The epidemic of drunk driving is a dangerous one. Over 30% of deadly car accidents occur because of alcohol. That’s over 30% of traffic deaths that could be avoided every year. In Texas in 2022, over 24,500 crashes were caused by alcohol use. This means that over 67 people lost their lives or were injured daily in Texas due to drunk driving alone.
These staggering numbers mean that responsible drivers must be aware of how to protect themselves. Drivers who make the irresponsible choice to drink cause lasting impacts on innocent drivers, sometimes causing car accidents, motorcycle accidents, or other vehicle accidents that lead to death or irreversible quality of life damages.
If your injuries have been caused by a drunk driver, you don’t need to go through this experience by yourself. You have legal recourse to request compensation for your injuries and the accident, which we’re here to help you reclaim. Pastrana & García Injury Law has 30 years of experience dealing with drunk drivers. We can help you fight back against the injustice of your injuries.
Why Does Drunk Driving Cause So Many Accidents?
Driving while drunk or on drugs affects the body’s natural state. Alcohol and other substances alter the alertness of a person and slow their reaction time while often increasing their confidence in their own abilities. This leads to a dangerous combination where the mind thinks it can do what the body cannot. A drunk driver may:
- Not register the dangers of their actions
- Not realize they are in the wrong lane while driving
- Ignore traffic signs or laws
- Respond to approaching dangers with poor timing
- Easily become angry or frustrated, leading to road rage situations
A blood alcohol level of .08% is considered to be driving while drunk. However, even a little bit of alcohol can affect a driver’s judgment and response times, making “just one beer” or “only a single shot” a potentially hazardous situation.
How Can a Texas Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Help You?
Our lawyers are adept at dealing with personal injury claims where the client was injured in a drunk driving accident. We take our clients seriously, and treat their cases with empathy, while fighting for the maximum possible compensation. Our job is to help you during this difficult time.
- Our team will track down witnesses and gather statements and evidence, including photographs or videos that people took at the scene of the accident.
- Our lawyers will calculate what you’re owed in regards to compensation; we will also include future projections for continuing care or job loss and/or change.
- We will submit your personal injury claim before the statute of limitations expires — two years from the date of the accident.
- We will negotiate with insurance companies, including your own, to make sure you’re receiving a fair payout.
What we’ll need from you to file your personal injury claim:
- Medical bills and doctor’s summaries
- Progress of your healing and how the injuries have affected your daily life
- A record of what happened before and during the accident
You’ve got us on your side. We know that recovering from an accident can be exhausting — allow us to help you with the legal matters.
What Should You Know About Texas Drunk Driving Laws?
Texas has strict rules regarding driving while intoxicated. Breaking these rules could land the drivers with huge fines or jail time, even if no accident occurs.
If a driver gets pulled over for appearing drunk and is deemed to be under the influence of alcohol, there are increasingly steep penalties for their actions.
- The first offense can carry a fine of up to $2000, up to a year’s license suspension, and the possibility of six months in jail.
- The second offense can carry a fine of up to $4000, up to two years license suspension, and the possibility of up to one year in jail.
- The third offense can carry a fine of up to $10,000, up to two year’s license suspension, and the possibility of up to 10 years in jail.
Those who drive while under the influence AND have a child in their vehicle may be charged with child endangerment, which includes penalties of an additional $10,000, up to two years of jail, and six months of license suspension. Minors who engage in multiple accounts of drunk driving have similar, although lower, costs attached to their records.
These fines and penalties are simply for getting pulled over for driving while intoxicated. If an accident occurs that results in injuries or death, those penalties rise drastically.
Insurance: Another Cost of Drunk Driving
Drunk driving can continue to have a huge impact on your pocketbook long after the accident. According to statistics, Texans who engage in drunk driving end up paying over an additional $700 in car insurance yearly, which may mean that yearly payments are over $2000. This additional increase can cause a great financial strain, particularly adding in the other fines.
What's Being Done to Stop Drunk Driving?
The statistics related to drunk drivers in Texas are serious. Texas ranks in the top ten states for drunk driving deaths — and has for over half a decade. According to 2022 statistics regarding age, the highest percentage of drivers landed in the 21 to 25 age range, with 26 to 30-year-olds close behind.
Several groups in Texas are active in their pursuit to end drunk driving. Groups, including the Texas Impaired Driving Task Force and others, are coming together to combat drunk driving through a combination of educational and safety programs.
While these groups work hard to end drunk driving, you, too, can keep our Texas roads safer. Do your part by ensuring you’re always sober when you get behind the wheel.
Comparative Negligence and Drunk Driving
One thing to keep in mind about Texas law is the comparative negligence rule. This states that anyone who is more than 51% responsible for an accident cannot file for compensation. In a drunk driving case, this usually isn’t the problem, as the responsibility and negligence land on the drunk driver. However, it’s important to remember that your compensation may be lowered if you were even slightly responsible for the accident. For example, you could be held partially responsible for the following:
- You were speeding at the time of the accident
- You didn’t use your signals to show you were turning or switching lanes
- You made an illegal U-turn or right on red in a prohibited area
- You didn’t have your headlights on in dim light or poor weather
- You were tailgating another vehicle
- You yourself were drowsy or distracted while driving
These actions, and others, might be grounds to reduce your compensation. One lesser-known one is that you may be deducted or denied compensation if you were a passenger in a vehicle who knowingly got into a car with someone who was intoxicated.
Even if you were partially responsible, we believe you should be fairly compensated. Talk to our lawyers about your options; we can help you make the best case for your claim, regardless of whether you made a mistake or not.
Who Can You Sue If Hurt in a Texas Drunk Driving Accident?
When seeking deserved compensation after a drunk driving accident, your personal injury claim usually can be directed towards the driver themselves, who was inebriated at the time of the accident. However, that’s not your only legal option.
In Texas, it’s possible to refer to the “Dram Law,” a law that states that businesses that provide alcohol for profit are obliged to be aware of their patron’s alcohol consumption. Bars, restaurants, hotels, and catering companies may all fall under this ruling.
That said, this law is tricky to navigate because the responsibility to prove the bar or restaurant’s negligence lands on you. That’s where our team comes into play. We’ve had experience in navigating the “Dram Law.” We can help you by requesting security footage of the establishments in question in order to help prove that the defendant was over-served and obviously unfit to drive. This could help you make a case against the bar or restaurant.
Similarly, you may be able to seek compensation if certain criteria are met should a minor cause your accident and injuries. If a host at a party allowed minors to drink, and they then caused an accident, there would be grounds to file a personal injury claim in response to those who provided the alcohol.
Because there are multiple ways to regain compensation after a drunk driving accident, it’s a good idea to reach out to a trusted legal team for assistance. We can help you decide what the best course of action is and give you advice on how to proceed when filing your claims.
What Can You Recover in a Texas Drunk Driving Accident Claim?
Like all personal injury cases, you are entitled to request economic and noneconomic damages from your personal injury claim. Your Texas drunk driving accident lawyer can help you total the following costs:
- All costs relating to medical treatment, surgeries, doctor’s visits, medicines, and therapies that were needed to treat your injuries
- Backpay for lost wages if you were unable to return to work after the accident
- Future lost wages if you are unable to continue in the same line of work and must find alternate income
- Future medical bills related to the accident
- Loss of quality of life
- Pain and suffering
In cases of drunk driving, you are also allowed to seek punitive damages. These damages are related to the negligence shown through the action of driving while drunk and are added to any other compensation you may receive. This can greatly help increase your compensation, but it is on you to prove the extent of the negligence, and only the courts can prescribe punitive damages. Punitive damages can only go up to whichever total is higher — twice the amount of economic damages and the same amount as noneconomic damages, or $200,000
Because it becomes your responsibility to prove gross negligence, it’s a good idea to have a dedicated team of lawyers on hand. Our lawyers will be able to determine how best to request this additional payment so that you will receive the highest possible compensation.
Injured in a Drunk Driving Accident? Reach Out to Pastrana & García Injury Law Today
We believe it’s our duty to help those who have been injured by drunk drivers regain their just payment. Our legal team is ready and waiting for your call. Reach out to our team today — we’re here for you online or over the phone. Call 512-474-4487 to get started on your personal injury claim.
