Accidents are traumatic experiences when they cause serious injuries as well as property damage to your vehicle. It’s even more devastating to discover that the driver who caused your car accident was driving while impaired. Drunk drivers make poor choices with their own lives, but have no right to risk yours, yet they do just this.
You may suffer the negative effects of the accident for years to come. These impacts are the recoverable damages in a claim against the drunk driver. A Richardson drunk driving accident lawyer can help you recover your financial losses, leaving you free to focus on your physical and emotional recovery.
Liability In Drunk Driving Accident Claims In Richardson, TX
When a driver is significantly impaired, they become overconfident and take reckless chances behind the wheel. At the same time, they have slower reflexes and impaired coordination, a recipe that can lead to serious car accidents. A recent ten-year study reported that 37% of car accident fatalities in Texas were caused by drunk drivers.
When an impaired driver causes a car accident, the criminal justice system focuses on punishing the driver and deterring a repeat of the behavior, but the insurance laws and civil courts in Texas focus on compensating the injury victim for their losses or making them “whole” again. While no legal action erases injuries, the modified comparative negligence law in Texas holds the driver financially accountable, typically through a claim against their insurance. Your claim for compensation after a drunk driving accident depends on proving the driver’s liability. The outcome does not depend on a guilty verdict in the criminal court.
An experienced Richardson drunk driving accident attorney pursues the full amount of compensation available to you by documenting evidence of the drunk driver’s liability.
Injuries In Richardson Drunk Driving Accidents
Drunk driving accidents are often catastrophic. An impaired driver is less likely to apply brakes or swerve to minimize the impact of a collision. Common injuries to pedestrians or other drivers in drunk driving claims include the following:
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Whiplash and other neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Sprains, strains, torn ligaments, and other soft-tissue injuries
- Internal organ injuries/internal bleeding
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial and dental trauma
- Burns
- Lacerations, abrasions, and contusions
Even mild injuries can quickly become expensive when medical bills accumulate at the same time that you’re unable to return to work at your former capacity, or unable to return to work at all. When a drunk driver causes an accident, and you suffer the effects, you don’t have to be left responsible for the serious financial consequences as well as the physical ones. Fortunately, you also don’t have to take on the added distress of a legal claim alone.
Compensation in a Richardson Drunk Driving Accident Claim
Damages add up quickly and can cause financial hardship. A successful claim recovers compensation for losses such as:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket injury-related costs
- Past and future income loss
- Diminished future earning capacity due to disability
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury compensation for any permanent harm, such as scarring, disfigurement, disability, or loss of enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages may also be available in your case to serve as a further deterrent to the impaired driver
If you lost a loved one in a drunk driving accident in Richardson, a wrongful death lawyer can help you recover the compensation and sense of justice you deserve.
How Can a Richardson Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Help My Case?
If you suffered injuries caused by an impaired driver, you are entitled to the full value of your injury-related losses. What’s more, you deserve a sense of justice through financial accountability. A successful compensation claim helps you achieve that goal. Call GreeningLaw, P.C. at (972) 934-8900 to learn how our firm can go to work for you, maximizing your chances of a favorable result.