drunk driving injury - Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Avoid a Miami Drunk Driving Accident This New Year’s Eve

Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 18:52:05 GMT

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are supposed to mark a fond farewell to the past and a celebration of the promise to come. Too often though, a Miami drunk driving crash leads to injury, or worse, death.

Florida news outlets reported that between 2014 and 2016, a total of 34 New Year’s Day crashes were reported in the Sunshine State, averaging about 11 annually. It’s widely known the first and last days on the calendar are some of the worst for drunk driving accidents, injuries and deaths. In Florida, only five other days averaged more, though none with more than 13. The riskiest time on the roads is from midnight to 3 a.m. on Jan. 1. That’s when nearly one-third of all New Year’s Day car accidents occur. On New Year’s Eve, 44 percent of crashes occur between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. This pattern of drunk driving on New Year’s is seen all over the country, year after year.

Miami drunk driving injury lawyers know holidays in general tend to see a spike in Florida car accidents, starting around Thanksgiving and continuing on to Christmas and New Year’s and then through spring break in March. Mothers Against Drunk Driving teamed with Uber last year to encourage folks to designate a sober driver before they are too drunk to drive home themselves.

How to Avoid a Miami Drunk Driving Accident This New Year’s

If you can’t stand the thought of simply staying in this holiday or you’re planning on throwing a party, consider the following: more Don’t drive after drinking. Although this seems very obvious, it’s necessary to say because Florida uniform traffic laws don’t make drinking and driving in and of itself a crime. Drinking and driving only becomes a criminal act when the driver is deemed under the influence or has a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent, unless a minor or commercial driver. However, there is really no known safe amount for any motorist to consume before getting behind the wheel, and people are notoriously awful at determining their own sobriety after they’ve been drinking. On this particular holiday, it’s best to commit to arranging a stone-cold sober driver. In addition to the risk of a crash (which can carry felony charges if someone is seriously hurt or killed), a DUI can cost $10,000 in fines and expenses – even for a first-time offense. The Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement throughout the state will be boosting patrols on both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Connecting with an Uber or Lyft is much more cost effective, not to mention it could save a life.

Do Not Serve Alcohol to Minors or Those Known to Be Alcoholics – Whether Throwing a Party or Employed by a Bar. Florida laws pertaining to social host liability and dram shop liability – F.S. 768.125 – are relatively weak compared to other states. That does not mean the issue shouldn’t be taken seriously. Bars and other vendors need to be conscientious about individuals to whom they are serving alcohol because failure to do so can result in a Florida personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit if the person imbibing goes on to crash a car, hurting themselves or someone else. Technically, Florida does not have a social host liability law. However, there is a provision of criminal law indicating a person with control over a property and knowingly serves or allows minors to consume alcohol or drugs on site or who fail to take reasonable measure to prevent it can face a misdemeanor charge. Florida courts have held that this criminal law creates a civil cause of action for liability if one of those minors gets into a car, drives drunk and is injured or killed or harms someone else. If you are hosting a New Year’s Eve party, make sure everyone is of age to consume alcohol, serve plenty of food and non-alcoholic drinks, taper off availability of alcohol 2 hours or so before the party winds down. Take everyone’s keys when they walk in the door so no one has a chance to slip out inebriated unnoticed. Consider staying sober yourself to be available to make transport arrangements for guests or take them home yourself. If none of that seems appealing, remember that having a guest crash in the spare room is far preferable to crashing on the road.

Our Miami injury lawyers which everyone a safe and happy New Year!

Call Miami Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

How dangerous is driving on New Year’s in Florida? Dec. 26, 2017, By Langston Taylor, The Tampa Bay Times

More Blog Entries:

Florida Injury Lawsuits and Social Media: Think Before you Post, Nov. 30, 2018, Miami Drunk Driving Injury Lawyer Blog

Be Wary of Drunk Drivers in South Florida This New Year’s Holiday

Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 16:03:12 GMT

New Year’s Day is all about the celebration of new beginnings. Unfortunately, it’s one that is all too often associated with tragic endings, at least on the roads.

An analysis released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reveals Jan. 1st is the single deadliest day of the year when it comes to alcohol-related crashes involving motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The IIHS late last year looked at the most recent five years of deadly crash information, and discovered that on that day, an average of 70 people were killed in collisions where at least one driver, pedestrian or cyclist had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. In fact, 62 percent of all deadly crashes in the U.S. on that day were attributed to impairment by alcohol, which is almost double the overall rate of 35 percent.

In just looking at occupants of motor vehicles (excluding large trucks), an average of 83 people were killed in car accidents on New Year’s Day over that five-year time frame, compared to an average of 59 on any other given day.

It especially doesn’t bode well this year that overall traffic deaths have spiked, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports the number of alcohol-impaired driving crashes in rose nearly 2 percent between 2015 and 2016. Nearly 10,500 people died in drunk driving accidents last year.

Although Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are slightly less dangerous, as most people are spending time at home with their families, it can’t be overlooked that DUI-related traffic stops spike by more than 30 percent on these days too.

When the NHTSA looked at the total economic cost of all traffic crashes, it was estimated to be approximately $242 billion. Of that, $44 billion is directly traced to drunk drivers. These losses include medical costs, emergency medical services, insurance administration, lost wages, lost productivity, traffic congestion and legal and court expenses.

The most dangerous time on New Year’s is the 12-hour window between 6 p.m. on December 31st and 6 a.m. on January 1st.

Although our Fort Lauderdale drunk driving injury lawyers know these occurrences are often referred to as “accidents,” the reality is they result from the conscious choices of irresponsible motorists. That’s not to say they intend to cause harm, but they fail to use reasonable care, which is a duty owed by anyone behind the wheel.

In terms of compensating victims of drunk driving for their losses, there may be several possible avenues. The first involves personal injury protection, or PIP, which is required by every driver with a registered vehicle in Florida. This is no-fault insurance coverage that will cover you – and your vehicle occupants and possibly any pedestrian or bicyclist involved – for up to $10,000 in medical expenses and lost wages. However, many drunk driving injuries are far more serious, and additional compensation is required.

The next step is to pursue action with the at-fault driver, by filing a claim with their auto insurer. Many such claims are settled out-of-court, though it’s possible one or more fact disputes (usually involving how high your damages truly are) may need to be resolved through a trial.

Sometimes even if you are successful in this, that coverage won’t be enough. In that case, you can pursue action with your own uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage carrier. Although this coverage isn’t required in Florida, it comes standard with most auto insurance policies.

It may also be possible to pursue a dram shop liability lawsuit against the bar or restaurant that served alcohol to the driver, though per the stipulations of F.S. 768.125, this is limited to instances where the impaired driver was either under 21 or was known by the establishment to be habitually addicted to alcohol.

Your injury lawyer should be able to give you a general idea of your legal options following a free initial consultation.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

New Year’s Day is deadliest for alcohol-related crashes, Dec. 28, 2016, IIHS

More Blog Entries:

Legislators Fight to Overturn Florida’s No-Fault Car Insurance Law, Nov. 7, 2017, Fort Lauderdale Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog