Getting injured in any motor vehicle accident can be painful and devastating. Whether there are physical injuries, property damage or — as is often the case — both, victims can be dealing with a very stressful situation after a crash. The causes of or reasons for an accident are not always immediately clear in the aftermath of the event, but there may be some ways for people to determine if a crash was caused by a driver who is intoxicated.
First, victims may want to consider when an accident occurred. Many drunk driving accidents occur at night and during the summer, when the weather is nice and people are more likely to be out drinking or with friends. There are also other ways that victims of an accident may be able to determine if a driver is drunk.
The behaviors of a driver immediately before and after a crash can also be explored. For example, did the driver fail to swerve, slow down or do anything to avoid an accident? Did he or she flee the accident scene without stopping to offer assistance? These behaviors can be indicators that a driver was impaired at the time of the crash.
It can also be important to work with authorities who respond to the accident, as they can often shed some light on the driver’s condition. They can identify hit-and-run drivers, perform sobriety tests and speak to witnesses in order to get more concrete information on what happened.
But chances are, victims of an accident have enough to worry about in regards to their own health and safety after a crash and do not have the time or the resources to examine accident scene data and police reports. This is where the support and guidance of an attorney can come in.
Those who have been injured in an accident can speak with an attorney who is familiar with identifying negligence or reckless behaviors that contributed to victim’s injuries. If an accident was indeed caused by a driver who was impaired by drugs or alcohol, victims generally have the right to hold that driver accountable for damages by filing a civil lawsuit.
Source: WALB, “Is the other driver drunk?” Jim Wallace, June 15, 2014
