At Pasternack Injury Law Group, we have seen firsthand the utter devastation caused by drunk drivers. Far too often here in San Diego, impaired drivers get behind the wheel and end up destroying lives. Over the years, our legal team has worked with hundreds of victims of drunk driving auto accidents. We have witnessed the grieving families and serious injuries that result from these entirely preventable crashes.
If you or a loved one has been hurt by an intoxicated driver, you are likely feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. The financial and emotional struggles caused by drunk driving wrecks can be immense. You may be facing significant medical bills, a totaled vehicle, lost income from missed work, and great physical and psychological pain, all while trying to process this traumatic event.
Let us help you recover rightful compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.
How Drinking and Driving Leads to Serious Accidents
Drunk driving crashes are caused by the impaired judgment and dangerous driving behaviors of intoxicated drivers.
When driving under the influence of alcohol, drivers often travel well above posted speed limits and drive recklessly fast. This makes crashes much more violent. Being drunk also slows reflexes and the ability to respond quickly to changing road conditions and avoid collisions.
In some cases, intoxication can even cause blurred vision, difficulty tracking moving objects, and inability to accurately judge distances and speeds.
Understanding how drunk driving leads to catastrophic crashes helps our car accident attorneys establish liability and secure maximum compensation for victims and grieving families.
Types of Injuries From Drunk Driving Accidents
Drunk drivers cause catastrophic injuries in a few key ways:
- Head and Brain Injuries – When a drunk driver crashes into a victim’s vehicle, the violent impact often propels the victim’s head into the steering wheel, dashboard, or side window. This can cause traumatic brain injuries ranging from concussions to severe permanent damage.
- Spinal Cord Injuries – The sudden deceleration forces involved when a drunk driver rear-ends a victim can hyperextend the neck and spine, damaging delicate nerves. Partial or total paralysis can result if the spinal cord is badly injured.
- Broken Bones – Drunk driving collisions inflict tremendous blunt force trauma on victims’ bodies. Fractured vertebrae, ribs, hips, arms, and legs often require painful surgeries and prolonged recovery.
- Internal Organ Damage – The violent impact of a drunk driving accident may compress and lacerate internal abdominal organs. A victim’s kidneys, liver, spleen, and lungs can get damaged when forcibly compressed in a wreck.
- Cuts and Lacerations – Shattered glass can fly through the cabin, cutting victims’ faces and bodies. Disfigurement and severe blood loss can result.
- Emotional Trauma – The experience of having one’s life shattered by a reckless drunk driver causes immense psychological trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and crippling anxiety. Victims frequently experience anger, grief, shame, and isolation after DUI crashes.
The wide range of injuries caused by impaired drivers lead to costly medical bills, lost income, and diminished quality of life. Our skilled personal injury attorneys make sure drunk drivers and their insurance companies are held fully liable.
Seeking Compensation for DUI Accidents
Recovering financial damages provides critical resources and justice for victims of drunk driving crashes. With an experienced DUI accident attorney on your side, you can seek compensation to cover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
These include tangible costs like emergency medical treatment, hospital bills, rehab, at-home nursing care, prescription medications, medical equipment, lost income due to missed work, loss of future earnings if disabilities prevent you from working, repairs or replacement costs for your damaged or totaled vehicle, and more.
Non-economic Damages
These cover the intangible impacts you suffer, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of companionship or consortium if your spouse is injured, and costs associated with permanent disability or disfigurement.
Punitive Damages
In cases where the drunk driver’s actions are found to be particularly egregious, you may also recover punitive damages, which are monetary punishments levied against the driver to deter similar misconduct in the future and acknowledge the immense harm caused by their reckless drunk driving behavior.
The financial settlements our San Diego injury lawyers negotiate can help pay the mounting bills so you and your family can focus on healing. We handle negotiations efficiently to get you funds quickly and maximize the amount you recover from your personal injury claim. Our team can also advise you on protecting any settlement money you receive so that it can improve your long-term financial well-being after you or your loved one’s injuries.
Why Do I Need a Car Accident Lawyer?
Drunk driving cases involve complex legal and insurance issues that can quickly overwhelm unrepresented victims. Having an experienced drunk driving accident attorney on your side provides critical benefits.
Our firm knows drunk driving laws inside and out. We have experience in navigating key issues that arise in these cases, like proving intoxication, establishing liability, fighting against chemical test results, and more. We also conduct thorough crash investigations and evidence gathering to decisively establish fault.
Insurance companies often try to take advantage of victims by making unreasonably low settlement offers. Our drunk driving attorneys fight back through aggressive negotiations to secure the maximum compensation you deserve. If a satisfactory settlement cannot be reached outside of court, our seasoned litigators are fully prepared to build a strong case and win at trial.
Our car accident lawyers handle every aspect of your claim so you can focus fully on your recovery and time with your family as you heal. Our compassionate counsel provides emotional support and guidance throughout the difficult healing process as well.
Drunk driving crash cases require dedicated, strategic representation. Our accomplished San Diego drunk driving accident lawyers have the knowledge and track record of success to get justice for victims. Contact us for a free case evaluation.
Contact a San Diego DUI Accident Lawyer Today
Being injured by a drunk driver is a nightmare, but you and your family don’t have to continue suffering alone. The accomplished San Diego DUI accident attorneys at Pasternack Injury Law Group are here to help. We know you’re up against massive medical bills, totaled vehicles, lost income, and immense emotional trauma. But with us as your fierce advocates, you can make the negligent drunk driver and their insurance company take responsibility. Lean on our dedicated law firm and benefit from our decades of experience successfully handling drunk driving injury claims. Contact us for your free consultation. Let us walk with you on the road to justice and financial recovery so you can rest, heal, and focus on the brighter future ahead. We’re honored to help get your life back on track.
