Drunk driving accidents are prevalent in Florida
On behalf of Eisenmenger, Robinson & Peters, P.A. posted in Drunk Driving Accidents on Friday, May 22, 2015.
According to the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in 2014 more than 40,000 drunk driving arrests were made in Florida. Some of those arrests were made contemporaneously with drunk driving car accidents. In those drunk driving accidents, some 676 people were killed during the noted calendar year.
These are staggering statistics. Last year’s drunk driving fatality total amounts to nearly two alcohol-related driving deaths occurring each day of the year. Such a high rate of death and presumably higher rate of injury from drunk driving incidents can lead one to wonder how loved ones of a victim can cope after the devastation of an alcohol-related vehicle collision.
Some survivors of such tragic crashes may find solace in the state’s criminal prosecution of drunk driving offenders. License suspensions, fines and even jail time can all be enforced against offenders who put other people’s lives at risk when they drink and drive. However, other individuals look for ways to make themselves as close to whole after a drunk driver robs them of their physical and financial stability.
Through civil lawsuits based on personal injury theories of law, victims of drunk driving accidents can seek compensation for their collision-related damages and losses. Depending upon the facts of a particular case, a victim may seek compensation for his medical bills and treatment, medications and physical therapy, the costs associated with his damaged or destroyed property, his emotional trauma from the crash and a number of other categories of loss that can apply to car accident victims.
During a drunk driving accident trial, the court or a jury will determine the liability of the accused driver and will rule on whether a victim should recover his damages. Getting hit by a drunk driver can send a person’s life off course and into financial stress. A well-prepared lawsuit can be an effective tool for starting over and getting a damaged life back on track.
