Knoxville Drunk Driving Accident Attorney

The roads in and around Knoxville can be busy at any hour. Commuters travel on Interstate 40, Interstate 75, and numerous other highways and local roads. Students travel to and from campus, and visitors go to restaurants and bars downtown or in other areas around the city. On game days and weekend nights, some people make the reckless choice to get behind the wheel after drinking or using drugs. When they do, innocent drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians can suffer serious harm in motor vehicle accidents.

Recovering from a crash caused by an impaired driver will often involve more than physical healing. Medical bills can pile up quickly, and paying these and other expenses can be difficult when paychecks stop while a person is recovering. The personal impact of a drunk driving accident can also be difficult, and a victim may struggle to deal with pain and emotional trauma while looking for answers about what happened.

At The Baker Law Firm, our lawyer helps injured people hold drunk and drugged drivers responsible for causing accidents that have led to serious injuries. Our team can gather evidence of intoxication and other forms of negligence that led to an accident. We will calculate the full value of a person's losses and fight for compensation that will help a person deal with what happened and make a full recovery.

Substances That Can Lead to Impairments for Drivers

Alcohol is the most common cause of impaired driving crashes, but it is far from the only reason why drivers may become intoxicated. Tennessee law prohibits people from driving while under the influence of any intoxicant or drug that impairs their ability to operate a vehicle safely. Substances that may play a role in a crash include:

• Alcohol: Beer, wine, and liquor can all slow the brain's processing speed. A driver can be impaired well before reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%.
• Marijuana: THC from smoking cannabis or using vapes or edibles can affect a person's judgment and coordination. Edibles can take hours to take effect, leading some people to drive before they realize the full impact of a drug.
• Opioids: Fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone, and similar drugs can cause drowsiness and have other effects that may prevent a person from being able to drive safely.
• Stimulants: Methamphetamine and cocaine can make drivers aggressive and overconfident. They may be more likely to make risky maneuvers or behave in ways that could lead to accidents.
• Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications: Sleep aids, muscle relaxers, antihistamines, and anti-anxiety medications can cause dizziness and drowsiness. These effects can be more severe when medications are combined with alcohol or controlled substances.

How Impairment Can Lead to Dangerous Driving Mistakes

Safe driving requires a driver to see hazards, make quick decisions, and react with precise movements. Alcohol and drugs can interfere with each of these abilities. Their effects may include:

Slower Reactions

An impaired driver will need more time to notice brake lights, a car pulling out of a parking lot, or a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Even a delay of one second or less can prevent a driver from braking or swerving to avoid an accident.

Poor Judgment

Intoxication can lower a person's inhibitions, making risky choices feel reasonable. Impaired drivers may take dangerous actions such as speeding, tailgating, running red lights, or trying to pass other vehicles in unsafe places. Some drivers refuse to stop driving even when they know they are struggling to stay alert.

Vision and Coordination Problems

Alcohol and many drugs can cause blurred vision or other visual impairments. They can reduce a person's peripheral vision while making it harder to judge distances. Drivers may fail to see important details like lane markings, or they may not realize that pedestrians are crossing the street in time to slow down.

Types of Car Accidents Caused by Drunk Driving

The impairments that people may experience because of alcohol or drug use can lead to multiple types of serious collisions. Head-on collisions may take place when drunk drivers enter highway ramps in the wrong direction, drive the wrong way on a street, or lose control and cross into oncoming lanes. Rear-end accidents can occur when drunk drivers do not react in time to other vehicles and fail to slow down when necessary. T-bone crashes can take place at intersections when drivers fail to notice that lights have changed. Pedestrian accidents may take place when drivers do not notice people crossing the street, or they may strike people on sidewalks after losing control.

Compensation for Drunk Driving Accident Victims

People who have been injured by drunk drivers may recover compensation for both financial and personal losses. In a claim against an impaired driver, compensation may cover medical treatment, including emergency care, surgery, hospital stays, and physical therapy. It can also include the costs of future care, such as ongoing rehabilitation or home modifications that are needed due to a permanent disability.

Lost income can be another important part of a claim. Victims may recover wages that they were unable to earn during their recovery, along with compensation for reduction to their earning capacity because of injuries that will prevent them from returning to the same type of work.

Noneconomic damages can address the human toll of an injury, such as physical pain, emotional distress, scarring from serious injuries, and loss of enjoyment of life. Our lawyer can calculate the full value of the pain and suffering that a person has experienced and fight for compensation that will address these issues.

Frequently Asked Questions About Drunk Driving Accident Claims