If you’ve been injured in a car accident involving drunk driving in Boston, it’s essential to seek the expertise of a seasoned Boston car accident lawyer who can navigate the complexities of your case and pursue maximum compensation on your behalf.
When facing the aftermath of a personal injury in Boston, entrust your case to a dedicated Boston personal injury lawyer who will tirelessly advocate for your rights and work to secure the compensation you need to recover and move forward with your life.
Roadway fatalities in Massachusetts increased in 2021 by 19% over 2020, totaling 408 deaths. That figure includes 80 motorcyclists, which rose by 38% over 2020. Speeding and drunk driving, and not wearing seat belts contributed heavily to the death count. Many Massachusetts residents sustain injuries in car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents involving drunk driving every year, often resulting in personal injury claims. Jason Stone Injury Lawyers handle several kinds of personal injury cases, including those that involve injuries from motor vehicle accidents. We are conveniently located with offices in Boston, Natick, Peabody, and Westwood.
What is the Massachusetts Drunk Driving Blood Alcohol Limit?
It may surprise you that Massachusetts legally drunk thresholds differ:
- Under 21 – blood alcohol level of .02 or more
- 21 and over, non-commercial drivers – blood alcohol level of .08 or more
- Commercial drivers (including school bus drivers) – blood alcohol level of .04 or more
Drivers found guilty of driving while under the influence face possible fines and penalties, jail time, and the responsibility to compensate those they injure for their losses.
How Does Alcohol Consumption Affect Driving?
Laws prohibit drinking and driving because of the adverse effects it can have on your body and your ability to drive safely. The more you drink, the more pronounced these effects become:
- Reduced visual functions – ability to track vehicles or other moving objects and impaired perception
- Performance of more than one task at a time – divided attention
- Decreased coordination
- Delayed response times
- Impairment in controlling the vehicle – steering, maintaining position in traffic lane, speed, and braking
- Difficulty concentrating
- Reduced ability to process information
- Short-term memory impairment
All of these factors can cause accidents, injuring or killing innocent people. Those people deserve compensation, and many of them hire Jason Stone Injury Lawyers to help them get maximum amounts.
What Causes Accidents?
Drunk driving can make common causes of accidents more likely to occur. Driving under the influence is the second leading reason for motor vehicle crashes. Twenty-nine people die in accidents involving an inebriated driver every day in the U.S. Many of these collisions wouldn’t happen if the driver were sober.
Car Accidents
Many factors cause car accidents, and some of the most common are:
- Distracted driving – anything that takes a driver’s attention and focus away from the road, such as hands-on phone usage, grooming, eating, interacting with passengers, and daydreaming.
- Failure to follow traffic laws – drivers who don’t yield the right of way, make improper turns or lane changes, or stop at traffic signs or lights, cause many avoidable accidents.
- Fatigued driving – drivers who are too tired aren’t as alert as they should be to operate a vehicle safely.
- Inclement weather – several weather factors can cause slick roads and limited vision, such as snow, ice, hail, heavy rains, high winds, and fog.
- Reckless driving – includes tailgating, excessive speeding, erratic driving patterns, and aggressive driving.
- Speeding – drivers who speed are more likely to lose control of their vehicles and have delayed reaction times.
Truck Accidents
Truck accidents typically cause severe injuries and fatalities because of the truck’s size and weight, making them difficult to maneuver. In addition to the reasons for car accidents, some causes of truck accidents are common only to these commercial vehicles:
- Cargo issues – cargo must be balanced and secured correctly; if not, it can shift and cause the truck to roll over or even fall from the truck.
- Driver inexperience – commercial drivers must undergo specialized training to qualify for a commercial driving license, and newly licensed truckers don’t have much experience handling and maneuvering trucks.
- Equipment failure – large trucks have several systems that, if they fail, can cause collisions.
- Improper maintenance – laws require that commercial trucks meet maintenance requirements and standards; failure to adhere to needed and scheduled maintenance can lead to issues that contribute to crashes.
- Jackknife – a fully loaded trailer can sometimes take longer to stop than the cab, causing the trailer to hit the cab at a 90-degree angle.
- Rollovers – slick roads, high winds, shifting cargo, or other circumstances can cause semi-trucks to roll onto their sides; a truck’s massive size and weight can crush or slide into other vehicles.
Motorcycle Accidents
Common causes of motorcycle accidents include:
- Defective parts – substandard or damaged parts on a motorcycle can make operators lose control.
- Distracted drivers – it is sometimes more difficult to see motorcycles, especially if distractions take a driver’s attention away from the road.
- Dooring – drivers can open vehicle doors in a motorcycle’s path, causing the cyclist to run into the door.
- Lane changes – drivers may not notice motorcycles easily because they don’t have a large profile.
- Lane splitting – motorcycles can fit between cars traveling in adjacent lanes, increasing the risk of accidents because drivers don’t expect any traffic between lanes.
- Left turns – motorcycle turn signals are often difficult to see, and vehicle drivers also begin left turns into a motorcycle’s path when making left-hand turns.
- Road conditions – bikers can lose control quickly if they hit potholes, roadway obstacles, or slick pavement because motorcycles are small and unstable.
- Speeding – vehicles or bikes traveling over posted speed limits are less likely to react quickly enough to avoid collisions.
Why Should You Consult an Attorney?
Car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents have one thing in common: the insurance companies of those responsible for causing the accident are liable to pay damages to others involved in the wreck. Unfortunately, no insurance company actually wants to pay more than a minimum amount of compensation.
Without competent legal representation, you may not receive enough compensation for the damages your drunk driving accident caused. When you hire Jason Stone Injury Lawyers, we will fight stingy insurance carriers, forcing them to make reasonable settlement offers. If they refuse, we will take them to court on your behalf. For every client injured in a drunk driving accident, we:
- Investigate the accident scene, paying particular attention to skid marks, vehicle placements, road conditions, debris, and weather conditions
- Pore over police reports, photos, videos, and witness statements to gather evidence
- Obtain the toxicology report of the guilty driver
- Examine your medical records
- Assist in filing the necessary paperwork
- Serve as your spokesperson with all insurance company representatives
- Aggressively pursue maximum compensation for you
Although you have three years to file a personal injury claim after an auto accident, consulting an attorney immediately lets us get to work on your case from day one. The sooner you speak with Jason Stone Injury Lawyers, the faster you know if you have a valid claim.
What Kinds of Damages Might You Receive?
Massachusetts follows no-fault rules for car accidents, meaning that your personal injury protection insurance policy is first to pay damages. Your insurance carrier can seek reimbursement from the guilty driver’s insurance company.
You may qualify to receive compensation for damages in three categories.
Economic damages:
- Medical treatments and related expenses such as prescriptions, therapy, necessary medical equipment, and transportation costs to and from appointments
- Lost wages due to time missed from work because of the accident
- Costs of hiring caregivers
- Vehicle repairs or replacement
Non-Economic Damages
Injuries sustained in vehicle accidents aren’t always physical, but they can still have an enormous impact on your life. Non-economic damages compensate you for things like:
- Inconvenience
- Diminished earning capacity
- The negative effects of permanent disfigurement
- Physical, emotional, or mental pain and suffering
- Lesser enjoyment of life
- Damage to personal relationships
Punitive damages are only available in very specific circumstances. Ask your attorney from Jason Stone Injury Lawyers if your case is eligible.
Why Choose Jason Stone Injury Lawyers?
Attorneys from Jason Stone Injury Lawyers have represented Massachusetts personal injury victims since 2004. Our team utilizes the knowledge and experience we gained through the years to represent every client to the best of our abilities, and we’d like the opportunity to assist you also. If you sustained injuries in a drunk driving accident, You Better Phone Stone ®.We understand that you have a choice when selecting a drunk driving accident lawyer to represent you. We can’t speak to what other attorneys might do, but we offer every client our Stone Cold Guarantee ®:
- You don’t pay us until you get paid.
- You’ll get a free consultation – There’s No Obligation, Just Information ®.
- Lunch is on us if we don’t respond to your phone call within 24 hours.
- We will guide you throughout your claim.
- We will represent you whenever possible rather than refer you to other attorneys.
- We will update you about your case every two weeks.
- You’ll get a face-to-face meeting within 24 hours
- Someone is available to speak to you 24/7.
- We will begin litigation six months after the first settlement offer we receive if you don’t accept the settlement.
- We will not let insurance companies take advantage of you.
Jason Stone and his team know that you have more important things to worry about after car accidents, so let us handle your legal issues. Call us at (800) 577-5188, request a free case evaluation online, or reach out with live chat. We’ll make a video-conferencing, in-person, or phone appointment so we can get started working on your case.
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