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Miami, Florida Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer

Drunk driving continues to be a problem in Florida, especially in big cities like Miami. Have you been hurt in an accident with a drunk driver in the Miami, Florida area? Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman and Associates, P.A. are here to protect your legal rights and to help get you on the right track to recovery from your personal injuries.

According to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles statistics, Miami-Dade County had the most drunk driving traffic accidents in the past four years. The latest numbers show that there were a total 1,588 drunk driving traffic accidents in Miami-Dade County in 2010. Because of these very high numbers for the Miami, Florida area, it is important that you have an experienced Miami drunk driving accident lawyer to help you if you have been hurt in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman and Associates, P.A. have over 95 years of combined experience helping people who have been hurt by a drunk driver. Don’t worry if you live in another state or country. As long as you have been hurt by a drunk driver anywhere in the State of Florida, Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman and Associates, P.A. can help you.

While no one ever wants to be hurt in any type of car accident, being hurt in a car accident with a drunk driver is usually the most upsetting. This is because you know that the accident probably would not have happened if the other driver had made the right decision not to drink and drive. Drunk driving accidents are also usually more shocking because they frequently result in more deaths than car accidents where alcohol wasn’t involved. In fact, recent numbers show that in 2009, alcohol-related deaths in car accidents made up almost 40% of all deaths from car accidents in Florida.

The legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (“BAC”) limit in Florida is 0.08%. This means that if you have been drinking and then get behind the wheel of a car while the concentration of alcohol in your blood is 0.08% percent or higher, you can be charged with a DUI, a crime in Florida. Below are the criminal penalties in Florida if you are convicted of a DUI for the first time:

  • Jail time of up to 6 months
  • A fine between $250 and $500
  • Lose your driver’s license for at least 6 months (or 1 year if you don’t take the breathalyzer test, even if you are found not guilty in court)
  • Probation for up to 1 year
  • 50 hours of community service
  • 12 hours of DUI School

Also, if you have children in your car while you are driving drunk and/or if you cause an accident that results in someone’s death, the DUI criminal charges in Florida are much harsher.

Besides criminal charges, there can also be civil issues that are very different from car accidents where no alcohol was involved. Here are just a few of the many examples:

  • If you are hurt in an accident caused by a drunk driver, you may be allowed to get more money for your personal injury claim than you usually would if you were hurt in an accident where the other driver had not been drinking.
  • If the other driver got drunk from drinking too much at a bar or restaurant, the bar or restaurant may be partly responsible for paying you for your injuries. This could happen if the bar or restaurant gave alcohol to someone who was already obviously drunk, or if they gave alcohol to a minor.
  • Drunk drivers could get less coverage from their insurance company than they would normally be allowed to receive under their own car insurance policies than if they caused an accident where they had not been drinking.

As you can see, there are a lot of things that can happen when dealing with injuries caused from a drunk driving accident. Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman and Associates, P.A. are very experienced in all the areas involved with drunk driving accident injuries. We will be glad to talk with you about your legal rights and options if you have been hurt in a drunk driving accident in Miami or anywhere else in Florida. We will meet with you in person or by telephone.

If you are hit by a drunk driver in the Miami, Florida area, here are some local law enforcement websites that can be helpful:

Many national organizations exist to let the public know about the dangers of drunk driving. If you are interested in learning more about these organizations, please visit the websites below:

If you or a family member have been injured in a drunk driving accident, please call Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman and Associates, P.A. today. Our Miami, Florida telephone number is 954-772-2644. We do our very best to answer your questions quickly and to talk with you about your legal rights and options. Beside calling us, you can also fill out and submit our online CONTACT US form, and we will contact you. We accept all of our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that we never charge you any fees or costs unless we get monies from the defendants or their insurance companies. Also, our consultations are always free. We look forward to your call and to helping you.

For more drunk driving accident injury information, please visit our Florida Car Accident Lawyers Blog.