West Virginia law makes it a crime to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. One of the reasons is that impaired drivers generally have a harder time processing information. Therefore, they may be driving at higher rates of speed when a crash happens, which has the potential to increase the severity of accident injuries.
Types of accident injuries
There are several drunk driving accident injuries a person may incur such as a concussion, broken bones or internal bleeding. It’s not uncommon for impaired individuals to experience minor injuries in a crash while sober victims may incur life-threatening injuries. Even if a drunk motorist or passenger is seriously hurt, the victim may not feel much pain because alcohol can dull their senses.
Determining liability
If you were hurt in a crash, you may be entitled to compensation for damages, and this may be true whether you were a driver or a passenger. However, this assumes that another person was responsible for your broken bones or concussion. Although driving while impaired is a negligent act, you could still be liable for damages if you took actions that may have caused the wreck to happen. For example, if you ran a stop sign prior to the collision, you could be deemed partially responsible for what happened to you or your passengers.
Drunk driving may result in both criminal and civil penalties. If you were involved in an accident, you may receive a citation or be charged with a crime if it was caused by your own impairment. However, if you were injured by a drunk driver, the fact that the defendant was impaired can be used as evidence of negligence during settlement talks or at trial.
