Whenever a person gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, there is the risk of injuries. The risk increases exponentially when a driver is drunk. A drunk driver is like a loaded weapon, and others can easily be killed by the drunk driver’s negligent behavior. Fatal drunk driving accidents can happen in any number of motor vehicles including cars, trucks or even boats.
Sadly, a 33-year-old Washington middle school teacher was recently killed while on a sailboat. She and six others were on the boat when a man driving a speedboat crashed into them. According to those on the sailboat, the man had been driving so fast that they had no time to react. Despite receiving CPR aboard the sailboat, the teacher died as a result of the injuries she sustained in the accident.
Police claim that the man had been drunk at the time of the boat accident. He has been charged with several crimes for boating under the influence, including two counts of assault by watercraft and homicide by watercraft. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. While a criminal case can help to provide some sense of justice for families of fatal motor vehicle accident victims, these charges cannot replace what they have lost.
A wrongful death suit, however, can help to replace some of the financial losses that a family has suffered following a deadly accident. These suits can help families recover some of the expenses entailed by a fatal accident caused by a drunk driver, including lost wages, funeral costs, loss of companionship, pain and suffering and more. While this compensation cannot replace their loved one, it can help keep the family from further suffering caused by the financial losses.
Source: KIRO, “Man arraigned in fatal BUI crash on Lake Washington,” Aug. 4, 2014