Hit By a Drunk Driver? Here’s What You Should Do

If you were hit by a drunk driver, you definitely aren’t alone. A combination of factors, mostly lax police enforcement and personal mental health issues, caused a drunk driving spike during the coronavirus pandemic. The number of alcohol-related accidents hasn’t dropped significantly since Covid lockdowns ended. Alcohol-involved crashes have a disproportionately high serious and fatal injury rate, usually because the tortfeasor (negligent driver) is operating at full speed, or near full speed, at the moment of impact.

Ideally, these tortfeasors would voluntarily compensate victims for their economic and noneconomic losses. Alas, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer must often get involved and force these tortfeasors, and their insurance companies, to step up to the plate. Insurance companies can easily afford to compensate crash victims, as mentioned above. But instead, they hire lawyers who use legal loopholes to deny fair compensation to victims. Only a good Oceanside personal injury lawyer evens the odds.

See a Doctor

Drunk driving crashes cause serious injuries. Frequently, busy ER doctors or general practitioners cannot properly diagnose and treat these injuries. The three kinds of head injuries in drunk driver crashes are good examples.

• sTBIs: Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries aren’t necessarily related to external trauma, like a victim’s head hitting a steering wheel. Instead, the violent motion of a wreck causes the brain to slam against the skull. The symptoms of these hidden sTBIs, such as confusion and disorientation, are easy for many doctors to miss.
• PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a specific kind of physical head injury that’s common in alcohol-related car wrecks. The extreme stress of these accidents causes a chemical change inside the brain. The symptoms of this chemical change include anger and depression. Once again, these common post-accident maladies are easy to overlook.
• mTBIs: A mild traumatic brain injury is basically a concussion. Individually, these injuries aren’t serious. But the cumulative effect of concussions causes CTE, a degenerative brain disorder. Many doctors have limited information when they treat alcohol-related crash victims, so they may not know such a red flag exists,

Usually, if a pre-existing condition, such as a prior concussion, contributes to the risk and/or severity of an alcohol-related car crash injury, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer can still obtain maximum compensation for victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

See an Oceanside Personal Injury Lawyer

Prompt and proper medical treatment isn’t cheap or free. Since most group health insurance plans exclude injury-related costs, for liability reasons, alcohol-related crash victims could be stuck with the bill.

An Oceanside personal injury lawyer has professional relationships with top-notch doctors who, in most cases, charge nothing upfront for their services. Because of the high quality of care available, many alcohol-related crash victims should probably see lawyers before they see doctors.

Not just any lawyer will do. A good personal injury lawyer must have experience handling alcohol-related wreck claims, because these cases are quite complex. Also ensure that a lawyer is there for you when you need him/her and that your lawyer is dedicated to the rights of personal injury victims.

Rely on a Thorough San Diego County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.

Source:

iihs.org/news/detail/poor-mental-health-police-cuts-fueled-pandemic-spike-in-impaired-driving-deaths