Every driver on the road has a duty to other drivers, passengers, and even pedestrians, to drive safely in order to prevent any potentially fatal accidents. When drivers drink or take drugs and then drive, they are disregarding this duty and putting everyone’s lives and wellbeing in danger.
This is especially true for commercial drivers. Commercial drivers drive large trucks and vehicles, and these bigger, heavier trucks almost always cause more destruction than what a regular, smaller vehicle would. Over ten people are killed in truck accidents every day, and even survivors of truck accidents are still often left with severe and debilitating injuries that can completely change their lives.
When commercial drivers drive under the influence, they are vastly increasing the likelihood that they will cause an accident. This is why commercial driver’s license holders are under even more strict rules than drivers of regular vehicles. For most drivers, it is illegal to operate a vehicle when your blood-alcohol content, or breath-alcohol content, is 0.08 or above. However, for commercial drivers in Florida, this is much stricter, and the driver’s blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol level cannot exceed 0.04. If commercial drivers break this law and are found driving with a blood-alcohol content above 0.04, they will likely be met with severe consequences.
The Law Place Can Help You
If you have been a victim of an accident caused by a commercial driver driving under the influence, then you should contact The Law Place to discuss your options. Our Florida-based lawyers are qualified to fight on your behalf to ensure you have the best chance of receiving the financial compensation that you deserve. Our attorneys boast over 75 years of combined experience in dealing with the Florida legal system and will be able to provide you with the legal advice and support necessary in the pursuit of your lawsuit.
Call The Law Place today to schedule your free consultation and speak to an experienced and skillful personal injury lawyer about your specific case. Our phone lines are open 24 hours a day, so call us now at (941) 444-4444.
Why Is Driving Under the Influence So Dangerous?
Any amount of alcohol or drugs in your bloodstream can negatively impact your driving ability and increase the risk of you crashing. In order to be able to drive safely, you need to be able to concentrate, quickly react to situations, and make good and rational judgment calls. However, alcohol affects all of these skills and more, which ultimately leads to you putting yourself and others in danger. Listed below are some of the most serious ways that alcohol and drugs affect your driving.
- Slow reaction time – Drinking is proven to slow your response time, which increases the likelihood of an accident. For example, if the car in front of you brakes suddenly, it will take longer for your brain to process the situation and then be able to brake in time to prevent an accident.
- Reduced concentration – When driving, there are many things that require your undivided focus, such as your speed, staying in your lane, the other vehicles on the road, traffic signals and signs, and more. Alcohol, regardless of how much you’ve drunk, influences your concentration and dramatically reduces your attention span, increasing the chance of an accident.
- Inhibited judgment – When operating a vehicle, your judgment skills are crucial as they mean you are able to foresee potential problems and make clear decisions. Your judgment means that you stay alert and aware while driving. Drinking alcohol impacts this and inhibits your ability to make rational decisions.
- Lack of coordination – Heavy drinking impacts your motor skills, including your eye, hand, and foot coordination, which are crucial when driving. Without these skills, driving can be incredibly dangerous.
- Decreased vision – If you have drunk excessive amounts of alcohol, your vision can be impacted. Your vision may be blurred, or you may be unable to control your eye movement. Furthermore, alcohol may prevent you from accurately judging the distance between your vehicle and others that are on the road. Your peripheral vision may also be negatively affected, and you may be unable to see what is either side of you when looking straight on.
It’s clear that drunk driving is incredibly dangerous, not just to the driver themselves, but also to the other drivers and passengers that they share the road with. Alcohol inhibits a person’s ability to drive, so it is important to never drink and drive, as the consequences could be deadly.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a DUI car accident with a commercial driver and it wasn’t your fault, then you should contact The Law Place today. Our Fort Myers criminal defense lawyers have experience in dealing with cases just like yours and understand the devastating impact that a car crash can have on victims. We want to help you win the justice that you deserve. So, call our law firm today to book a free case evaluation with one of our experienced accident lawyers.
We’re here to serve you. Our phones are open 24 hours a day. Injuries Commonly Sustained in Commercial Vehicle DUI Accidents in Fort Myers, FL
Just like in any car accident involving any vehicle, a commercial truck accident can lead to severe injuries for all involved. In fact, because of the large size of the vehicle and the combined weight of the truck and any cargo, the severity of the injuries sustained is often increased. The severity of injuries is increased even further as many DUI motor accidents are partially caused by the drunk driver speeding. Some of the most common injuries that a commercial vehicle DUI accident can cause are as follows:
- Traumatic brain and head injuries.
- Spinal cord and back injuries.
- Neck injuries, such as whiplash.
- Broken bones and fractures.
- Lacerations, cuts, bruises, soreness, and burns.
- Internal bleeding.
- Internal organ damage.
- Wrongful death.
Accidents of this kind can often also lead to emotional distress, mental trauma, and property damage.
If you have experienced one of the injuries listed above, or any other type of injury or impact from a commercial vehicle accident caused by drunk driving in Fort Myers or elsewhere in Florida, then you need to get in touch with The Law Place. Regardless of how small or life-changing the injuries that you sustained were, you deserve compensation, and our lawyers have the vast amount of experience necessary to ensure that you get the amount of compensation you deserve. So, call The Law Place today to book a free consultation and let a Florida accident lawyer assess your case for you to determine how much financial compensation you could win, with no obligation to commit to anything.
We’re Florida’s top litigation team with over 75 years of combined experience Damages Awarded After a Commercial Vehicle DUI Accident in Fort Myers, FL
Victims often not only have to deal with the injuries and trauma caused by the DUI commercial vehicle accident but also with a large and unfair amount of financial losses. These expenses can come in the form of medical bills, property damages, lost wages, and more. Once one of our Fort Myers attorneys has established the negligent party, they will then be able to help by assessing how much financial compensation you deserve to cover all of the expenses you have been burdened with. Listed below are some of the damages that The Law Place frequently succeeds in recovering compensation for:
- Medical bills – If any of the injuries that you sustained in the DUI accident were severe enough that they required medical attention, then you deserve compensation to cover the medical expenses that you have been left with. This includes all related costs, such as the cost of prescriptions and medication, surgeries, physical therapy, and even travel to and from appointments. It also applies to past, present, and predicted medical costs.
- Property damage – If your vehicle was damaged or even totaled in the accident, then we will fight for you to be reimbursed for the cost of repairing or replacing the vehicle in Fort Myers.
- Lost wages – If the injuries that were caused by the accident left you incapable of attending work, then the wages you lost because of this should be covered by compensation. This includes past and future wages.
- Permanent disfigurement or disability – If the accident left you suffering from any type of permanent disfigurement and/or disability, then you deserve compensation.
- Pain and suffering – If the trauma of the accident has left you experiencing emotional distress or has reduced your quality of life, then you may be entitled to compensation. As this can be hard to be proved in court, you should enlist in the help of an experienced DUI accident lawyer to help fight your case.
- Wrongful death – If you lost a loved one in the accident, then you should be entitled to compensation to cover the funeral costs and loss of consortium.
We know that money will not be able to fix all the consequences of the accident, but it will help ease the financial burdens that you may now be enduring and serve as some form of justice for you. Therefore, you should call The Law Place to speak to our Fort Myers DUI accident lawyers, who will be able to help guide and support you through the challenging Florida legal process, meaning that you can focus more on healing. So, contact one of our Florida offices today, and book a free case evaluation.
From the initial call to updates on your case status, we are here to get you answers. Why You Need a Florida Accident Attorney on Your Side
For commercial drivers, having a DUI conviction in Florida will mean they lose their commercial driver’s license and could land them fines, community service, probation, and sometimes even jail time. Because of this, they will likely enlist the help of a Florida criminal defense attorney to help them fight the lawsuit you have filed. While this may deter some victims from filing charges, it is important that you do, as the driver who caused the accident clearly has little respect for other drivers on the road and may continue to drive under the influence and cause more accidents that will result in more people enduring severe injuries, and maybe even fatalities in the future.
An experienced Fort Myers lawyer is what you need to counteract the defendant’s DUI defense attorney and give you the best chance at beating them. At The Law Place, you will be able to receive reliable and skilled legal representation from an attorney who is more than capable of supporting you through the legal process and is determined to fight until you receive the justice that you deserve. So, call us today for a free case evaluation without the burden of establishing an official attorney-client relationship.
Call The Law Place Today
If you have been involved in a DUI accident with a commercial driver in Fort Myers or elsewhere in Florida, then it is vital that you contact a personal injury lawyer to fight on your behalf. The attorneys at our law firm are fully experienced in dealing with Florida law and cases similar to yours, so we are well-equipped to help you. Don’t wait for help; call The Law Place today to schedule a free case evaluation at (941) 444-4444.
