The Houston DWI accident injury lawyers at Denena & Points emphasize that alcohol is a depressant that depresses or impairs a drinker’s physical reaction times and mental acuity. Due to this depressant effect, someone with a sufficient concentration of alcohol in their bloodstream cannot drive safely or react properly to traffic and traffic signals along the road.
When someone chooses to drink and then drive, the volume of alcohol that is absorbed into the bloodstream and the overall timing of that absorption into the blood are the critical factors that determine how impaired their your driving will be. Our Houston DWI accident injury lawyers point out that these are also the factors that determine the driver’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level if they have an accident and receive a BAC test for intoxication.
After a person drinks, they generally go through an alcohol absorption phase during which their BAC rises and then an alcohol elimination phase during which their BAC gradually falls. The alcohol absorption phase shows an increase in BAC, or in the concentration of alcohol in the blood, over time. The driver’s BAC level rises to a peak before it declines again. Several factors can affect the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream:
Our Houston DWI accident injury lawyers note that a driver’s BAC will continue to rise so long as the amount of alcohol entering the bloodstream from the digestive tract is greater than the amount that the liver can process and eliminate through oxidation.
When a driver is still in the rising blood alcohol phase or the BAC level is peaking at the time of a BAC test, the test could show a higher BAC level than the driver had while they were behind the wheel. An average drinker shows a peak alcohol level about 1.5 hours after drinking, but there’s a great deal of individual variation in this rate depending upon how a person metabolizes their alcohol.
After a drinker reaches their peak BAC level, the concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream will begin to drop. But the many factors affecting the rate of a drinker’s alcohol absorption and metabolism mean that the BAC test may not be an accurate reflection of how impaired the driver was when they injured you. Just because a driver passes a BAC test just below the legal limit and avoids criminal liability does not absolve them of civil liability for your monetary damages from the accident.
An experienced Houston DWI accident injury lawyer knows what to look for to help you hold that driver accountable for the negligent behavior that injured you. Contact us at Denena & Points for a free and confidential legal consultation regarding your accident injuries.
We could help you learn the legal bases on which you could hold the drinking driver financially accountable for the needless harm you’ve suffered because of their impaired driving. Our Houston DWI accident injury lawyers’ more than 14 years of solid experience could guide you through your available legal options, help you understand your potential for financial recovery, and enable you to successfully achieve a favorable outcome to your claim. Call us today for your free case evaluation consultation.