Indianapolis Drowsy Driving Accident Lawyer

Many Hoosiers are overworked and exhausted, wanting nothing more after a hard day on the job than to get in their cars and drive home, but disaster could be right around the corner when their exhaustion gets the best of them.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has linked drowsiness to approximately 100,000 motor vehicle accidents, 50,000 injuries, and 700 casualties across the country each year. In fact, drowsy driving can be as hazardous as drunk driving, with one study concluding that going 20 hours without sleep can impair a driver as much as a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent.

But drowsiness can be far tougher to prove than drunkenness, so justice may elude you if you get into an Indianapolis car accident with someone who should have been in bed instead of behind the wheel. However, you can tip the odds in your favor by turning to the Indianapolis car accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, where we have been fighting on behalf of the seriously injured since 1998.

You can arrange a free consultation with a knowledgeable Indianapolis car accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.

How Dangerous Is Driving While Drowsy?

Drowsiness can significantly hinder a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle in a safe and effective manner, negatively impacting his or her judgment, attention, coordination, vision, and reaction time, which could put anyone in the vicinity in grave danger.

A driver who is extremely tired might fall asleep altogether, though more often he or she may begin to microsleep, dozing off for a few seconds at a time. Unfortunately, “a few seconds” is practically an eternity when a vehicle is speeding down the interstate, and it is more than enough time for the driver to veer off the shoulder or smash into another vehicle. When that happens, Hensley’s Indianapolis drowsy driving accident lawyers will be ready to help.

Who Is Vulnerable to Drowsy Driving?

Because we all require a certain amount of rest every day, nobody is immune to becoming tired while driving, and drowsiness can strike at any moment, yet statistics can tell us when and where drowsy driving accidents are most likely and who may be particularly vulnerable to them.

Indeed, sleep-related crashes frequently occur either between midnight and 6:00 a.m. or late in the afternoon, when people typically experience drops in their circadian rhythm, the internal clock that regulates sleep. Drowsy driving accidents also usually involve single-passenger vehicles and tend to take place on rural roads or highways, where the monotony can sometimes create a “hypnotic” effect.

Additionally, researchers have identified a number of groups that may be more prone to automotive fatigue, including:

Third shift workers

Young or poorly trained drivers

Drivers with sleeping disorders

Users of sedating medications

Susceptibility to drowsiness while driving is especially pronounced among commercial truck drivers, whose jobs keep them on the road for almost the entirety of their workdays, in stark contrast to the 61.3 minutes per day that the average motorist spends driving.

To combat truck drivers’ marked propensity for fatigue, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has imposed strict limitations on their schedules, prohibiting them from working more than 14 hours in a row, with no more than 11 of those hours devoted to driving. Nevertheless, pressure from their employers and their own bank accounts could push truck drivers to ignore these constraints.

Even truckers who adhere to the rules could still succumb to fatigue, since their jobs generally don’t allow them to enjoy the kind of consistent sleep that is essential to functioning optimally – and an Indianapolis drowsy driving accident attorney may have to pick up the pieces.

How to Prevent Drowsy Driving Accidents

Given how dire the consequences of drowsy driving accidents can be, it is critical to prevent them whenever possible. You should regularly monitor yourself for drowsiness and adjust your plans accordingly, ideally before you drive so that you don’t have to take drastic measures while you are in traffic, though you should be prepared to find a spot to pull over in response to:

Constant yawning

Repeated blinking

Loss of concentration

Trouble remembering recent driving activity

Drifting between lanes

Missing exits

Hitting rumble strips

Unintentional variations of driving speed

Because fatigued trucking accidents can be notably catastrophic, truck and semi-trailer manufacturers have started implementing safety systems that can detect when drivers are getting sleepy by monitoring head nodding, yawning, eye closing, and fading attention. Indicators of fatigue like these will make the seat vibrate or set off bells to wake up the driver and alert him or her to take a break. Driver-facing cameras that are triggered by signs of fatigue like sudden braking may be installed in a semi-trailer’s cab as well.

With some basic precautions and a little common sense, you may be able to avoid the sorts of collisions for which the assistance of a skilled Indianapolis drowsy driving accident lawyer may be sought.

What Our Indianapolis Drowsy Driving Accident Attorneys Can Do for You

We hope that this advice is useful, but the truth is that you may be injured by a drowsy driver no matter what you do, and it could change your life in an instant. Simply making ends could soon become difficult, much less meeting the new demands on your finances.

During a trying period like this, you need attorneys with the compassion to support you through your struggles and the wisdom to overcome them, like the Indianapolis personal injury lawyer at Hensley Legal Group.

If you hire Hensley, we will launch a comprehensive investigation into your drowsy driving accident or truck accident in Indianapolis and everyone who contributed to it, then move swiftly to amass the materials to build your claim, included both evidence of your losses and evidence of the driver’s fatigue, such as:

Crash site analysis – The drowsy driver may not have applied the brakes before the crash, a failure that can be confirmed by analyzing pertinent forensic details at the crash site, like the absence of skid marks.

Witness statements – Other drivers or pedestrians may have witnessed actions that suggested driver fatigue, such as drifting into adjacent lanes or tailgating. Moreover, the driver’s coworkers or personal acquaintances might be able to attest to his or her habits and sleeping patterns.

Black box data – The at-fault driver’s vehicle could be equipped with an event data recorder or “black box” logging the incidents leading up to an accident, while its GPS might show the last chance the driver had to sleep, information which could potentially be subpoenaed.

Medical records – Similarly, aspects of the driver’s medical history could be subject to scrutiny when he or she has been prescribed medications that cause drowsiness or when the driver has been diagnosed with sleep apnea or comparable disorders that cause fatigue.

After putting together an airtight case against each of the defendants, our tenacious Indianapolis drowsy driving accident lawyers will enter into negotiations with their insurance companies to secure a settlement that reflects the totality of your losses, including your:

Medical bills

Lost wages

Pain and suffering

Mental and emotional trauma

Long-term disability/mobility restrictions

Diminished quality of living

Loss of consortium

Punitive and wrongful death damages (when relevant)

And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your claim, we are not afraid to go to trial for a verdict that is, unlike many of our competitors, who seldom, if ever, venture into a courtroom.

No two Indianapolis car accident cases are exactly the same, but we will always strive to get you top compensation for yours.

You Won’t Have to Pay Unless We Win

If you are reluctant to agree to more expenditures when you can least afford them, you may be pleased to learn that Hensley Legal Group works on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t have to pay us anything unless our Indianapolis drowsy driving accident attorneys win your case.

You have enough to worry about now merely trying to recover from your injuries. Let Hensley worrying about recovering the resources necessary to do it.

Reach Out to Our Indianapolis Drowsy Driving Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for the innocent victims of negligence for over a quarter century. If you have been hurt in the Indianapolis area and have no idea what to do next, reach out to our Indianapolis drowsy driving accident lawyers to explore the remedies that may be available to you.

For a no-cost case review with a dedicated Indianapolis drowsy driving accident attorney, just call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now.