How Substance-Impaired Driving Affects Car Accident Cases and Liability

Car accidents claim thousands of lives every year, and a shocking number of those deaths are the result of impaired driving. Drunk driving is entirely preventable, and it is crucial that victims of other drivers’ poor choices be able to hold them accountable. When someone causes a crash while impaired, it can significantly affect the outcome of the victim’s personal injury claim.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an impaired driving accident, learn more about how impaired driving may affect your case. When you’re ready to move forward with your car accident claim in Biloxi, call Gardner Law Group at 228-436-6555 to set up a consultation.

Substance Impairment Causes More Collisions

To start, there’s no question that substance impairment leads to preventable collisions. Per the NHTSA, there were over 13,000 alcohol-related fatalities in 2021. This marks an increase of 14% from the year prior, showing that this problem is worsening as time passes. Drugs and alcohol affect the brain in different ways, making it incredibly difficult for drivers to stay focused on the road and operate safely.

Alcohol is the most common substance leading to impaired driving. It impacts your driving abilities in numerous ways:

• Impaired cognitive function: Alcohol affects a driver’s cognitive abilities, leaving them with poor concentration, poor judgment, and delayed reaction times. When you add all of these side effects together, you have a driver who is unable to respond to changes in the road, make appropriate decisions to avoid collisions and stay focused on what they’re doing.
• Weaker motor skills: Alcohol negatively affects your fine and gross motor skills. When a driver is already struggling cognitively, limited motor skills increase your accident risk even more.
• Impaired vision: Drinking can lead to distorted and blurred vision. Not only are impaired drivers already struggling with a limited ability to concentrate, but they may also have a much harder time seeing. This further drains their mental energy and ability to concentrate.

Are Impaired Drivers Liable for the Accidents They Cause?

First, you have to understand what makes a driver liable for an accident. They must have a duty of care to others, breach that duty, and as a result cause measurable harm to others. An impaired driver fits all of these. They have a duty of care to others on the road, which means that they are expected to make a reasonable effort to avoid causing harm to others. They clearly breach that duty by driving while impaired, as that is not a reasonable effort to keep others safe. If they then cause a collision, they can be found liable for it.

Impaired drivers often face criminal charges as a result of their actions. While this does not provide victims any compensation, criminal charges, and convictions can strengthen a victim’s personal injury claim.

In order to hold an impaired driver accountable for the damage they’ve caused you, you’ll need to pursue a personal injury claim. This is entirely separate from the criminal charges they face and follows a different process and set of standards.

How Victims of Impaired Drivers Can Seek Compensation

By working with a personal injury lawyer in Biloxi, you can fight for compensation after being injured by a drunk driver. A successful personal injury claim may result in compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, and other losses sustained during the crash. Your attorney will seek out evidence used against the impaired driver in their criminal case, as well as other forms of evidence that are useful in a civil case. 

In some situations, other parties may also be held liable. In Mississippi, bartenders and others who serve alcohol can be held liable for over-serving someone who is visibly intoxicated if that person then goes on to cause a crash.

Working with a Biloxi car accident attorney is crucial if you want to pursue full and fair compensation. Insurance companies strive to pay as little as they can in every situation, and an attorney can help create a case that breaks down those barriers.

Start Your Claim with Gardner Law Group

The team at Gardner Law Group is committed to helping victims like you seek justice. We know that a car accident, especially one caused by an impaired driver, can leave you hopeless and traumatized. Get the help you need now by calling us at 228-436-6555 or sending us a message online.