A drowsy driving accident can happen at any time of day, and while late-night accidents are a top contributor to drowsy driving crash statistics, a motorist can encounter a fatigued driver in the morning, too. It may be more difficult to pinpoint a drowsy driving accident that happened in the daytime, but a Bridgeport car accident attorney can help you review the evidence from your crash and determine if you have been affected by a drowsy driver.
At Bert McDowell Injury Law, we have been working diligently to serve the Bridgeport community for years, and we have associates standing by to help you. An initial consultation with a lawyer from Bert McDowell Injury Law is completely free, and we promise never to charge any upfront fees for fatigued driver accident claim management.
Your first consultation with an auto accident attorney is where you will gain a better understanding of the upcoming legal process. This meeting also gives your Bridgeport personal injury lawyer a chance to map out the strategies you may use to raise your chances of a successful claim.
To schedule your free, no-obligation consultation with a Bridgeport fatigued driving accident lawyer, call (203) 590-9169 or contact us online today.
What Are the Steps of Filing an Auto Accident Claim With a Bridgeport Fatigued Driving Accident Attorney?
It already takes a great level of focus and attention to operate a vehicle safely, and a fatigued or drowsy driver won’t have the same level of awareness as other motorists. Driving drowsy is dangerous for all motorists on the road, including the fatigued driver.
The result of an accident with a drowsy driver is unpredictable because a driver falling asleep at the wheel will have no control over their vehicle.
After accumulating expenses and facing new injuries due to the actions of a drowsy driver, a victim can seek compensation for their losses and other damages. The process of filing an auto accident claim is generally straightforward, but the ins and outs of claim management can feel more complex to oversee.
An attorney can aid a claimant through the entirety of filing an insurance claim and even represent them in the event a lawsuit becomes necessary. The basic process of filing an auto accident claim with a fatigued driver’s insurer includes the following steps:
- Reporting the accident to the liable party’s insurer
- Investigating the claim of liability
- Valuing the current and expected damages
- Negotiating a final settlement
- Filing a formal lawsuit in situations where a settlement cannot be agreed upon
How Can a Claimant Benefit From the Help of an Attorney?
Most people will see a handful of insurance claims in their lifetime, while a lawyer can manage hundreds in a matter of years. Insurance claims are a timely task to process, and a claimant may encounter a complex task that they aren’t sure how to address on their own.
To prevent any challenges from blocking your claim’s progression, utilize the valuable experience and resources of a Bridgeport fatigued driving accident attorney.
Throughout the course of your fatigued driving auto accident claim, an attorney can provide the following:
- Comprehensive claim management from start to finish: With the help of an attorney, you won’t have to guess about how your claim is progressing, and instead will have a professional to guide you along the way. Your attorney will be able to take many of the tedious and time-consuming tasks off of your hands and give you more of your own time back.
- Legal advice and professional resources: Along the way, you may have questions or develop concerns about how the process of your claim is unfolding. Your attorney can help you understand all options available and pursue the ones that fit most closely with your personal, financial, and legal goals.
- Familiarity with similar cases: An experienced attorney will know the types of evidence that can more definitively prove that someone was drowsy, and they can also predict how an insurer might respond to specific evidence or a specific offer. This familiarity enables you to find greater chances of success while avoiding common pitfalls.
- Accurate valuation of all damages suffered: Your attorney can help you tally up the full costs of your claim, including future damages you may incur as a result of necessary follow-up care or continued declines in earnings.
How Can an Attorney Help Determine Negligence in a Fatigued Driving Accident Claim?
After an accident, before a claimant can even file, it is important to pinpoint who the liable party is. In some cases, it can be straightforward to identify this party, but in more complex instances, a lawyer can utilize specific data, including prior case outcomes and evidence from the scene of the accident, to help make this determination.
An experienced attorney will know how to efficiently review the details regarding your crash and can help a claimant prevent overlooking small but important factors that could affect their case’s success.
The representing insurance adjuster and your attorney will both use the data collected from the scene of your accident to determine liability, including factors such as:
- Recorded information from the Event Data Recorder (EDR, otherwise known as a “black box”) if available, including braking information, vehicle speed at moments before the accident, steering trajectory, and more
- Statements from witnesses that attest to details that indicate the driver was drowsy behind the wheel at the time of the accident
- Camera recordings from stop lights or security cameras from nearby buildings that show the motorist driving drowsy
- Cell Phone activity, such as social media posts that portray the driver with habits such as staying up excessively late or talking about reckless driving
- Witness statements describing the driver’s appearance, behaviors, and statements immediately after the crash
- Other records of the driver’s activity in the hours leading up to the accident
What Counts as Drowsy Driving?
Generally, there are no firm rules as to whether or not a driver could be considered drowsy. Instead, it must be determined by crash investigators if the driver’s pattern of decisions and behaviors, along with other available evidence, is consistent with a finding of the driver being too drowsy to operate their vehicle safely.
Sometimes, a person may not realize how sleepy they truly are. It is important to understand your limits as a driver and what could put you or other motorists at risk.
Driving drowsy is known to be just as dangerous as driving drunk. Fatigued driving caused over 90,000 accidents in 2017 alone, making it one of the leading causes of accidents next to impaired driving.
If you feel tired, make a point to find a ride or call a rideshare company, as any of the following can be considered drowsy driving on the road:
- Staying awake for more than 16 hours and operating a vehicle
- Not getting enough sleep the night before getting behind the wheel
- Temporarily zoning out on the road because it is easier on heavy eyes
What Does a Drowsy Driver Look Like on the Road?
It is easiest to spot a drowsy driver in the middle of the night because it is more believable to assume that they are tired. Most drowsy driving accidents take place between midnight and 6 A.M. but can happen just as frequently at other times of day, like the late afternoon when drivers are getting off of work.
The following factors are consistently reported to 911 operators when identifying a drowsy driver:
- Irregular speed
- Swerving in and out of the lane
- Not responding to green lights
- Unnecessary stops
- Following other cars too closely or stopping too far back
- Responding slowly to road signage or changes in traffic flow
Understanding Who Is at Most Risk of Driving Drowsy
When you think of a drowsy driver, you’d likely think of the most sleep-deprived groups of people on the road, such as:
- Commercial drivers, like truck and bus drivers
- Students who are in school and maintaining a job
- Drivers who take medication that has drowsy side effects
- New parents who are adjusting to a shift in their sleep schedule
- “Graveyard” shift workers who work from night to day
- Those with untreated sleep disorders
A Bridgeport Fatigued Driving Accident Law Firm Can Help With Claim Management
If you have been injured by a fatigued driver, a Bridgeport auto accident lawyer can help you through the steps of settling a claim to resolve your damages and outstanding expenses. You can greatly benefit from having a team of professionals to handle most of the time-consuming tasks of the claim process and oversee how each aspect of litigation plays out.
These services ensure that your claim is moving forward efficiently without demanding a large portion of your own time and energy after an accident.
An initial consultation with Bert McDowell Injury Law is free and will leave the claimant with no obligation to continue with our services. Our goal is to help you feel confident in the upcoming legal process and foster a professional relationship for representation.
Our firm works on contingency for fatigued driving accident claim representation, meaning that the payment for our service fee will come right out of your final settlement instead of out of your pocket.
To schedule your initial consultation, call (203) 590-9169 or contact us online today!
(203) 690-1030
