Florida Drunk Driving Laws
In Florida, like many states, it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. If you’re under 21 years of age, the legal limit is 0.2%. Those who are arrested for drunk driving may receive the following punishments:
On their first offense:
- Their license may be suspended for 180 days to one year. If they injured someone in the accident, it may be suspended for up to three years.
- A fine of $500 to $1000
- Imprisonment for less than six months
On their second offense:
- A fine of $1,000 to $2,000
- A license suspension of at least five years for those who commit a second offense within five years of the first.
- Imprisonment for less than nine months
- If the first offense was within five years of the second, there’s a mandatory imprisonment of at least ten days.
If your loved one passed away due to fatal injuries in a fatal drunk driving accident, the laws are even harsher. In many cases, the at-fault party will be charged with manslaughter. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony that results in a fine of $10,000 or less and/or 15 years of imprisonment.
Knowing that the person who hurt you or a loved one will be charged for their offenses in some way can offer at least a little piece of mind.
Types of Car Accidents Drunk Driving Causes
Drunk drivers have blurred vision, trouble following the rules of the road, and a decreased ability to react to changes in traffic. Because intoxication can greatly affect one’s ability to drive, the types of accidents it can cause are endless. However, here are some of the more common accident types drunk drivers may cause.
- Read-end accidents: Drunk drivers may have a hard time following the lights in front of their vehicles. They may follow too close, causing a rear-end accident if the vehicle in front of them stops at a light or stop sign.
- T-bone accidents: Drunk drivers may have a hard time paying attention to stop signs and traffic lights. They may blow through one entirely, causing a t-bone accident. These types of accidents can have life-threatening results in both cases.
- Sideswipe accidents: On roads with more than one lane or highways, drunk drivers may strike another vehicle with the side of their own.
- Head-on collisions: If a drunk driver is driving the wrong way down a road or crosses over the median, they could cause a head-on collision. These are particularly dangerous and often fatal.
How Does the A Driver’s DUI Affect Your Personal Injury Case?
Because the driver who hit you broke the law by driving while intoxicated, there will be two cases going on simultaneously. One is criminal to determine their penalty, and the other is civil to determine how you’ll be compensated for their wrongdoings.
Determining Liability
Because they committed an act of gross negligence, determining liability is much more straightforward. If they were arrested for driving while intoxicated, we can use that documentation to build your case. We’ll be able to show that they were intoxicated when they hit you, making liability pretty cut and dry. We can also cite the breathalyzer and field sobriety tests if they were used.
Recovering Damages
You can recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include things like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages are more abstract, meaning pain and suffering, emotional distress, or lost earning capacity.
However, you may also be awarded compensation for punitive damages. Punitive damages are given out as a way to punish the at-fault party further. They’re used when the at-fault party acts with gross negligence. For example, they’d be used in this case to try and prevent the at-fault party from committing the same crime again in the future.
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