Approximately 500,000 truck accidents occur in the United States, every year. An estimated 10% of these, or 5,000 in number, result in a fatality. There are many reasons that can be the cause of a truck accident, such as truck driver fatigue, truck driver error, mechanical failures, other drivers’ negligence, surface conditions, and DUI.

What Is DUI?

DUI refers to Driving Under the Influence. If a higher blood-alcohol level is present, then one is said to be DWI, Driving While Intoxicated. Driving under the influence of any kind of alcohol, drugs, or other vapor releasing substances, or a combination of any of these substances, is against the law.

No person is legally allowed to drive a vehicle or be in control of a vehicle, while under the influence of intoxicating substances. These substances can seriously impair the physical and mental capabilities of the truck driver, and can cause him to lose control of his vehicle, thereby resulting in a DUI truck accident.

There are many causes of truck accidents that are unavoidable, but in the case of a DUI truck accident, it could have totally been avoided, had the driver not been drinking before driving. In these cases, the victims of the accident and their families are often eligible to receive some sort of monetary compensation due to their pain and suffering. The first step in this process if finding a truck accident lawyer to help you determine what it is you are entitled to.

DUI Limits

If any person has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, he is considered as legally drunk, and should not be anywhere close to a truck, let alone be driving it.

A blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more indicates a case of extreme DUI. If anyone with such a high concentration of blood alcohol gets behind the wheel of a commercial truck, the chances of a DUI truck accident are increased significantly.

DUI Truck Accident Litigation

In a truck accident lawsuit, it is necessary to prove the negligence of the responsible parties, in order to receive any kind of damages. If you can prove that the truck driver was legally drunk (either by the breathalizer test or by the field sobriety test results), then that is enough to prove negligence of the truck driver in the DUI truck accident.

But if a plaintiff was himself guilty of drinking and driving, the lawsuit may take an entire different course altogether. The law regards what is known as ‘comparable negligence’ and uses this to determine the amount of damages awarded. For instance, if a truck driver was drinking and driving above the legal speed limits, and crashes into you, you can prove full negligence of the truck driver and will receive compensation with that in mind. But if the truck driver was speeding, and you were the one who was drinking, then the entire negligence is not on the part of the truck driver alone.