New Year's Eve Brings Dangerous Driving Conditions
If there is one thing that New Year’s Eve is famous for, it is the fact that it is probably the heaviest night of the year for partying. For whatever reason, nothing puts people in a festive mood like the fact that the date will forevermore contain a different number tomorrow than it did today. When people decide to get festive, they often decide to consume alcohol or other intoxicants. Unfortunately, many of those people will then get behind the wheel of a vehicle and make the unfortunate decision to drive drunk in an effort to get back home or to the next party destination.
It is no secret that accidents resulting from drunk driving have been the cause of a multitude of deaths and injuries on America’s roadways. The unfortunate fact for victims of these accidents is that there is little they can do to avoid being hit and injured by a drunk driver. Those who are driving when conditions are increasingly favorable for drunk drivers to be on the roadways, late tonight and early into tomorrow morning for example, will do well to be extra careful and keep a vigilant lookout for other drivers on the road who may be driving in an impaired state. Sometimes, however, such accidents will simply be unavoidable.
Driving while drunk or intoxicated is negligent driving in Tennessee. Therefore, victims of auto accidents caused by such negligence will be able to recover in a personal injury lawsuit for the actual damages resulting from the accident. Also, Tennessee allows for the imposition of punitive damages in cases where the plaintiff can prove that the defendant acted intentionally, fraudulently, recklessly, or maliciously. More than likely, recklessness would be the source for any punitive damages arising from auto accidents. Punitive damages are not limited to the amount of the actual damages, meaning they can potentially total hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars based on the circumstances of the accident.
