Gathering Evidence If You’re Hit by a Drunk Driver
If you’ve been the victim of a drunk driver and are considering filing a property damage or personal injury claim, you must understand how a DUI arrest will affect your settlement negotiations. These cases progress basically the same as any other property damage or injury claim. The difference lies in the type of evidence you’ll need to establish liability. That is why you need to understand how drunk driving affects a claim. In this blog post, we will provide a quick overview on how to gather evidence of liability in drunk driving crashes.
Types of Evidence Used in Drunk Driving Crashes
If you were the victim of a drunk driving crash and the at fault driver received a citation for an open container, you have a strong position when negotiating your claim. The existence of a citation due to an open container of alcohol or an arrest for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence should be all the evidence needed to convince a claims adjuster that their insured was negligent. To establish a DUI or DWI after a car accident, tell police officers if you smell alcohol or marijuana on the other driver’s breath. In the time it takes police to arrive to the scene, the other driver may use a breath spray or otherwise try to conceal the odor. If you alert the police about the smell, they may administer a field sobriety test. If you see the driver use eye drops, they may be under the influence of marijuana, medication, or some other drug that may not be immediately detectable. Telling the police, you saw the other driver use eye drops may be enough to prompt them to administer a drug test. Watch to see if the other driver tries to dispose of beer cans, bottles of alcohol, or drug paraphernalia. If you saw the other driver disposing of any of these items, make sure you point it out to the police officers. Also, make sure you know which person was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Another tactic used by drunk drivers is to switch places with one of the passengers who hasn’t been drinking. Remember, you always need to be thinking about securing proof to support your claim of drunk or impaired driving. Securing proof of drunk driving shouldn’t be difficult, police reports contain a separate section entitled contributory factors. An investigating officer will make entries in that section about outside factors they believe contributed to the drunk driving crash. The officer will enter any of the at fault drivers’ actions that they determine are the direct and proximate cause of the accident. Police reports are available within a few days after an accident and can be purchased for a nominal fee.
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Personal injury claims arise out of many different situations, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and slip and fall accidents. Were you hurt or injured in an accident in South Florida? When someone’s careless acts injure a victim, these lawsuits are important ways to help victims pay for the costs of their serious injuries. It is important to know that you may be able to recover damages for your injury including compensation to pay for economic losses, medical treatment and expenses, surgeries, loss of income, and more. To maintain to maintain your civil case for damages to elements are going to be essential and must occur. There must be a technical violation or out of a right or some type of injury and there must be some damage. That means that to maintain an action for damages for personal injuries you must have some type of damage that results. Our attorneys are ready to provide proven legal representation and stand ready to protect your rights. We are available 24/7 to give you a free, no risk case consultation!
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