Arlington DWI Accident Lawyer
Do You Need A DWI Accident Lawyer?
National State DUI & DWI Statistics
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 10,000 people will die in a DWI accident in the United States in 2018. That translates into about 28 deaths every day and one death about every 51 minutes. More than 250,000 other people are injured in these accidents every year. On a national level in 2016, fatalities involving drivers who were impaired by alcohol consisted of 28 percent of all fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2016, 987 people died in Texas motor vehicle crashes when a driver was under the influence of alcohol. That number represents 26 percent of the total of all people killed in Texas motor vehicle crashes. More than 8,000 others suffered injuries in those crashes.
Alcohol Slows Everything Down
Alcohol operates as a depressant on the brain and central nervous system. It interferes with a person’s ability to process information, and it also affects their coordination. As per the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), a person with a .05 blood alcohol content will experience impaired judgment, reduced coordination, difficulty steering a vehicle and a reduced ability to respond to emergency situations. At a .08 blood alcohol content, that same person experiences poor muscle coordination, impaired judgment, self control and reasoning. Short-term memory, visual perception and the ability to process information also become impaired.
NHTSA reports that at .10, a driver will experience a clinically significant deterioration in reaction time and control, along with slurred speech, poor coordination and slow information processing. The more alcohol that’s ingested, the greater the deterioration is in these skills, and the greater the chances are of being involved in a DWI accident.
Negligence Per Se
If the person who caused your DWI accident was charged with DWI, your claim for damages is allowed to be based on the legal theory of negligence per se. As opposed to proving the more difficult elements of regular negligence, you need only prove that:
- A statute, ordinance or regulation was violated by the driver
- The violation was the proximate cause of your injuries
- The injuries were the result of the violation of the type of behavior that the statute, ordinance or regulation was intended to protect against
Compensatory Damages
Victims who have been injured as a result of the carelessness and negligence of somebody else in a drunk driver car accident have the right to compensation for the damages that they’ve suffered. Pursuant to Texas law, those damages might generally consist of:
- Past medical bills and medical bills reasonably expected to be received in the future
- Past lost earnings and earnings reasonably expected to be lost in the future
- Any permanent disfigurement
- Any permanent disability
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of a normal life
- Funeral and burial bills in the event of a wrongful death
Favorable Compensatory Damages Award
Texas accident victims are finding it more difficult to be fairly compensated for their injuries due to tort reform pressure on the legislature in Austin. One area where victims are finding some sympathy from juries is when they’re injured by drunk drivers. If the accident victim can successfully show that the defendant was driving while intoxicated, damages awards are often higher than in cases when the at fault driver wasn’t alleged to be drunk.
A Criminal DWI Or DUI Conviction Is Not Required
If a driver is arrested and charged criminally in a DWI accident, a civil lawsuit seeking damages for personal injuries can be brought in the civil courts at the same time that he or she is being prosecuted in the criminal courts. The defendant in a criminal case must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil case, he or she need only be found guilty by a preponderance of the evidence. That means that the case against the defendant is merely more likely true than not true. It also means that a defendant can be found not guilty in a criminal DWI case, but guilty in a civil DWI accident case due to the lower burden of proof.
Criminal Evidence vs Civil Evidence
Certain evidence from the criminal case tending to prove intoxication might also be admissible in the civil DWI accident case. The Allbee Law Firm will move quickly to obtain all evidence, records, reports and the like in the criminal case for use in your civil DWI accident case. Those efforts include obtaining the cooperation and testimony of the investigating police officer. They don’t like what drunk drivers do to victims and their families either.
Punitive Damages
A claimant in a civil DWI accident case can also seek punitive damages from the allegedly intoxicated driver. Punitive damages aren’t compensatory in nature. They can be payable on top of any compensatory damages award. They’re aimed a punishing the intolerable gross negligence of a drunk driver for injuring an innocent victim in what might otherwise have been a perfectly preventable tragedy.
Gross Negligence
Texas defines gross negligence as something far beyond ordinary negligence that might be involved in a scenario like following a vehicle too closely and then rear-ending it. Gross negligence involves a conscious and extreme disregard for a standard of care that places others at a significant risk of harm. Courts in Texas are in agreement that drunk driving might be determined to be gross negligence. It’s a fact question for a jury. On that basis, Texas juries often render high punitive damages awards in drunk driver car accident cases.
Don't Give Any Type Of Statment
If you were injured in a DWI accident, the insurer of the drunk driver knows that it’s facing significant financial exposure. We encourage you to talk with “Big Mike” Allbee before you give that opposing insurance company any information at all. The law doesn’t require you to cooperate with the opposing insurance company. Information that it obtains from you might be used against you in the future, especially if you give a recorded statement. That insurer is only going to try to shift some of the liability for the DWI accident over onto you in an effort to pay out as little as possible on your personal injury claim.
Free Consultation With An Arlington DWI Accident Lawyer
Allbee Law Firm is here to get you turned in the right direction fast. We’ll help you pursue maximum compensation for your DWI accident injuries that were caused by a drunk driver.
We’re pleased to meet with you at no charge at all to discuss your accident with you and fully answer your questions. If Allbee Law Firm is retained to represent you or your loved one, we’ll carefully manage the details of your claim. No legal fees are due unless we obtain a settlement or verdict for you.
We realize that these are financially and emotionally distressing times for you and your family. We want to hold the person who caused your DWI accident and injuries accountable while getting you the highest amount of compensation that you deserve.
Allbee Law Firm is an Arlington personal injury law firm that serves Dallas, Forth Worth and all other areas of the DFW Metroplex. Don’t help the opposing insurer put together its case against you by cooperating with it. Protect and assert your rights by contacting us right away by phone or email after being injured in any motor vehicle accident.
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