Driving while drunk is one of the many reckless things that a person might do while behind the wheel. Ingesting any amount of alcohol significantly reduces a person’s reaction times and affects their ability to make reasonable decisions. These factors lead to a significant portion of the car accidents that occur in Smithtown every year.
A driver who makes the poor choice to drink and drive is responsible for their actions. This can include criminal penalties that include the loss of a license and jail time. In addition, drunk drivers who injure others in accidents are personally liable for all resulting damage.
A respectable car accident attorney could help people who have suffered injuries in drunk driving car accidents in Smithtown. This aid could include investigating whether the other driver was drunk, determining the outcome of any criminal charges, and demanding the proper compensation necessary to cover your losses.
Drunk Driving Laws in Smithtown
Every driver knows that it is illegal to drive while drunk. However, state law specifically describes what it means to drive drunk, and understanding this concept plays a key role in many drunk driving car accident cases. According to New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192, a person violates the law in two ways. First, a person who has a blood/alcohol content of .08 or more is automatically in violation of the law. Police may gather evidence of this intoxication by applying a blood, breath, urine, or saliva test.
Second, it is illegal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. This means that a person’s ability to drive safely is impaired. Police officers usually use their personal observations to make this determination.
Regardless of the justification for a drunk driving arrest, a conviction or guilty plea is powerful evidence of fault for a crash. The concept of negligence per se means that if a person was in violation of a law leading up to a crash, a court can presume that person’s fault for the crash. Because of this, an attorney could track a drunk driving criminal case through the court system to determine if it is evidence of fault in a person’s civil demand for compensation.
Seeking Out Fair Compensation Following a Drunk Driving Crash
People who suffer harm because of the poor decisions of others deserves compensation to make their full recovery. As applied to drunk driving car crashes in Smithtown, this means seeking out payments to cover the costs of medical treatment, reductions in quality of life, and missing income. Just as it is the job of injured people to prove that another driver was responsible for a crash, it is also their job to demonstrate how the incident has impacted their lives.
Working with an attorney allows them to take the lead in both these areas. A Smithtown car accident lawyer could perform an investigation to determine how another driver’s intoxication led to the crash and how that incident impacted a person’s life. The combination of proving fault for a crash and demonstrating the extent of a person’s losses is the best way to collect fair payments.
Let an Attorney Work with You After a Drunk Driving Car Accident in Smithtown
Every person who operates a vehicle while drunk endangers themselves and every other person on the road. Consuming alcohol is not only against the law, but it can also be an indicator that a person is liable for all resulting damage that they cause to others. This can include physical injuries, emotional traumas, and lost income.
Reach out to an attorney today to see how they could help you seek out fair compensation for your losses. They could provide more information about drunk driving car accidents in Smithtown and how criminal liability could serve as proof of fault for your injuries. They also help clients that get involved in front-end car accidents in Smithtown.