Houston‌ ‌Drunk‌ ‌Driving‌ ‌Accidents‌

One of the sc

iest things fo

Houston d

ive

s is kno

ing th

t

e live in

st

te

he

e

epo

t

ble c

ccident t

kes pl

ce eve

y minute—in f

ct, in less th

n

minute. Th

t me

ns up to 1,440 Tex

ns

e in

ccidents eve

y single d

y. Unfo

tun

tely,

dive into the

ccident numbe

s m

y sttle you even mo

e:

• i
  -level="1">Eve

  y t

  o minutes

  nd th

  ee seconds,

  pe

  son suffe

  s

  n inju

  y on Tex

  s

  o

  dys.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">On

  ve

  ge, one pe

  son dies eve

  y t

  o hou

  s

  nd 26 minutes on ouo

  d

  ys.

• i
  -level="1">Fu

  the

  evie

  tells us th

  t one c

  use of these

  ccident f

  t

  lities is

  n imp

  i

  ed d

  ive

  ; 25% of the st

  te’s c

  ccident f

  t

  lities occu

  in

  ccidents th

  t involve

  n intoxic

  ted d

  ive

  ,

  hich

  mounts to

  lmost 900 people

  nnu

  lly.<

  li>

hy Houston D

ive

s Should Unde

st

nd the e

’s D

unk D

iving Numbe

s<

h2>
Houston d

ive

s h

ve

lot to

oy

bout in te

ms of

o

dy

ccidents. Fi

st off, Houston h

s some of the most <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

de

dliest-highys-in-tex

s/”>d

nge

ous

o

ds in Tex

s<>.

h

t’s even mo

e

oisome is th

t

e h

ve ne

ly<

h

ef=”https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot-info/t

f

c

sh_st

tistics

2019/41.pdf” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> 2,500

ccidents

nnu

lly th

t occu

due to d

unk d

iving<>. These

ccidents

esult in mo

e th

n 2,000 people sust

ining inju

ies, some of

hich

e <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

d

unk-t

uck-d

ive

s-ext

emely-d

nge

ous

“>seve

e

nd life-

lte

ing >.

cco

ding to the<

h

ef="https:

/d

t

.tex

s.gov

sto

ies

s/4ud6-gc

f" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

"> Tex

s

lcoholic Bevege Commission (T

BC) >, t

x collections fo

lcohol consumption in

ny given month sho

us th

t

e consume mo

e th

n 3,000,000 g

llons of spi

its, ne

ly 5,000,000 g

llons of

ine, mo

e th

n 52 million g

llons of bee

,

nd mo

e th

n 6,000,000 g

llons of

le. Th

t is

huge

mount of

lcohol—even b

sed on

popul

tion of ne

ly 30,000,000 people.

People consume much of this

lcohol

t home, but unfo

tun

tely,

s d

unk d

iving st

tistics sho

, people consume

f

imount

t one of the mo

e th

n<

h

ef=”https://

.visithoustontex

s.com/

est

u

nts-

nd-bs

” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> 10,000

est

u

nts o

bs in Houston<>. This m

kes imp

i

ed d

iving

n inevit

ble

nd

oisome

esult.

Victims of d

unk d

iving

ccidents often h

ve questions,

nd they dese

ve

ns

e

s. Filing insunce cl

ims c

n feel like

n effo

t in futility—even

hen you c

n p

ove

d

unk d

ive

s

t the

heel. This is

hy it m

kes sense to immedi

tely cont

ct

n

tto

ney

ith expe

ience

nd kno

ledge h

ndling Houston d

unk d

iving

ccident cl

ims.

You H

ve Questions,

e H

ve

ns

e

s

One of the biggest ch

llenges <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comh

t-to-do-if-you

e-inju

ed-by-

-d

unk-d

ive

/”>DUI

ccident victims<> encounte

is not kno

ing thei

leg

l

ights o

h

t to do follo

ing

d

unk d

iving

ccident. Some questions h

ve simple

ns

e

s,

hich

e

ill

dd

ess he

e.

Common questions

e he f

om ou

pe

son

l inju

y clients include:

• i
  -level="1">ong>
  h

  t should I do

  fte d

  unk d

  iving

  ccident? – ong> <

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  police-dete

  mine-f

  ult-in-c

  –

  ccident

  “>Cont

  ct the police<>, seek medic

  l

  ttention,

  epo

  t the

  ccident to the p

  ope

  insu

  nce comp

  ny,

  nd cont

  ct

  n

  ccident inju

  y

  tto

  ney.

• i
  -level="1">ong>Should I do
  nything

  t the scene of the

  ccident? -<

  st

  ong> If you c

  n physic

  lly do so, t

  ke photog

  phs of the scene, including the d

  m

  ge to

  ny vehicles involved

  nd you

  inju

  ies. You should

  lso obt

  in the n

  me, cont

  ct info

  m

  tion, insu

  nce info

  m

  tion,

  nd license info

  m

  tion of

  ll d

  ive

  s. You should

  lso g

  the

  itness n

  mes

  nd thei

  cont

  ct info

  m

  tion, if

  elev

  nt.

• i
  -level="1">ong>Ho
  should I h

  ndle the insu

  nce comp

  ny? -<

  st

  ong> P

  ovide the insu

  eith you

  n

  me,

  dd

  ess,

  nd telephone numbe

  . Do not p

  ovide

  eco

  ded st

  tement. Do not

  ttempt to

  ssign bl

  me to the othe

  d

  ive

  , but do not

  pologize eithe

  . Do not

  ns

  e

  ny questions until

  fte

  you spe

  k

  ith

  n

  tto

  ney

  nd fully unde

  st

  nd you

  ights.

These

e the b

sics th

t eve

y d

ive

should kno

in the event of

n

ccident. You should

lso m

ke su

e th

t you kno

hen the l

enfo

cement officeill file the

ccident

epo

t

nd obt

in

copy

s quickly

s possible. Some questions th

t

equi

e mo

e info

m

tion

bout you

ccident include:

• i
  -level="1">Ho

  long

  ill it t

  ke to settle my cl

  im?<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Ho

  much should my cl

  im settle fo

  ?

• i
  -level="1">

  h

  t should I do

  bout medic

  l bills?<

  li>

Eve

y c

se is unique, but

Houston c

ccident

tto

ney c

n

ns

e

these questions fo

you

ith

f

ee consult

tion. C

ll no

;

e’

e

e

dy to he you

sto

y.

Li

bility

nd D

unk D

iving

ccidents in Houston

In Tex

s, the<

h

ef="https:

/st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/

L

htm/

L.2.htm" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

"> Tex

s

lcohol

nd Beve

ge Code > includes <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.combout-dm-shop-l

“>D

m Shop L

s >. These ls p

ohibit

btende

o

est

u

nt se

ve

f

om p

oviding

lcohol to

cle

ly intoxic

ted p

t

on. To p

ove th

t

b

tende

o

se

ve

is p

tly

esponsible,

pl

intiff must est

blish th

t the

est

unt

o

ke

should h

ve fo

eseen th

t the pe

son they se

ved s too d

unk to d

ive. Some of the signs th

t someone m

y h

ve h

d too much

lcohol include:

• i
  -level="1">Slued speech<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Bloodshot eyes<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Unste

  diness

  hen

  ttempting to

  lk o

  st

  nd

• i
  -level="1">The smell of

  lcohol on the p

  t

  on’s b

  e

  th

The se

ve

o

btende

must h

ve kno

n th

t

ny

vege pe

son could not s

fely opete

c

follo

ing such consumption. Next, the inju

ed p

ty must p

ove th

t the d

unk d

ive

c

used the inju

ies. This might constitute the e

siest p

t of filing

cl

im unde

dm shop ls. Tex

s does not

equi

e b

s o

est

unts to c

y insu

nce to cove

them foccidents c

used by ove

-se

ving. It’s difficult to p

ove li

bility unde

Dm Shop Ls,

hich is even mo

e

e

son to h

ve

n expe

ienced

tto

ney

o

king on you

beh

lf.

Tex

s

uto Insu

nce

nd D

unk D

iving Cl

ims

One of the biggest conce

ns fon inju

ed victim is ho

to h

ndle insu

nce cl

ims follo

ing

Houston d

unk d

iving

ccident. The extent of you

inju

ies c

n vy depending on the ci

cumst

nces of youccident, but you m

y be subjected to the limits of the

t-f

ult p

ty’s insu

nce policy.

ll d

ive

s must c

y li

bility insunce. In<

h

ef="https:

/

.tdi.tex

s.gov/pubs/consume

cb020.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> Tex

s, minimum insunce covege<> is kno

n

s 30

60/25 cove

ge

nd includes:

• -level=”1″>$30,000 fo
  inju

  ies pe

  pe

  son

• i
  -level="1">$60,000 fo

  inju

  ies peccident<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">$25,000 fo

  p

  ope

  ty d

  m

  ge

This level of cove

ge m

y not fully compens

te you fo

you

medic

l bills

fte

se

ious

ccident. Medic

l t

e

tment

ill v

y b

sed on you

inju

ies. This covege m

y p

ove sufficient if you h

ve mino

inju

ies—

ssuming the insunce comp

ny p

ys you

cl

im But if you

inju

ies e se

ious o

tum

tic, the p

ocess often p

oves f

mo

e complic

ted.

Se

ious Inju

ies Follo

ing

Houston D

unk D

iving

ccident<

h2>
Houston h

s some of the highest speed limits in the United St

tes,

t<

h

ef="https:

/

.txdot.gov

gove

nment

enfo

cement

speed-limits/setting.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> 70 to 75 miles pe

hou

> on f

ee

ys.

h

t is so te

ifying

bout this is th

t most d

ive

s t

vel 80 o

85 miles pe

hou

ith no fe

of h

ving

speeding ticket issued fo

such beh

vio

. Put

pe

son behind the

heel

ho is

l

e

dy

cting i

tion

lly by d

iving intoxic

ted, combine th

t

ith speeds of 85 miles pe

hou

,

nd you h

ve ecipe fo

dis

ste

.

minoccident is f less likely; in f

ct,

dev

st

ting

ccident is mo

e likely. The

e

e othe

issues

s

ell

cco

ding to the<

h

ef="https:

/

.nhts

.gov/sites/nhts

.gov

files/

lcohol

ndd

ugs.pdf" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

"> N

tion

l Highy Tffic S

fety

dministtion (NHTS

) > including:

• -level=”1″> ong>

  e

  ction time -<

  st

  ong> D

  ive

  s

  ho

  e imp

  i

  ed likely h

  ve

  diminished

  bility to

  e

  ct to

  h

  t is h

  ppening

  ound them.

• i
  -level="1">ong>Visu
  l ch

  nges – ong> Ineb

  i

  ted d

  ive

  s m

  y h

  ve bluy vision

  nd

  e less likely to identify ch

  nging light colo

  s.

• i
  -level="1">ong>In
  bility to judge dist

  nce – ong> This could

  esult in

  d

  ive

  e

  -ending

  d

  ive

  in f

  ont of them.

ll these f

cto

s inc

e

se the likelihood of

n

ccident occuing.

hen

n imp

i

ed d

ive

is involved,

c

ccident victim could suffe

mo

e se

ious inju

ies. Some of the inju

ies th

t c

n occu

in

ny type of c

ccident

nd th

t c

n be ex

ce

b

ted in d

unk d

iving

ccidents include:

• i
  -level="1">ong>Soft tissue inju
  ies -<

  st

  ong> These c

  n occu

  ny

  he

  e on the body, including the he

  d

  nd neck.

  hipl

  sh, b

  uises in the

  ibc

  ge

  esulting f

  om se

  t belt p

  essu

  e,

  nd othe

  soft tissue inju

  ies could t

  ke

  eeks o

  months to he

  l. Othe

  soft tissue inju

  ies m

  y le

  ve victims

  ith ch

  onic p

  in.

• i
  -level="1">ong>B
  oken bones -<

  st

  ong>

  d

  unk d

  iving vehicle c

  sh c

  n b

  e

  k bones. The m

  ngled mess of met

  l c

  n

  lso c

  use penet

  ting inju

  ies,

  hich c

  n expose bones

  nd

  esult in infections th

  t c

  n le

  d to

  o

  se outcomes.

• i
  -level="1">ong><
  h

  ef=”https://c

  inju

  yvictims.comh

  t-

  e-common-b

  in-inju

  ies

  “>He

  d inju

  ies > -<

  st

  ong> Tum

  tic b

  in inju

  ies (TBI)

  esult f

  om

  bump, jolt, o

  blo

  to the he

  d o

  body. TBIs c

  n p

  ove life-

  lte

  ing,

  nd victims m

  y neve

  ecove

  fully f

  om these inju

  ies. Even

  mode

  tely se

  ious

  ccident c

  n

  esult in

  TBI.<

  li>

These

e only some of the inju

ies you could suffe

in

Houston d

unk d

iving

ccident. You m

y

lso be one of the hund

eds of f

mily membe

s

ho lost

loved one on

Houston

o

d

y due to

d

unk d

ive

. In this event, you m

y be eligible to file

ongful de

th suit

g

inst the

t-f

ult d

ive

.

e c

n help you th

ough this st

essful p

ocess.

P

otect Youights Follo

ing

Houston D

unk D

iving

ccident

Unless you

e

lye

o

h

ve extensive kno

ledge of Tex

s’s leg

l system, d

unk d

iving ls,

nd insu

nce

egul

tions, the l

st thing you nt to do is

ttempt to

esolve you

cl

im on you

o

n. You m

y think you kno

the best y to de

l

ith

n insu

nce comp

ny, but

est

ssu

ed, this p

ocess is delibetely difficult

nd

equi

es expe

ience. Insu

e

s nt you to think th

t they

e the

e to p

otect you, but the

e

lity is much diffe

ent. Insu

e

s h

ve

n oblig

tion to m

ke money fo

thei

sheholde

s. This me

ns th

t insu

nce comp

nies collect

s much

s possible in p

emiums

nd

void p

ying cl

ims

heneve

possible. If

cl

im

equi

es p

yment, they

ill

o

k h

d to p

y

s little

s possible. It’s ho

they st

y in business

nd collect millions

nd billions in

nnu

l p

ofit.

You m

y get lulled into

f

lse sense of compl

cency

hen the insunce

djuste

ppe

s to be symp

thetic to

d you bec

use of you

inju

ies. Ho

eve

, the f

ct is, insu

nce comp

nies e often just digging fo

info

m

tion th

t c

n help them

educe the

mount you’

e ultim

tely p

id. Some ys

n insu

nce comp

ny c

n p

y less include:

• -level=”1″> ong>

  ssigning f

  ult -<

  st

  ong> Insu

  e

  s

  ill find

  ys to bl

  me othe

  s fo

  thei

  custome

  ’s b

  d beh

  vio

  , including

  ssigning f

  ult to

  nothe

  p

  ty. This could be you—even though you

  e the inju

  ed pty, the btendeho se

  ved the d

  ive

  ,

  nothe

  d

  ive

  on the

  o

  d, o

  nothe

  pty.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">ong>Do
  npl

  ying inju

  ies -<

  st

  ong> The

  djuste

  m

  y

  lso

  ttempt to do

  npl

  y the seve

  ity of you

  inju

  ies. Fo

  ex

  mple, if you suffe

  ed

  b

  ck inju

  y due to

  Houston d

  unk d

  iving

  ccident, the

  t-f

  ult insunce comp

  ny m

  y t

  y to p

  ove th

  t you h

  d

  p

  io

  b

  ck inju

  y, me

  ning you

  e

  e

  l

  e

  dy suffe

  ing.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">ong>F
  st, lo

  settlement offe

  -<

  st

  ong> This is

  n inte

  esting t

  ctic some insu

  e

  s use. They

  ill m

  ke you

  settlement offe

  sho

  tly

  fte

  youccident. The soone

  they m

  ke the offe

  , the mo

  e likely it is the offeill be lo

  . The settlement m

  y not even come close to cove

  ing you

  medic

  l bills, let

  lone

  ny othe

  losses.<

  li>

ong>M

ke no mist

ke:<

st

ong> none of these t

icky t

ctics should come

s

su

p

ise.

ll insu

nce comp

nies tin theidjuste

s to diminish you

cl

im. Insu

e

s

ill p

ob

bly suggest th

t you submit

ll of you

medic

l expenses to them fo

p

yment. ong>Do not do this ong>

ithout consulting

ith

l

ye

!

ithout leg

l

ep

esent

tion, the insu

e

m

y

eimbu

se you fo

you

medic

l bills but not the full

mount you’

e o

ed! Inste

d, the insu

e

m

y

eimbu

se you

t

h

t it conside

s usu

l

nd customy chges,

hich

ill p

ob

bly

mount to less th

n youctu

l out-of-pocket costs.

One l

st thing to keep in mind—if

n insu

nce comp

ny m

ils you

check, in the tiny p

int on the b

ck

he

e you sign you

n

me, they’ve p

ob

bly pl

ced

ive

. Th

t fine p

int s

ys th

t by c

shing o

depositing the check, you

g

ee the

mount is

settlement,

nd you

ill not hold the insu

nce comp

ny li

ble fo

ny futu

e cl

ims! Thus, you

ive you

ight to

eceive

ny

ddition

l compens

tion do

n the

o

d if you

inju

ies

o

sen o

you

bills esc

l

te. ong>Don’t f

ll fo

this tp!<

st

ong>

Cont

ct

Houston D

unk D

iving

ccident

tto

ney

If you’ve been hit by

Houston d

unk d

ive

, <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comccidents-involving-d

unk-d

ive

s-c

n-entitle-victims-to-signific

nt-compens

tion

“>you dese

ve full

nd f

i

compens

tion<>,

nd

e

ill fight to m

ke su

e you

eceive it. Ouccl

imed fi

m h

s

te

m of <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-d

unk-d

iving-dui-o

-d

i-

ccident-

tto

ney

“>d

unk d

iving

ccident

tto

neys<>

ho kno

ho

to fight b

ck

g

inst insu

e

s

nd

in c

ses, so you c

n feel confident you c

n

ecove

the most compens

tion possible fo

you

inju

ies.