The United States is well known for being a nation of cars and trucks, and many Americans drive their own vehicles to commute to work or college or for leisure or errands. Over 200 million Americans have a valid driver’s license, nearly all Americans aged 18 and over. This gives a person a great deal of autonomy for transportation, but they must be careful, since the road and other drivers are not always safe. Unfortunately, traffic accidents are quite common in the United States both past and present, and drivers and pedestrians are often injured when a drunk or distracted driver hits them. When a person is hurt by another driver, they may look for an auto accident lawyer or a car accident attorney, and a personal injury lawyer like these can do a lot of good. When you are hurt by another driver, legal help may not be far away, and getting hurt by another driver does not have to be the end of the case. Compensation might be found with a lawyer’s assistance if personal injuries have been sustained. One may first consider why such accidents happen, and how often.
Why You Might Be Hurt By Another Driver
The simple truth is that not all American drivers are acting responsibly and safely, and many of them are impaired with drugs or alcohol or may be distracted while behind the wheel. Plenty of statistics are gathered every year to track how often such accidents take place and how many Americans are injured. Overall, some six million car accidents take place yer year, and they result in some three million personal injury cases. A victim may be a car driver or passenger, or even a pedestrian or a bicyclist.
Drunk drivers are a common threat. Such drivers have impaired coordination, judgment, and reflexes to drive a car or a truck safely, and they are typically driving in an unsafe manner. At the very least, they may drive erratically and get in others’ way, and they may run red lights and stop signs. Of course, they’re also likely to hit other cars or pedestrians, and another party may be hurt by another driver, often a drunk one. This may result in both property damage and personal injury. In fact, a drunk driver is breaking the law even if they don’t hit anything, as driving with a BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.08% or higher is drunk driving, a serious crime. Some drivers mistakenly think that driving “buzzed” is an acceptable alternative, but it is not. No one should drink at all before they drive.
Distracted drivers are not necessarily drunk, but they are preoccupied with handheld electronic devices or even the car’s dashboard features. This means that they aren’t watching the road, and they may be too late to react to developments such as a red light, pedestrians, and oncoming traffic. Accidents are more likely as a result. Even bad weather may impair drivers, alcohol or not, as heavy snow or rain can reduce vision and make the roads slick.
What to Do After the Crash
The injured victim of a car crash may want compensation for what happened to them, but they may not get very far attempting this alone. Rather, a car accident victim is urged to find and hire a specialized lawyer who can use the law and their skills to get settlement money for their client during litigation or even court (if it comes to that). A lawyer, unlike his or he client, will have an objective view of these and they will be detached, and they won’t be emotionally charged and disoriented like their client may be. These lawyers will also have the legal skills to handle complications in court, such as if the at-fault party’s insurance company refuses to cooperate. Or, if there are multiple parties involved, lawyers can help determine assigning blame and distributing settlement money better than their clients could. A client may find local car accident law firms and consult the attorneys there (this may or may not incur a fee) and hire a lawyer whose personality, skills, and experience and success rate are to their liking. Together, they can build an effective case during litigation against the at-fault party.