The Impact of Drunk Driving in Texas

Posted On July 23, 2010 In Legal Information

Around 1,500 Texans die each year in drunk driving accidents, accounting for nearly half of all driving deaths. Unfortunately, in 2010, that trend appears to be holding true. Earlier in the spring, a drunk driver killed a 41-year-old Houston motorcyclist. The drunk driver turned left in front of the oncoming motorcyclist. Witnesses said that the motorcyclist had the green light. Authorities have charged the driver of the green Mazda pickup truck with intoxication manslaughter.

A few months earlier, another drunk driver killed a Time Warner cable worker as he worked on utility lines strung high above the ground. The 38-year-old worker was in the bucket above the ground when the drunk driver of a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo struck the back of the worker’s van. The accident ejected the worker from the elevated bucket and he fell to the ground. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene. Authorities charged the Rodeo’s driver with intoxication manslaughter. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a drunk driver, a Lufkin injury lawyer is available to help you obtain compensation for your medical bills and suffering.

Texas Drunk Driving Numbers

• Texas usually leads the country as the state with the most alcohol-related driving deaths. In 2008, for example, Texas had 1,463 such deaths, a great deal more than the state in second place—California with 1,198. 1982 was the year Texas had the most drunken driver-caused deaths. It lost 2,801 Texans then.
• The legal limit in Texas is 0.08. Most adults reach this limit after just a couple of beers or alcoholic drinks.
• As mentioned above, just about half of all fatal crashes involve alcohol. This number soars for fatal crashes occurring after midnight and during the early morning hours. Over three-fourths of such accidents involve a drunk driver.
• Austin Police conducted a ‘Super Bowl no refusal’ initiative on February 7 between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., during which they made 17 drunk driver arrests. The blood alcohol content of the drivers ranged from 0.15 to 0.28, substantially over Texas’s legal limit.

Obtaining Compensation for Injuries that Drunk Drivers Cause

The following are some of items for which you may be able to obtain compensation if a drunk driver has injured you:

• Medical bills. This includes expenses for ongoing treatment of severe and permanent injuries like physical therapy, as well as costly emergency room trips.
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity. You can recover income that you lost while you were unable to work and future money you may never be able to earn because of the accident’s effect on your health.
• Wrongful death claims. If you lost a loved due to a drunk driver, you can pursue claims to cover medical expenses, funeral expenses, and lost wages and employment benefits.
• Punitive damages. In particularly egregious cases, a court may order extra damages (so-called punitive damages) against a defendant.

Contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates, LLC if a drunk driver has injured you or a loved one.