Buffalo Personal Injury Lawyer News
What To Do If A Drunk Driver Has Injured You
There is no denying that getting behind the wheel after even a few drinks can be fatal. However, accidents caused by drunk drivers continue to happen at an alarming rate all across the United States. Over 30 percent of all crash-related deaths throughout the country involve drunk drivers. In a recent year alone, 13,384 victims tragically lost their lives in these preventable collisions. That’s approximately one victim killed in a drunk-driving accident every 39 minutes. Fortunately, not every crash caused by a drunk driver results in death. Still, the injuries you sustain may be devastating and life-altering.
Critical Steps To Take After The Accident
Getting hit by a drunk driver can dramatically alter your life in an instant. One minute, you are driving down the street. Then, suddenly, you are injured and forced to deal with the consequences of another’s recklessness. Immediately following a drunk driving collision, you will likely feel shocked, angry, and confused. However, it is essential to remain as calm as possible and complete the following steps to protect yourself and your family:
Car accidents can result in devastating injuries, demolished vehicles, costlier car insurance premiums, intense emotional pain, and even wrongful death. The trauma of collisions often extends far beyond the incident itself. The financial consequences resulting from severe injuries and the accompanying medical bills, lost income, and damage to your car can create excessive hardship for you and your family. 
In New York State, driving while intoxicated is a serious crime, and DWI laws are strictly enforced. Alcohol can start impacting your motor skills and impair driving skills with a blood alcohol content as low as 0.01. Consequently, even if your BAC is below the legal limit, driving with even a small amount of alcohol in your system can still be extremely dangerous.
If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident, there is a one-in-three chance it was a rear-end collision. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), rear-enders account for over 32 percent of all car accidents. While many of these accidents occur at low speeds, rear-end collisions still cause severe injuries and deaths.
Driving is one of the riskiest things you do every day. Many careless actions, such as speeding, giving in to distractions, and fatigued driving, can all significantly increase your risk of crashing. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is especially dangerous. Fortunately, there are simple steps that you can take to keep yourself and others safe. 
Road rage refers to a driver’s intense anger, typically sparked by another’s provoking behavior and manifested through aggressive or violent actions. In recent years, road rage incidents have hit record highs throughout the United States. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), experiencing aggressive driving has become all too common, with approximately 80 percent of motorists reporting at least one incident within the past month.
Victims of car accidents may be forced to deal with painful lacerations and bruises or even more severe injuries, like broken bones and traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, it is essential to remember that collision-related injuries are not always physical. It is common to experience various emotions, such as anxiety, anger, fear, and depression. For some victims, these feelings can persist long after their bodily injuries have healed. 
While car crashes can happen just about any time, the risk of being involved in a collision significantly increases in bad weather. In fact, bad weather conditions are notorious for causing devastating car accidents throughout Western New York. Heavy rain, intense snowfall, poor visibility, and slick roads can all easily cause you to lose control of your vehicle. Driving in poor weather conditions is even more dangerous when drivers fail to take proper safety precautions to prevent unnecessary accidents. 
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 4.7 million victims are bitten by dogs throughout the United States annually. Most people do not realize how dangerous and even fatal being bitten by a stray dog can be. The CDC reported that there were over 60 reported cases of rabies amongst dogs in a recent year alone. If the laceration gets infected or the dog has rabies, it could give rise to severe health complications. 
Each year, more than 8 million visits to emergency departments throughout the United States are caused by trips, slips, and falls. Accounting for 15 percent of all unintentional deaths, trips, slips, and falls are second only to car crashes. Additionally, falls are the primary cause of injury-related deaths for senior citizens. While a sudden fall may take you by surprise, the steps you take after your fall can significantly impact your ability to obtain reasonable compensation. Like most slip and fall victims, you might not know where to begin. In this blog, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s battle-tested attorneys will discuss 6 crucial tips to protect you after a slip and fall.