What Happens When You Didn’t Know The Driver Was Intoxicated?

June 24, 2020

It’s pretty surprising to find out that most victims of drunk drivers didn’t know that the other driver was intoxicated right away. They may have thought the other driver was speeding or even street racing. The victims of drunk drivers may have even suspected that the driver was under the influence but received no confirmation until days or weeks later. It’s very frustrating for victims because they already feel so out of the loop.

What happens when you didn’t know that the other driver was intoxicated? If you start your car insurance claim and don’t acknowledge that the driver was intoxicated, it may compromise the integrity of your statement. Conference companies will look for any way to avoid payouts, even if it means further victimizing a victim. You need to contact our experienced drunk driving accident lawyers today.

Chaos at the Crash Scene

Even if you were physically awake and present at the crash scene, it was probably absolute chaos. You probably spent more time confused, then whether you should ask anything at all about the other driver. Most people start by worrying about themselves and their passengers, and that’s fine.

At the crash scene, you probably won’t learn anything at all about the other driver. You may not learn very much about the crash at all.

Police Report and Local News

The police report should indicate whether or not the other driver was intoxicated. Although collision reports and police reports commute really difficult to understand from the civilians because they use a combination of codes and shorthand. Many people find out that the other driver was intoxicated through their police report or through local news outlets.

Local news sources and even police departments are often the first to report the suspicion of alcohol or substance use in a crash. They’ll often reveal this insight through their news reports and social media posts. However, that doesn’t mean that these suspicions are fact.

Will Police Tell You?

Columbia police officers often do their best to identify drunk drivers before there’s a crash. However, they can’t be everywhere all the time. When police officers are out, they aren’t explicitly looking for drunk drivers. Instead, they’ll notice traffic violations such as speeding, swerving, or improper lane change. As they identified these violations, they may suspect drunk driving and then pull over the vehicle.

But the question for most people is, will the police officer tell you that the other driver is intoxicated at the scene? Surprisingly, the answer is usually no. Largely it is to protect the integrity of the investigation and any action taken against the driver later.

What happens at the scene is the police officer may conduct a breathalyzer or field sobriety test. However, that isn’t a hard-set determination on BAC. Typically what police officers want to accomplish is to get that driver either to the hospital or the police department to conduct a blood test. That BAC will become a hard fact in your case.

Moving Forward for Damage Recovery

Finding out much later into your recovery that the other driver was drunk is challenging. One way to avoid this is to involve an attorney who can begin looking at the evidence and police information right away. That may change the course of your insurance claim as they move forward with a more aggressive nature, given the extent of damages and negligence.

A victim with a Voice – Drunk Driving Victim Attorney

Being a victim of a drunk driver does it mean that you’re explicitly a victim. Over the decades, many groups have formed to support the victims of drunk driving and to give them a unique voice. You have groups such as MADD, and DADD, which are respectively mothers and dad’s against drunk driving. Of course, you’re not limited to these groups, and there are many others available. But the very first place that she can start to use your voice is with your drunk driving victim attorney.

Our accident law firm in South Carolina is no stranger to drivers under the influence. Working with the right car accident attorney, one that specializes in the victims of drunk drivers, can help you manage your case and your recovery. A drunk driving crash is nothing like your ordinary crash. You may experience extensive emotional trauma and psychological trauma as a result of these types of wrecks. That means that you need a skilled attorney on your side that can present all of your trauma to the insurance companies or to the court. Call Connell Law to get support and start your case.