Drunk Driving Car Accident Lawyer in Port St. Lucie, FL
Alcohol impairs a motorist’s judgment and ability to control his or her vehicle. Therefore, Florida laws on intoxicated driving consider drunk driving as an act of negligence. Like any other injury resulting from negligence, victims have a right to seek full compensation for harm and damages caused by a drunk driver.
Our drunk driving car accident lawyers in Port St. Lucie, FL are ready to help you pursue justice after a drunk driving accident by thoroughly investigating your case, aggressively negotiating with insurance companies, and litigating if the need arises.
Comparative Fault in Drunk Driving Accidents
Comparative fault is a legal doctrine that allows a plaintiff and the defendant to compare their contribution to a crash instead of assigning the entire fault for the accident on a single party.
Just because one motorist had a collision with a drunk driver does not mean that the drunk driver should take full responsibility for all of the consequences of the accident. For example, if a speeding driver ran a traffic light and collided with a drunk driver, these are important factors that must be considered when determining each motorist’s contribution to the accident. Damages will be paid out in proportion to their level of responsibility for the crash.
Handling Insurance Claims After an Accident Caused by a Drunk Driver
In a bid to mitigate risk liability, insurance companies have highly skilled adjusters responsible for protecting their bottom line. These adjusters focus on comparative negligence and try to prove that you to some extent contributed to the accident. When this happens, your chances of winning a full and fair settlement significantly fall.
Since insurers have skilled adjustors and lawyers on their side, it would only be fair if you had a skilled attorney handling your claim as well. Our award-winning attorneys know all the loopholes that adjusters use to reduce fault on their clients and all the tricks they apply to cut a victim’s ability to fight for a valid claim. We will protect you from malicious exploitation and handle all negotiations with insurers to get you a worthy settlement.
What Can you Claim After a Drunk Driving Accident?
Lost wages, physical therapy, and rehabilitation costs persist long after a car accident. Furthermore, the effects of a car crash can take years to appear, and these injuries may be difficult to claim from an insurer later on.
We work with medical practitioners and financial forecasters, among other experts, to determine the total impact of an accident on all of our clients. Doing so helps us determine the right DUI accident claim amount you should file for to cover current and future expenses resulting from the accident.
We will seek full settlement for:
Financial Damages
You are entitled to compensation for financial losses and out-of-pocket expenses, also known as special damages. These include:
- All medical expenses that result from the accident – These include emergency care unit costs, ambulance costs, special doctor appointments, intensive care unit bills, prescriptions, medical equipment such as wheelchairs, surgery costs, physical therapy, travel expenses to medical facilities, and rehabilitation costs, among others.
- Care and assistance.
- Loss of income.
- Reduced ability to earn.
- Property damages.
- Vehicle repair or replacement.
Non-Financial Damages
Non-financial damages are a little more difficult to calculate but fortunately, our lawyers bring in experts to determine the impact of these losses on our clients after an accident. Some of these damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Psychological trauma
- Stress and anxiety
- Loss of service
- Deprived enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
DUI Wrongful Death Claims
If a drunk driving accident led to the death of a loved one, we will help you pursue a wrongful death claim. The aim of such a claim is to provide you and your family the money you need to settle the deceased person’s medical bills, funeral costs, and pay for the lost income that your family has suffered after the death of a breadwinner.
Drunk Driving Punitive Damages
While our ultimate goal is helping you get a fair settlement that covers all damages incurred after a drunk driving accident, we can go a step further and help you file a case for punitive damages. This is meant to punish the person who caused an accident due to an act of negligence and curb such behavior from happening again in the future. When pursuing punitive damage cases, our lawyers gather and present the evidence required to prove gross negligence on the part of the at-fault driver.
After the limits of an insurance cover are exhausted, additional damages can be claimed from the drunk driver’s personal assets through a punitive damages claim.
Our Drunk Driving Car Accident Lawyers are in Your Corner! Start with a Free Consultation
We invite you to provide us with a few details about your accident here so that we can start reviewing your case and schedule a free consultation with you. There is no obligation to hire but if we represent you, excellent results are guaranteed. Our attorneys offer customized representation and will keep you updated with all of the progress that your case makes. Pay nothing until your case is won. Call now at 305-928-2909.