Driving while intoxicated is never safe and puts others at risk of serious injuries. Alcohol impairs a driver’s ability to think clearly and respond to changes in driving conditions. The damage caused by accidents involving drunk drivers can be extensive. If you were the victim of a drunk driving accident, it’s possible you needed comprehensive medical treatment, or you have not yet been able to return to your job because of the injuries you sustained.
Intoxicated drivers can face criminal charges. However, civil courts and personal injury lawyers can also get involved after a driving while intoxicated (DWI) accident. If you were in an accident that involved a drunk driver, you might be eligible to recover compensation. A Tyler DWI car accident lawyer from Domingo Garcia is ready to help you with your case.
Domingo Garcia Helps Car Accident Victims Get Life-Improving Compensation
The car accident lawyers at Domingo Garcia fight for our clients to get the compensation they need after experiencing a catastrophic injury. Considering our history of settlements, you can see our impressive track record of securing wins for our clients.
We also have hundreds of five-star reviews, an impressive AVVO rating, and testimonials from happy clients like these:
- Jose Parra – “I want to thank the good attention and efficiency in their work. They really seek to get the best compensation and I recommend the services of attorney Domingo Garcia. My case was resolved soon and with a just resolution. I do not regret hiring the Law Offices of Domingo Garcia for my car accident case.”
- Victor Escobar – “I want to say thank you to attorney Miguel Cazarez and everyone at the Law Offices of Domingo Garcia, for winning my case. My attorney was very experienced and professional. I recommend this law firm, everyone is very intelligent in how they handle themselves and help us get the best results for our situation.”
Our successes are meaningful because we know how impactful these financial awards can be. We aim to fight for an outcome that can help you and your family move forward after your accident.
Compensation in a DWI Car Accident Case
In cases of more severe damages or injuries, you may receive higher compensation. While the intoxicated driver will likely be your primary liable party, other parties may also bear some blame. For example, certain providers and sellers of alcohol may also be to blame under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Chapter 2.
You may be able to recover compensation for the following:
- Medical bills: Medical bills can include expenses from the initial emergency treatment, specialist appointments, surgeries, physical therapy, and additional follow-up care.
- Lost wages: If you had to take time off from work, compensation may help to cover the wages you lost during that time.
- Lost earning capacity: The accident may have left you disabled or unable to work in the same job. You could recover compensation for what you would have made if the accident had not happened.
- Property damage costs: Compensation may help cover expenses like car repairs or replacement of your damaged property.
- Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering can include both the physical and emotional pain you experienced because of the DWI car accident. This can be difficult to quantify, but in accidents where there is more severe trauma, your compensation for pain and suffering may also increase.
- Loss of enjoyment from life: The accident could have significantly impacted how you live your life and what you can do on your own. This can be particularly true in DWI car accidents that cause long-term physical impairment.
Wrongful Death Compensation
If you lost a loved one in a DWI car accident, we hope to express our condolences for your loss. Losing someone you love is always hard, but losing someone you love because another person was careless–there are no words.
Securing a settlement won’t erase what you’re going through, but it could give you some financial wiggle room to focus on your priorities. We hope you’ll allow us the opportunity to fight for damages on your behalf in a wrongful death action.
Some damages you may be entitled to include:
- Loss of your loved one’s financial support
- Loss of your loved one’s counsel, advice, and care
- Pain, anguish, and suffering of the surviving family members
- Loss of companionship and comfort
- Lost inheritance and future benefits
If you decide to entrust our firm with your wrongful death case, we will do our best to minimize the stress on your shoulders. As we fight for your compensation, we want to give you as much room as possible to grieve your loss.
How does Working With a DWI Car Accident Lawyer Benefit Me?
As a general rule, working with an injury lawyer should make the legal process easier. Your lawyer is someone who works for you and has the legal experience to negotiate a settlement on your behalf. DWI car accidents are often complex, so it can be challenging to handle this sort of case on your own, especially if you’re recovering from an injury.
Our Tyler DWI car accident lawyer has the time and resources to fight for the compensation you deserve. They can also provide the advice you need to help you make the best decision about your case. With professional help, you can avoid costly mistakes, and you don’t have to accept low offers from insurers.
In addition, our accident attorney can help you with several components of your case:
- Review what happened in your DWI car accident to determine causation and liability
- Evaluate what sort of damages you sustained, both economic and non-economic
- Take legal action against the liable party or parties
- Assess your options and advise you on the best course of action
- Collect, file, and organize paperwork and evidence related to your case
- Negotiate with the insurance companies and at-fault parties to reach a settlement
- Frequently update you on the progress of your case
- If necessary, take your case to court to fight for a fair financial award
If you choose to take on your case alone, you will have to handle every aspect of your case by yourself, likely all while you are recovering from injuries or caring for an injured loved one.
Can I Afford a DWI Car Accident Lawyer?
You likely have extensive costs after a DWI car accident, so it’s natural to be worried about legal fees. At Domingo Garcia, we use a contingency-fee payment structure. This means we will only charge you for our legal help if we secure a settlement or financial award for you.
Contingency fees ensure you have access to our representation regardless of your financial limitations. We also offer all of our clients a free consultation, so you can get legal help from the beginning to the end of your case without any out-of-pocket costs.
Steps to Take After a DWI Car Accident
Being in a DWI car accident can feel scary and overwhelming. It’s important to stay calm and work through the aftermath carefully. It may benefit you to follow these steps and secure your rights after the collision:
Get to Safety and Check On Injured Parties
Regardless of whether or not your accident involved an intoxicated driver, your physical safety is the priority. Accidents can present dangerous hazards. If you can, try to get out of your own vehicle and away from traffic, fires, or smoke. If you are physically able, check in on other injured drivers. If they are injured, don’t move them.
Get Medical Treatment and Appropriate Follow-Up Care
It is critical to get the medical treatment you need after a DWI car accident. This includes emergency medical treatment and appropriate follow-up. For your own well-being and for the integrity of your case, you must follow the advice of emergency medical personnel and medical professionals after your accident.
If you disobey your doctor’s orders or stop treatment prematurely, the other driver’s insurer may suggest you are uninjured or that you are contributing to your injuries. The insurer can use this to deny your claim or pay you less than you deserve.
Collect Evidence
In addition to medical treatment, you must collect evidence of the damages and injuries you experienced. This kind of evidence is crucial to your case. Evidence collection can involve taking photos and videos of the crash site and other damages. You can also exchange contact information with people who witnessed the accident.
If you are too injured to collect evidence, your lawyer can assist you. A loved one, witnesses, and even the police on scene may also be able to assist in documentation.
Once you have collected evidence, be sure to keep it in a safe place or make copies and give them to your lawyer.
Report the Accident to Authorities and Insurance Companies
DWI is a criminal offense. There will likely be some form of law enforcement involvement in the accident. If you did not call police to the scene, be sure to file a police report after the fact. This will create a record of the accident.
If you were a victim, you may need to answer questions from the police about what happened. Always answer questions honestly, so the police have the most accurate information possible. If you need support and counsel while you give your testimony, your lawyer can be there to assist you.
You need to report the accident to your insurance, as well. You may also be contacted by the at-fault party’s insurer. Do not give either your own insurance company or the at-fault driver’s insurance company a testimony without legal counsel.
Get Legal Advice About How to Proceed with Your Case
It can be helpful to consult with an attorney with experience handling DWI car accidents and personal injury cases. A lawyer can review your options with you and field offers from insurance companies. Having someone by your side after a traumatic accident can make every step of the process less stressful. We hope to provide that kind of support for you.
Potential Injuries and Damages in a DWI Car Accident
A DWI car accident can cause a number of injuries, many of which are catastrophic for the victim. These injuries can impact your physical health and your quality of life. In addition, treatment after a DWI accident can be expensive due to large medical bills and out-of-pocket expenses.
- Traumatic brain injuries: These can happen with impact to the head or with a violent snapping motion of the head and neck. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can be life-threatening and often require life-saving care after severe collisions. Severe TBIs can cause long-term physical and cognitive impairment. In some cases, people who suffer TBIs require round-the-clock care which can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars over a lifetime.
- Spinal cord injuries or back injuries: Spinal cord injuries can cause paralysis, partial loss of motor function and feeling, or chronic pain. Even if the spine isn’t permanently damaged, the injured person can experience other back problems, such as sprains or strained back muscles. This pain can be debilitating.
- Fractures: Broken bones can take substantial time to heal correctly. While they heal, you may not be able to perform leisure activities or work like you usually would. Depending on the severity of the break, the consequences of the injury can be long-lasting.
- Lacerations: Cuts may require stitches and prompt medical treatment. If a cut happens over a major artery, it can lead to substantial blood loss. Wounds can take time to heal and require special care to ensure they don’t become infected. Depending on the severity of the laceration and its location, costs for treatment can add up quickly.
- Blunt force trauma: This can result from hard impact with objects in a collision. Blunt force trauma can cause damage to the lungs or heart, resulting in life-threatening injuries. Other blunt force trauma injuries could lead to limb damage or even limb amputation. Injuries of this severity may require long-term care for the victim. Expenses for this kind of treatment are recoverable in your case.
Whatever the injury you or a loved one suffered, it caused undue suffering. Treatment expenses as well as your personal pain are recoverable damages in your DWI accident case.
Your Tyler DWI Car Accident Lawyer Can Prove Negligence in Your Case
One of the critical components of any personal injury case is negligence. Negligence, in legal terms, refers to how someone should have acted in a particular situation and how they acted instead. In a DWI car accident case, negligence could look something like this:
- All drivers have a duty to drive safely, obey traffic laws, and not be under the influence of alcohol when they drive.
- An intoxicated driver failed to drive safely, posing a potential danger to others on the road.
- The actions of the intoxicated driver caused a car accident.
- You suffered damages and injury because of the drunk driver’s actions.
Your attorney will review what happened. They will gather evidence of the intoxicated driver’s actions and the damages you sustained. With this information bolstering your case, our team will work to prove the negligence of other parties so that you can recover compensation.
The Impact of Alcohol on Driving
Alcohol inhibits the ability to think clearly and respond appropriately. As noted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), drinking alcohol can impact several brain functions, including the following:
- Balance, which affects the ability to walk and perform other activities normally
- Judgment, including when to stop or slow down, or otherwise react to changes in the environment
- Memory, including the possibility of memory gaps from when someone was intoxicated
- Speech, such as slurred speech
Intoxicated drivers may not be able to respond to changes in road conditions. They may not notice things like traffic lights or signs or may be unaware of other drivers. Swerving is one of the most noticeable signs that a driver is intoxicated, as their vision and coordination are both impaired.
All these factors can increase the risk of an intoxicated driver being in an accident. These accidents often cause extensive physical, emotional, and property damage.
Driving While Intoxicated Is a Deadly Form of Negligence
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alcohol-impaired driving caused 28 percent of all traffic fatalities in the United States in 2016. More than 10,000 people lost their lives in these preventable incidents that year.
The CDC also reports that Texas drivers are more likely to get behind the wheel after drinking too much. The prevalence of DWI in the state has led some authorities to rate Texas one of the worst states in the nation for drunk driving.
In their article, the CDC also estimates that alcohol-related crashes cost more than $44 billion a year. DWI is deadly, and the cost for families and victims who suffer the consequences is an impossible burden. If you are suffering from the aftermath of an intoxicated driver’s negligence, our firm is ready to help.
Texas DWI Laws
Like other states, Texas has specific laws regarding alcoholic intoxication and engaging in behaviors that could endanger other people. If someone is convicted of a DWI, they can face jail time and fines. Depending on the circumstances, a driver convicted of a DWI can also face steeper criminal charges.
All of these potential punishments are meant to discourage behavior that endangers other people. Despite the state’s serious penalties for DWI, thousands risk getting behind the wheel while intoxicated anyway. According to recent statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation(TxDOT), that number is upwards of 25,000 a year. If you were a victim of this kind of selfish behavior, Domingo Garcia wants to fight for justice for you.
Criminal Versus Civil Charges in a DWI Car Accident Case
DWI car accidents can have both criminal and civil implications. For example, someone with a DWI conviction will face specific penalties under Texas law. In addition to any criminal charges, you, as an accident victim, can seek compensation through the civil court in a DWI car accident case.
A person can simultaneously face criminal and civil charges in a DWI car accident case, but different courts handle the charges. All this means is that you don’t have to wait to take up a civil case.
How Long do I Have to File a DWI Car Accident Lawsuit?
The legal process often takes a substantial amount of time, so acting quickly after the accident can be helpful. According to Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.003, you have two years to file a wrongful death or personal injury lawsuit. This would include lawsuits related to a DWI car accident.
Consulting with an attorney shortly after a DWI car accident may be beneficial in meeting deadlines. Not only can your legal team use this time to gather time-sensitive evidence and build a strong case, but beginning early can give them wiggle room to navigate legal hurdles.
Begin Your DWI Car Accident Case Today with a Free Consultation
After an accident, it can be challenging to know what legal steps to take or who to talk to first. Understand that you do not have to handle your case alone. Our Tyler DWI car accident lawyer is here to help.
We offer all of our clients a free consultation. As we discuss your case, we review your circumstances and how we can help. This enables you to decide what action you want to take moving forward. Contact us today to get started with your DWI car accident case.
