Drunk driving remains a serious problem in Mississippi, with numerous deaths and injuries occurring each year in accidents caused by drivers under the influence. Not only does drunk driving too often result in deaths or traumatic injuries, but the aftereffects of these accidents have the potential to devastate multiple lives beyond the immediate victims. From family members of the deceased or injured driver to families of victims killed or injured by the impaired driver, lives can be permanently altered in profound and tragic ways. A Jackson personal injury lawyer can help you and your family deal with the aftermath of a serious collision.
How a Drunk Driving Accident Can Result in Death
Despite laws prohibiting driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Mississippi, many drivers choose to take this risk, sometimes with fatal consequences. A recent study found that Mississippi is the worst state for drunk driving with 543 deaths in a three-year period. When alcohol or drugs impair critical driving functions like vision, coordination, and reaction time, car accidents become much more likely.
At the higher speeds typical on highways and rural roads in Mississippi, collisions caused by even momentary driver errors can result in catastrophic injuries or death. Head-on crashes, run-off-road crashes, and rollovers frequently occur with drunk drivers, all of which can easily result in severe trauma or wrongful death.
Even relatively slow-speed collisions involving impaired drivers in town can also prove fatal, as reaction times are slowed, and drunk drivers are less likely to brake prior to impact. Whether it’s a highway head-on crash or a local intersection collision, driving impaired greatly escalates the chances of causing a fatal accident.
The Far-Reaching Emotional and Financial Impact
When a drunk driving accident causes a death in Mississippi, the emotional pain extends to many beyond that immediate loss of life. Grieving family members and friends can experience traumatic grief and post-traumatic stress responses, which may require extensive counseling and recovery support. Losing a child, parent, spouse or loved one suddenly due to the criminal negligence involved in drunk driving often sparks unthinkable emotional turmoil and disruption for survivors.
In addition to grieving the loss of life, family members also frequently experience major financial struggles in the aftermath of a drunk driving fatality. Funeral and burial costs add unexpected expenses. Loss of income from the deceased can jeopardize survivors’ ability to afford housing costs, medical bills, education expenses and other essential needs. The financial pressures compound the grief, making the healing process much more arduous.
Those injured by drunk drivers also typically incur substantial medical costs in addition to the physical and emotional trauma suffered. Even when the injured victim had car insurance coverage, copays and lost wages from missing work still quickly add up. For victims with inadequate insurance coverage, the costs of surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation can be financially devastating on top of the cost to emotional well-being.
Impact on the Drunk Drivers and Their Loved Ones Too
While clearly drunk drivers are responsible for the injuries caused, it is important to recognize these accidents also essentially ruin the lives of the impaired drivers involved along with hurting their families and friends. Drunk driving arrests, criminal charges, prison sentences, license revocations, and civil lawsuits typically ensue after fatal drunk driving crashes in Mississippi.
The drunk driver must cope with the emotional trauma and guilt over causing deaths and injuries, which can be unbearable without extensive counseling and support. Their family members and friends also suffer emotionally seeing their loved one held legally and financially responsible for the crash and deaths/injuries caused. Parents, spouses and children of the drunk driver all become victims as well when they lose financial and emotional support from that driver in their life. The financial costs alone from legal fees, lawsuit damages, and lost income can effectively bankrupt families linked to the drunk driver.
No Drunk Driving Accident Impact Is Isolated
As this discussion reflects, even a single drunk driving accident causing an injury or death potentially sets off a spiral of trauma, grief and financial devastation for multiple interconnected lives and families. The ripple effect spreads, often in ways that cannot be adequately foreseen or accounted for initially. What may seem to be an isolated accident or loss from the outside perspective in reality sparks a complicated cascade of suffering and struggles for many left in its wake.
Drunk driving wrecks lives across Mississippi every year through this cycle of destructive impacts. Yet it continues happening despite all we know of the potential consequences. For those left to pick up the pieces after losing a loved one or suffering trauma at the hands of a drunk driver, the long process of coping and rebuilding lives seems intolerably arduous and unfair. All stemming from one preventable criminal decision to drive while impaired.
Seeking Experienced Legal Help
Those suffering losses and injuries due to drunk driving accidents in Mississippi do not have to face the legal and financial aftermath alone. Connecting with an experienced car accident injury attorney can provide invaluable support and counsel during this traumatic time. Lawyers well-versed in DUI accident cases can guide clients through pressing steps like preserving evidence from the crash, communicating with police and insurance companies, coordinating medical documentation of injuries sustained, and pursuing fair legal damages through a civil court claim or settlement negotiations.
Having a knowledgeable attorney as your advocate helps ensure you understand your legal rights and best options during each phase of response following the drunk driving accident. Navigating complex legal processes, health systems and insurance policies alone while also grieving and working to emotionally heal often proves overwhelming without caring legal guidance at your side. Partnering with a lawyer allows focusing on personal healing knowing your legal interests are responsibly accounted for.
If you or a loved one suffered harm due to an impaired driver in Mississippi, contact our firm to see how we can help. We have offices in 32 locations across 19 states including Mississippi, Kansas and Georgia. You can also call us for a free consultation on (888) 477-0597.