Drug and alcohol use contribute to many trucking accidents. Truckers who get behind the wheel while impaired by alcohol or drugs put everyone around them at risk and often cause fatal collisions.
You can learn more about the dangers associated with impaired driving from a Fort Lauderdale truck accident lawyer. An attorney can also provide dedicated assistance if you or a loved one sustains injuries in one of these crashes.
How Often Do Drug and Alcohol Use Cause Truck Accidents?
Over 350,000 people sustained injuries in drunk driving crashes in 2023, and generally, someone dies every 44 minutes in a drunk driving collision. More injuries and fatalities happen due to drug use by drivers. Data limitations on drug testing make it more difficult to get exact numbers of drug-related collisions.
Truckers pose a higher risk to others on the road when they drive impaired, because of the large size of their vehicles. A commercial vehicle can cause catastrophic damage to smaller vehicles and catastrophically injure anyone driving in a passenger vehicle.
You can learn more about the risks posed by drunk drivers and how often truck accidents are caused by drug and alcohol use by reaching out to an attorney for help.
How Often Do Drug and Alcohol Use Cause Deadly Truck Accidents?
An overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2023 reported that 187 impaired truckers caused fatal accidents in 2023, a 19% increase from the year before.
Note that truckers cause drastically fewer fatal collisions while impaired than other drivers. Impaired drivers of passenger cars caused 4,505 fatal accidents in the same year, while drunk motorcyclists caused 1,668 deadly accidents.
You deserve compassionate and dedicated support regardless of who caused a fatal accident. You can turn to a dedicated law firm for assistance if you have lost a loved one.
Will You Get Paid if an Impaired Trucker Hits You?
If you sustain injuries in a crash caused by a trucker impaired by drug or alcohol use, you may have a chance to get compensation for any losses associated with your accident. To support your claim, your attorney may need to show that the trucker owed you a duty of care, violated that duty, and directly caused your crash.
Establishing that a trucker got behind the wheel while impaired can go a long way toward successfully resolving your claim. In order to prove that a trucker drove while impaired, an attorney may need to:
- Get a copy of the trucker’s blood alcohol content (BAC) report
- Review information on the official accident report filed by the police
- Speak to eyewitnesses and take their statements
- Look at the trucker’s driving record
- Check information on the truck’s data recorder
- Look for receipts or other evidence that the trucker bought alcohol
It’s crucial that you reach out to an attorney quickly for help after your crash, as it gives the law firm a better chance of gathering all relevant evidence.
What Compensation Can You Get After a Truck Crash?
If your attorney can show that someone else caused your crash, losses, and injuries, you may receive compensation to pay for all of your economic and non-economic losses. For example, the liable party may need to cover your medical bills, lost income, and the costs to repair your vehicle.
In some cases, you could get additional funds to pay for any pain and emotional distress you experience due to the collision. You should speak to a lawyer to learn more about the funds potentially available in your situation.
What Should You Do After a Crash with an Impaired Trucker?
If an impaired trucker hits your vehicle, you should immediately report the collision to the authorities. After reporting the crash, make sure that you get fast medical care for any injuries that you sustained.
You should also reach out to a lawyer for help quickly. An attorney will walk you through all the steps you should take after a crash, so you can feel confident about your next steps.
An attorney can also fight for you, working tirelessly to strengthen your claim and ensure you make a full financial recovery.
Call or text 800-602-5000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
We Can Help After a Crash Caused by Alcohol or Drug Use
So, how often are truck accidents caused by drug or alcohol use? Impaired driving causes many accidents involving large commercial vehicles. If you or a loved one got hurt in one of these crashes, you can get the professional help you need by turning to our team at Blakeley Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers.
Our team has the training, experience, and resources to help with complex commercial vehicle crashes. We’ve helped our clients get over $250 million in compensation, and we’re ready to provide the dedicated support you need in this challenging time.
We can explain your next steps and walk you through every stage of the legal process when you reach out to us for help.
