A drunk driving accident is already a severe, terrible accident that can take away the lives of those who are involved. Even if the drunk driver is in a car, he or she can cause serious damage to those in the other vehicle, sending them to the hospital with temporary or permanent injuries. However, if you are in a drunk driving accident with a commercial truck driver, the injuries you sustain can be even more severe and more life-threatening. Many people would believe it is a miracle you even walked away at all. A good truck accident attorney realizes that while fortunate that you did leave the accident alive, this does not mean you won’t be seeking compensation for your injuries. A lawyer will try his or her best to help you get the compensation you deserve after a drunk driving trucking accident.
Standards for Truckers
While everyone on the road is expected to maintain the same duty of care (all vehicles and bicycles should take care to drive safely and maintain their vehicles in a way that is safe for other drivers and pedestrians on the road), commercial truck drivers are slightly different. Because the commercial trucks are regulated and the truck drivers do this for a living, there is a higher expectation that they will drive safely and drive in a way that does not bring harm to others. In fact, this is why commercial drivers have a special driver’s license (a commercial driver’s license, or CDL).
The BAC
In some instances, this means that even the amount of alcohol a truck driver can have in his or her system will be different than what another driver can have in their system before they are considered driving under the influence. If a truck driver has a BAC of 0.04, even though the state legal limit is 0.08, it is still possible for a police officer to charge them with a DUI.
Proving Liability
It is not typically hard to prove liability when it comes to truck drivers driving under the influence. That said, some of the tests that a lawyer will want to see results for that come from police officers would be any blood, breath, or urine test results that would indicate they had been drinking on the day in question. If the driver was suspected of drinking, the police officer likely would have conducted a breath test at the scene. Similarly, if drugs are suspected, a urine test can provide the evidence someone needs in a case.
Getting into an accident with a truck driver is terrible, but knowing that they were drunk or under the influence of drugs can make it worse. When you are seeking compensation under these circumstances, contact a truck accident lawyer, today.