Driving under the influence is never a good idea. Drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs are unable to make sound decisions, placing innocent people at risk of injury. Accidents caused by an inebriated truck driver tend to involve high amounts of property damage and physical injury, making it vital that victims take every measure possible for recouping money lost as a result of having to deal with the consequences of this type of accident.
To learn more about what a Sandy Springs truck driver intoxication lawyer could do for you, be sure to schedule a consultation today. A skilled attorney could review the circumstances of your case and help you prove negligence against the at-fault driver. Call today to get started on your case.
The law defines an intoxicated driver as having alcohol in their system above the threshold BAC. Georgia also has a zero-tolerance marijuana intoxication law, which means that if a driver has metabolized or any bi-products of marijuana use are their blood at the time of the accident, they are considered to be impaired and intoxicated by that drug. These accidents are an unfortunate common occurrence.
The most common substances seen in intoxicated truck driver cases are alcohol and marijuana. The type of substance will also direct what kind of experts would be needed for a case. There are special experts called toxicologists and pharmacologists who have specific training on alcohol and how it affects the body. Those experts may or may not be a good fit involving cases with other substances.
Trucking companies are required to have a drug and alcohol program. This can be as simple as when a driver is hired they give them written materials about the harmful effects of using drugs and alcohol in driving. Trucking companies are also required to do drug and alcohol testing. When a new driver is hired, trucking companies would test them according to their own policies or the size of the company. They are also required to do some sort of random drug and alcohol testing throughout the driver’s employment.
If a driver has been assigned a vehicle from their employer but they are not using it on the company’s business at the time that the accident happened, they can still bring a claim against the company. It is called a negligent entrustment claim. This means that even if a person was not doing something for the company, the company lent that vehicle to the driver for his or her use and they should have known that the driver was reckless or had a bad driving history.
Though an accident occurred outside of work hours, victim can still involve the company under certain situations even if the driver was doing something on his personal time.
Truck drivers owe a responsibility to everyone on the road. Part of this responsibility is making sure that they are in a good enough condition to operate their vehicle in a safe manner. However, some drivers may use substances that would impair their ability to drive, placing both drivers and truck drivers at risk for injury.
Consult a Sandy Springs intoxicated truck driver accident lawyer if you or a loved one suffered injury through this type of accident. An attorney with experience dealing with these types of cases could prove to be a vital resource of knowledge when determining which strategies they could implement in their case.
