Experts have long warned about the dangers of driving while over-tired. According to some studies, driving without adequate sleep is tantamount to driving while intoxicated, and it can have the same serious consequences. This became all too clear in Houston recently when a severe accident involving a driver who fell asleep at the wheel sent one person to the hospital with a serious injury. A police investigation is pending, but authorities believe that charges will be filed against the sleepy driver. It is not known if he has, as of yet, spoken with any lawyers in anticipation of those charges.
The accident occurred just before the morning rush hour on Beltway 8 near Hammerly in Houston. Both of the vehicles involved were traveling in the same direction when one vehicle suddenly seemed to drift across multiple lanes and then collided with another vehicle. The second vehicle was sent careening into the barrier, was propelled back across two lanes, and then ended up on its side.
First responders had to extract the driver from the second vehicle that witnesses said looked like no more than a mangled pile of metal on the road. The driver was transported by emergency vehicle to a Houston area hospital with a critical injury. The police investigation which, at one point, had closed down three northbound lanes, has not been concluded, but indications point to the cause of the accident being a driver who fell asleep at the wheel.
Everyone understands that there are inherent risks when getting on the roadway every day. The potential for injury is always there. However, most people take that risk under the general assumption that other drivers will be attentive, that no one would purposefully drive a vehicle recklessly, and that if someone thought that they were in such a state that driving could cause personal injury to another, such as overly tired or intoxicated, they would refrain from driving. Unfortunately, such assumptions are not always borne out in reality.
Because other drivers are sometimes inattentive, reckless, or impaired, it is important that anyone who has suffered a personal injury in an accident caused by another to seek out the counsel of personal injury lawyers in Houston. Personal injury lawyers in Houston can help injury victims to determine if they have legitimate cases, and if so, the most effective and efficient ways to proceed. Your team of personal injury lawyers in Houston can also discover if additional parties may have contributed to your injury and will work to ensure that you receive compensation from all who are responsible. Contact a team of knowledgeable and qualified personal injury lawyers in Houston to begin getting the remuneration that you are due.
