Young mother severely injured by alleged drunk driver

On Behalf of | Nov 3, 2017 | Drunk Driving Accidents

A woman, who was riding as a passenger in a vehicle traveling on Interstate 275 in the Tampa area, was severely injured when another vehicle struck the car she was riding in hard in the back. Both the driver who rear-ended the vehicle and the other driver suffered what police called “minor” injuries. Unfortunately, the young woman later died from her injuries, even though she was properly restrained in the vehicle.

According to police, alcohol was involved in this accident, and police have charged the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident with alcohol-related criminal offenses, including manslaughter. Police are continuing their investigation and have indicated that additional charges might be forthcoming. The victim, who was only 27, had two young children as well as other relatives.

Although the criminal justice system can help victims somewhat, it is generally speaking more designed to punish a drunk driver with jail time and other penalties than it is to make sure that a victim of a drunk driving accident, or the victim’s family, gets full compensation for their loss. By way of example, pain and suffering and other losses without a clear dollar value generally cannot be recovered in a criminal case.

Fortunately, even while the criminal case is pending, victims of drunk driving accidents or their families have the option of filing a civil lawsuit against the drunk driver, assuming of course that the drunk driver actually caused the accident, which appears to be the case here. Because these lawsuits are sometimes complicated matters and because police and prosecutors generally cannot help victims in their civil cases, they may want to consider hiring an experienced personal injury attorney in the area.

Source: Fox 13, “FHP: Drunk driver caused crash that killed mother of two,” Aaron Mesmer, Oct. 31, 2017.

Archives

FindLaw Network

Client Stories

 
Imagine you are driving along minding your own business when a semi hits a median after crossing three lanes of traffic, blocking your lane. Unable to stop in time, you strike the truck’s cab with your much smaller vehicle. We don’t have to imagine that scenario because one of our clients lived it. Though he was unable to walk away from the crash without injury, we were able to help him walk away from the incident with a settlement that will make things easier for him and his family.