Securing Evidence Can Help Secure Your Future Following a DWI Injury
Driving is a two-way street. Your responsibility while driving is only part of the responsibility that will get you home safely to your family. Every time you get behind the wheel you can be the role model for safe driving by controlling yourself and avoiding the pressure to:
- Talk or text on the phone
- Become distracted
- Speed
- Get angry
- Drink and drive
Unfortunately, no matter how focused you are, you can’t control the actions of the thousands of other people that you’re sharing the road with at any given moment. In other words, even if you do everything right, you can’t count on other drivers to do the same.
Although you may not be able to control another driver’s safety decisions, you can control the situation after his mistake causes harm to you or your family—especially when that mistake was getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.
Controlling the Aftermath
Drunk driving has become an epidemic throughout the country and has affected Texas pretty hard. In fact, the latest study of 2014 data (conducted in May 2015) found nearly 38,000 DWI accidents in rural areas of Texas and over 125,000 DWI collisions in urban areas.
What does this mean? It means that you need to be prepared to take control of the situation if and when you wind up suffering a collision.
If you’re the victim of a DWI accident caused by another driver, you won’t be legally involved in a criminal case. The involved drunk driver, however, will most likely undergo a criminal trial and could face jail time and fines. What you need to worry about and take steps to control is a civil case. If you suffered damages from the driver’s negligence you have the right to file a civil lawsuit for damages, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
In order to successfully pursue a DWI injury case, you’ll need the foresight to gather certain information immediately after the accident. This can be overwhelming if you have been seriously injured in the event, so you may have to request that someone else will collect the information on your behalf. This information will be essential to building a strong case.
Information your case will depend on includes:
- Testimonies. Written or oral accounts of the accident from witnesses and the arresting officer.
- Police reports. Officer reports can be secured through the police department.
- BAC results. Result of the driver’s blood alcohol and sobriety tests, as well as your own (if taken).
- Physical evidence. Photos of accident scene, including damage and any open alcohol containers.
- Medical reports. Reports showing the extent of your injuries including copies of doctor, hospital, and rehab bills and photographs of your injuries.
Although you may not be physically able to collect all of this information, you do have the ability to secure someone who can.
The Help You Need to Take Control
Building a solid case is important to ensure that the other driver takes responsibility for his actions. In addition to the above information, for a drunk driving case to be successful, it has to be established that the driver knowingly drank to the point of intoxication and then voluntarily got behind the wheel. This can be difficult to prove.
All of this potential proof can have a resounding effect on your claim’s outcome—that is, if you can secure it. Unfortunately, as stated above, some of this evidence won’t be easy to obtain. This is where Steve Lee comes in. As a renowned injury lawyer, Steve and his firm have access to documentation that you can’t get and the ability to develop legal approaches that may be helpful in proving your case. Take control today by allowing Steve Lee to secure your claim’s reigns.
Contact us today at 713-921-4171 to schedule your free consultation.