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Now, fatality claims are particularly challenging and likely to be the most serious case that a lawyer in the field of personal injury is going to handle. However, there are some essentials that have to be taken into account. Right off the bat, it’s worth noting that car accidents are the most common cause of fatalities in Canada. There are different reasons that may cause an accident and some of them are definitely inevitable, as unfortunate as this might sound. However, drunk driving is also amongst the common causes for car accidents and it needs particular attention.
Drunk driving has absolutely nothing to do with an unintentional event. Remember how we mentioned that there are situations in which the accident is unavoidable? Well, for instance, poor road conditions could cause an accident and in certain situations the driver might not have been able to react. However, choosing to drink is a perfectly conscious decision, followed by another one of the kind – to drive in this state. Every person must know that he must not get behind the wheel if he’s had a few drinks as this is going to put the lives of others on the line.
However, there is a case in Canada involving Mr. Marco Muzzo who was drunk driving and get into a car crash which killed 4 people. He got 10 years in prison which was reduced to 9 years and 4 months because of the pre-sentencing time. Furthermore, he can demonstrate model behavior and get out in about 3 years. Now, does this punishment fit the crime? 4 people have been essentially killed and the one responsible for it gets 3 years of prison time and prohibition to drive for the next 12 years.
It’s clear that the justice system has quite a lot of purposes and not just to serve justice. It’s responsible to rehabilitate and reintegrate the offenders in order to make them productive and functional members of our society. But this doesn’t mean that the punishments shouldn’t be severe when they need to be. Making the conscious decision to put people’s lives in jeopardy is borderline sociopathic.
However, if you are a victim of such an accident, it is important to consult with an injury lawyer that understands all aspects of the DUI accidents. In any case, every single personal injury trial is strictly subjective. However, the intention of the law is to somehow provide authorities with uniform metrics in order to properly assess and measure the amount of compensation which is necessary to reimburse the suffering of a person or his family. There is no jail time as a punishment in civil law as the intention of the regulations is to repair the damages instead of punishing the perpetrator. This could only happen if there is a criminal claim incorporated in the civil one.