If you’ve been seriously injured or a loved one has been killed by a drunk driver who suffered only minor injuries, this can add to your anger and sense of injustice about what happened. This is actually not an unusual scenario.
In many cases, a drunk or sometimes drugged driver who causes a crash isn’t injured nearly as severely as their victims. There are physiological reasons for this. Let’s look briefly at those.
How the human body braces for impact when a crash is imminent
In the seconds or less before they’re aware that a crash is about to occur, an unimpaired person’s body braces for it. That person will likely clutch the steering wheel tightly, slam on the brakes, maybe reach across to shield a passenger and more. All of this occurs while the driver’s and passengers’ bodies tense up.
This causes something called “deceleration injuries.” That’s because after a person’s body tenses up, it quickly decelerates as the crash occurs and their vehicle suddenly stops. If their vehicle comes to a sudden stop when it collides with the other one, their body movements suddenly decelerate. Because of all the tenseness that’s built up, it’s ability to absorb the energy of the crash is minimized.
Impaired drivers are less likely to suffer these injuries
The drunk driver may not even have been aware that they were about to crash, so their body wouldn’t have tensed up. Even if they did notice, their reactions would likely have been slower. Of course, this can apply if someone is impaired by drugs as well – particularly those that have a relaxing or depressant effect.
Remember that even if the drunk or drugged driver faces criminal charges for their actions, they can still be held civilly liable if their insurance can’t sufficiently cover the economic and non-economic damages of the victims. By getting experienced legal guidance as soon as possible after a drunk or drugged driving crash, you can protect your rights and improve your chances of getting justice and maximum compensation.The post What are deceleration injuries? first appeared on Law Office of Nathan Cobb.