When people drive after having too much to drink, they significantly increase the chances of causing a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident. Drunk drivers frequently experience mental and physical symptoms affecting their ability to drive safely.
Drunk drivers who sustain a criminal conviction for DUI or some other offense may have to pay criminal penalties, including monetary fines, and serve jail time. They may also need to pay civil damages through their insurance company if they cause an accident leading to injuries.
If you recently sustained injuries in a drunk driving accident, consult a lawyer immediately. The San Marcos drunk driving accident lawyers at DJC Law can meet with you right away to discuss how your accident happened and determine your legal options for moving forward.
We can file a personal injury claim with the drunk driver's insurance company and negotiate a favorable settlement on your behalf. We can also pursue litigation if the insurance company refuses to settle your case favorably. We will fight to recover the maximum monetary damages you deserve for your accident-related injuries.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with an experienced San Marcos drunk driving accident lawyer, please schedule your free consultation to discuss a possible case today.
Why Choose Us for Your Legal Needs?
Following a serious drunk driving accident, many accident victims don’t know where to turn or what steps they should take to pursue monetary recovery for their injuries. Look no further than the knowledgeable and compassionate legal team at DJC Law for the legal representation you need.
Our legal team has significant experience successfully settling drunk driving accident claims with insurance companies. However, unlike many personal injury law firms, we are not afraid of taking your drunk driving accident case to litigation or trial. We do what’s necessary for the well-being and future protection of our injured clients.
We have recovered many six and seven-figure settlements and trial verdicts for our clients, demonstrating our commitment to excellence in injury representation. We apply the same dedication to every injury claim, including those involving drunk driving accidents.
We can review all your legal options with you and decide the best course of action that suits the needs of your case. Let us maximize the monetary damages you receive for your car accident injuries.
How Much Money Is My San Marcos Drunk Driving Accident Case Worth?
The ultimate value of a San Marcos drunk driving accident case will depend on the injuries you sustained in the accident, the medical treatment you underwent, and the total cost of your medical treatment.
Other accident circumstances, including potential missed time from work and if you suffered a permanent injury, it will factor in the total monetary recovery you receive in your case.
In some drunk driving accident cases, accident victims suffer permanent injuries that will never heal and often require lifelong medical treatment and personal care (for example, full or partial paralysis injuries). In general, these types of cases garner higher monetary awards than those where accident victims suffer less severe injuries.
First, drunk driving accident victims may be eligible to recover compensation for all their related medical expenses. If they suffered a permanent injury and a medical provider determines that they may need additional treatment in the future, they may recover their anticipated medical costs as part of their settlement or litigation result.
Similarly, if the accident victim has to take time off work to recover from their injuries or to attend various medical appointments, they might recover their lost income as part of their claim or lawsuit. Additionally, if the accident victim cannot return to the same job or occupation due to their injuries, they can recover compensation for loss of earning capacity.
In addition to these economic out-of-pocket losses, drunk driving accident victims in San Marcos can recover various monetary damages for their intangible losses.
For example, they can pursue financial recovery for their mental distress, lost quality of life, loss of the ability to use a body part, inconvenience, past and future pain and suffering, loss of spousal consortium, lifetime care costs, and permanent disability or disfigurement.
Our legal team can evaluate your claim or lawsuit and let you know which monetary damages you might recover in your case. We can also determine a reasonable ballpark figure for the total value of your case.
Where Do San Marcos Drunk Driving Accidents Usually Occur
Drunk driving accidents in San Marcos may occur anywhere that vehicles are present. With more cars comes the increased possibility of a drunk driving accident. Therefore, these accidents are widespread on highways and roadways throughout the region, including Interstate 35. These accidents may also occur near traffic intersections, especially when a drunk driver attempts to get through a red light without stopping.
If you sustained injuries in a drunk driving accident in one of these locations, you are not alone. Our legal team can immediately begin evaluating your case and gathering the documents necessary to prove your personal injury claim or lawsuit. After submitting those documents to the drunk driver's insurance company, we can begin pursuing the fair settlement compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Types of San Marcos Drunk Driving Accidents
Most drivers are legally intoxicated if they have a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of at least 0.08 percent. However, the BAC cut-off for commercial drivers, including semi-truck and bus drivers, is 0.04 percent. A zero-tolerance policy applies to Texas drivers under 21 years of age, meaning they cannot lawfully have any alcohol in their systems while driving.
Drunk driving significantly impairs an individual's ability to drive carefully and safely. Many drunk drivers experience physical limitations, including nausea, dizziness, and blurred vision.
Intoxicated drivers may experience various mental impairments, including lack of concentration, delayed reflexes, coordination, and delayed reaction time. As a result, a drunk driver may not stop their vehicle in time to avoid a serious accident.
When people drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they may cause:
- Rear-end accidents, where the front of a drunk driver's vehicle hits the back of another vehicle
- Motorcycle and bicycle accidents, where a drunk driver negligently causes their vehicle to hit some part of a motorcycle or bicycle in the vicinity, often knocking the rider off their bike and causing them to suffer severe and fatal injuries
- Pedestrian accidents, where a drunk driver negligently runs a red traffic light or stoplight, causing their vehicle to strike a pedestrian who is lawfully present in an intersection crosswalk
- Head-on collisions, where the front of a drunk driver's vehicle hits the front of an oncoming car, usually because the drunk driver's vehicle moves out of its lane
- Sideswipe accidents, where the side of a drunk driver's vehicle strikes the side of another car that is traveling in the same direction but in a different travel lane
- Broadside or T-bone collisions, where the front of a drunk driver's vehicle hits the side of a car on an intersecting roadway, usually because the drunk driver fails to yield the right-of-way to intersecting traffic.
If you suffered injuries in one of these drunk driving accidents, seek legal representation and guidance as quickly as possible. Our legal team can file a personal injury claim with the at-fault driver's insurance company and begin negotiating for the monetary compensation you need and deserve.
Common Injuries in San Marcos Drunk Driving Accidents
Victims of drunk driving accidents may suffer severe and sometimes fatal injuries. Since every accident scenario is different, the injuries an accident victim might suffer will differ from case to case.
Several factors may affect the nature and extent of an accident victim’s injuries, including the number of vehicles involved in the collision, the force of the crash, and the accident victim's bodily movements when the collision occurs.
Some of the most common injuries that an accident victim might suffer in a drunk driving accident include:
- Lacerations
- Bruises from airbag deployment
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue injuries
- Rib fractures
- Complete or incomplete spinal cord injuries
- Full or partial paralysis injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Internal bleeding injuries
- Mouth and teeth injuries
- Death
If you or a person you love suffered any of these injuries in a recent drunk driving accident, our legal team can begin handling your personal injury claim while you focus on getting the medical treatment you need.
After you have completed the necessary treatment, we can file a personal injury claim with the drunk driver's insurance company and begin pursuing the financial compensation you need for your injuries.
Fighting the Insurance Company After a San Marcos Drunk Driving Accident
Even when it is clear that a drunk driver caused a traffic accident, the drunk driver's insurance company will attempt to offer you far less than your personal injury claim is worth.
Insurance companies take this approach to resolve claims as quickly and cheaply as possible. After all, the more money the insurance company can keep in-house, the more they have to distribute to their shareholders. Therefore, the insurance company will offer you as little monetary compensation as possible to satisfy your claim or lawsuit.
When dealing with insurance companies, it takes a solid legal team to aggressively advocate for you.
At DJC Law, we know the tactics and tricks that insurance companies routinely use to undervalue drunk driving accident claims. We can make favorable arguments on your behalf and point to the necessary medical records, retain a medical expert to testify in your case, or inform the insurance company we're ready to escalate the matter to litigation when necessary.
Unlike many law firms, we are not afraid to take your case all the way to trial in a courtroom. Our legal team can also advise whether a particular settlement offer is a good one under the circumstances or whether you should consider various litigation options in your case.
What to Do After a Drunk Driving Accident in San Marcos
Following a drunk driving accident in San Marcos, there are several steps that you should take. First, complete all your prescribed medical treatment. For example, you might need to consult with your primary care doctor, undergo medical treatment with a specialist, or attend regular physical therapy appointments.
By taking these actions, you increase your chances of making a full recovery and obtaining favorable monetary compensation from the at-fault driver's insurance company.
Next, gather all appropriate documentation in your case and forward that documentation to us. For example, retain copies of any police reports, camera footage, witness contact information, lost income documents from your employer, medical records, and medical bills.
Once you forward those documents to us, we can include them as part of a demand package and begin negotiating settlement compensation on your behalf.
Talk to a San Marcos Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Right Away
If you sustained injuries in a San Marcos drunk driving accident, you must seek out the legal representation you need right away. Never try to take on the insurance company by yourself. The insurance company is a for-profit enterprise that will make every effort not to give you the compensation you deserve.
The best way to prevent this is by enlisting professional legal help. That way, you increase your chances of reaching a favorable and efficient settlement resolution with the drunk driver's insurance company. Our legal team can immediately begin negotiating on your behalf and, if necessary, pursue the litigation result you need through the court system.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with an experienced personal injury law firm in San Marcos, please call us at (210) 220-2222 or contact us online for more information.