Wichita Auto Accident Attorneys for Injury Victims When Negligent Driver On Drugs

If you’ve been injured, our car accident  injury lawyers will fight for full compensation

We can all agree that drugs and driving don’t mix. People exercising reasonable care have a responsibility to be awake, alert, and attentive at all times, and those who can’t do that shouldn’t drive. Unfortunately, people can be reckless and stupid when they drive a vehicle.  A crash caused by a drugged driver can dramatically change your life, and you have the right to get full compensation for any injury and all damages received due to that driver under Kansas law.

We represent injured victims and fight for  full accountability for reckless drivers. If you’ve been hurt in a car accident caused by a drugged driver, PISTOTNIK LAW will stand up to the insurance company on your behalf. Schedule your free consultation with an experienced car accident injury attorney today.

Legal and Illegal Drugs Can Impair Driving

Driving, in general, requires alertness, physical reflexes, mental awareness, and emotional stability. Drugs affect a driver’s ability to perceive and respond to other drivers and road conditions. Drugs also affect judgment and make it difficult to drive defensively.

In Kansas the law that makes driving under the influence of drugs a criminal offense, and also for which a violation is negligence per se, stems from Kansas statute K.S.A. 8-1567.  “Driving under the influence is operating or attempting to operate any vehicle while . . . under the influence of any drug or combination of drugs to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle.”  “Drug” includes toxic vapors.  Unlike Kansas workers compensation laws that set forth specific limits of cutoff levels for concentration of drug use, there are no specific cutoff levels specified for driving a vehicle.  As an analogy, the workers compensation law defines cutoff levels for marijuana concentration at 15 ng/ml, cocaine at 150 ng/ml, methamphetamine at 500 ng/ml.  See K.S.A. 44-501.

Marijuana: While marijuana use is more commonly used each year, with states surrounding Kansas legalizing its use, the traveling public is at risk when someone under the influence of marijuana drives on Kansas roads. THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, has been shown to impair motor skills, reduce cognitive function, and make it difficult to multitask. Drivers under the influence of marijuana have impaired judgment and slower reaction times, which can contribute to serious accidents.

Cocaine: Cocaine and other stimulants, such as methamphetamine, create a sense of euphoria and a sharp increase in energy, which make people under the influence think they can appropriately drive. However, these drugs make drivers more aggressive and reckless, leading to dangerous behaviors like weaving through traffic, ignoring signs and signals, speeding, and drifting off the road or into the oncoming lane. Conversely, people coming off these drugs may be extremely fatigued and more likely to fall asleep at the wheel.

Medications: Both prescription drugs and over the counter (OTC) medications can have side effects that impair someone’s ability to drive, most commonly drowsiness and dizziness. There’s a reason many medications include a warning against “operating heavy machinery” or “driving while using the medication”.

The impairing effects of any drug (whether legal or illegal) can be amplified when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.

No one should get behind the wheel after using any impairing substance, and those who do put both themselves and everyone else on the road at risk.

Proving Drugged Driving Can Substantially Help Your Case Value

Under Kansas law, victims of drugged drivers hurt in an auto accident can pursue a case for all of their damages, just like people hurt in any other type of car accident. To hold that driver responsible, you must prove that their negligence caused the wreck, and proving driving under the influence of drugs helps show the increased degree of negligence. The police report may show that the driver who hurt you failed a drug test, but as compared to drunk driving, it can be harder for a test to prove drugged driving depending on the substance(s) used. Unlike alcohol, marijuana, for example, remains in the body for some time after the effects have worn off, so a failed drug test doesn’t prove that the driver was actually impaired when the accident happened.  It is important to also have police confirm the failure of field sobriety tests and note observations of drugged behavior for the drugged driver.  It is important to get admissions of drug use from the other driver or from the people that observed the other driver prior to driving.

Fortunately, we don’t have to prove that the driver who hurt you was under the influence of drugs – we just have to prove that they behaved in a careless manner and their carelessness caused the accident. However proving the drug use is valuable is having a jury award larger damages.  When a jury gets emotional due to the reckless conduct of the drugged driver, they can award more money for your noneconomic damages like pain and suffering. 

Remember, while the police play a vital role in investigating accidents and holding motorists accountable for DUI, their job is ultimately to pursue criminal charges for the offenders. In this situation, you need someone standing up for your interests and fighting in your civil case for the compensation you deserve. We will handle that part of it with your representation.

We Will Advocate for Full Compensation for Your Injuries

Drugged drivers do serious damage when they cause auto accidents. The cost of a serious accident is much more than the initial medical treatment – it’s the lost past and future income, the pain and suffering, and the ripple effects on your family, your future, and your quality of life.

We will build a strong case for the full compensation you deserve for everything you’ve lost due to the accident. Our attorneys will analyze police reports, talk to witnesses, review physical evidence, and get to the bottom of what happened and why. Throughout the process, we will deal with the insurance company on your behalf while you focus on getting better. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay us a cent throughout the process – we only get paid if we win your case.

The key is to contact us quickly, because time can weaken your case. Witnesses forget what they saw. Evidence disappears. Important legal deadlines expire. The insurance company for the drugged driver is working to limit your damages from the moment they learn of the collision, and you need to do the same. Speak with an experienced drugged driving accident attorney at Pistotnik law today.