Steps To Take if You’re in an Accident With a Drunk Driver
No matter how safely you drive or how attentive you are behind the wheel, when someone else decides to drink and drive, you could get into a serious accident. Their reckless decision to be intoxicated behind the wheel could greatly impact you if they crash into you and cause you injuries and other damages. They should be held responsible for their negligent actions.
A drunk driving accident lawyer from Bey & Associates could help you recover the compensation you deserve for what you’ve suffered at the hand of a drunk driver. They’ll fight to get you justice so that you can focus on your emotional, mental, and physical healing from the collision.
After a wreck with a drunk driver, you might not know what to do. Let’s take a look at the steps you should take if you’re in an accident with a drunk driver.
What to Do After a Drunk Driver Collides with You
It’s important to take certain actions right after any type of motor vehicle wreck. When it comes to a drunk driving accident, the actions are the same, but there are a few extra safety precautions to take to deal with the intoxicated driver. If the driver is confrontational, the situation can get even more dangerous.
Here is a list of the steps to take if you get into an accident with a drunk driver so that you can stay as safe as possible and build a strong case if you take legal action:
- Assess Yourself for Injuries. The first thing you should do after being involved in a collision is assess yourself for injuries to determine if you’re okay to move out of the way. If you think you’re okay to move, then you should get to the side of the road and out of the way of traffic. If you think you’re too injured to move, then stay where you are.
- Call Emergency Services. You should also call emergency services as quickly as possible after a crash with a drunk driver. Medical professionals and police need to get one the scene quickly so that everyone can be treated for injuries and a report can be made.
- Stay at the Scene. You should stay at the scene and wait for services to arrive so that you can get help and talk to the police to add to their report. You should also stay so that you can document the scene yourself by taking pictures of your injuries, your car, the other car, and any other objects or weather that could have contributed to the accident.
- Talk to Police. When the police arrive on the scene, you should talk to them to provide them with information about the accident. You won’t want to speculate about what you think happened—you should only report what definitely happened.
- Don’t Apologize. When speaking to the police or any other people at the scene, you should not apologize. Even though you know you’re not at fault for the accident, you might still feel the need to apologize, but you shouldn’t. If you apologize, it could be seen as an admission of guilt, regardless if you were guilty or not.
- Get Witness Information. If there were any witnesses, you’ll want to speak to them, exchange contact information with them, and make sure they speak to the police as well so that their statements can be in the report. Their contact information will help you later with your legal claim.
- Exchange Information with the Other Driver. In this step, you should use your own judgement on whether or not it is safe to talk to the other driver to get their information. If you think they’re confrontational and not in a logical headspace because they’re intoxicated, then you should avoid talking to them.
- Hire a Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer. Hiring legal representation can benefit you after a drunk driver caused a wreck with you because they will fight to ensure that the negligent driver is held responsible for their actions and that you get the justice you deserve. An experienced attorney from Bey & Associates in Atlanta is prepared to represent you in your claim.
After all of this, you’ll want to attend all legal hearings for the drunk driver. Even though this will probably be difficult for you, in order for them to get full punishment for what they’ve done, you’ll want to attend all of their hearings and court dates so that you are there to be a witness and provide evidence of how their actions harmed you.
Bey & Associates Is Ready to Fight for You
An accident caused by an intoxicated driver can be a traumatic experience for you. Not only can their negligent actions cause you serious injuries and property damage, but they can also leave you with emotional damages. That’s why it’s so important to have a drunk driving accident lawyer from Atlanta on your side so you can make sure the negligent driver is held responsible for their actions.
One of our experienced attorneys from Bey & Associates will investigate what happened, compile all of the necessary information, and calculate how much you’re owed in compensation. We can’t reverse what happened, but we can help you get the justice you deserve. Reach out to our office today so we can get started right away.