Pursuing justice when a drunk driver causes a fatal accident

Drunk driving is a serious problem in Florida. Police and prosecutors are doing all they can to keep drunk drivers off the road. The penalties for drunk driving are more severe today than they have ever been, and years of public awareness campaigns have educated the public about the dangers of intoxicated driving. And yet there are still some people who don’t get the message, and they continue to cause accidents – many of them fatal.

The criminal justice system can provide some sense of justice to grieving family members whose loved one was killed by a drunk driver. When a drunk driver causes a fatal accident, he or she can be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter and can face years in prison if convicted. Florida’s civil justice system can also provide them with a different form of justice: financial compensation for the loss of a loved one.

Under Florida law, when a person’s negligent or wrongful conduct causes the death of another person, the victim’s next of kin have the right to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the wrongdoer. The damages that can be recovered include compensation for loss of companionship and loss of financial support.

At Kurzban Kurzban Weinger Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A. we understand what families are going through in the aftermath of a tragedy caused by someone else’s irresponsible conduct. No financial recovery can take the place of a deceased family member. But it can help a stricken family recover from the very real financial loss that often follows in the wake of a fatal accident.