims recover compensation for their damages. We understand the stress caused by a car accident resulting from negligent behavior like drunk driving. Our drunk driving accident lawyers will keep in constant communication to update you on the progress of the claim and hear from you how your medical condition is developing. We will use our time and resources to put you in the best position possible to recover fair compensation for your car accident damages.
If you were involved in a drunk driving accident, you could get a free consultation with the Russo Law Firm’s drunk driving accident lawyers to see how they can help you recover compensation for your damages. Contact us at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.