Milwaukee Drowsy Driving Accident Lawyers

Were you injured in a traffic accident in Milwaukee caused by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel? Do you suspect that the driver who injured you was too exhausted to be a safe driver? If so, legal help is available to seek full compensation for your injuries and other losses. The experienced trial lawyers of Gruber Law Offices fight to protect those who have been hurt in collisions with drowsy drivers or drivers who were driving while dangerously fatigued.

Drowsy Driving Accident

The dedicated Milwaukee drowsy driving accident attorneys at Gruber Law Offices, LLC represent people who have been injured by other drivers who nodded off while behind the wheel. We are available to review the details of your crash and discuss your legal options.

Attorney David Gruber and the legal team at Gruber Law Offices, LLC have stood up for people injured in automobile accidents in Wisconsin for more than three decades. While our Milwaukee law firm has expanded to more than 120 attorneys and staff, Gruber Law Offices is a family-owned business.

David Gruber works with his wife, attorney Nancy Gruber, who is managing partner. Their son Steven Gruber, who also is a lawyer, joined the firm. We treat our clients with respect and personal attention. Our drowsy driving crash attorneys offer a free case review and represent clients on a contingency fee basis.

Gruber Law Offices only receives an attorney’s fee if we obtain an insurance settlement or a jury award for you. We have served individuals in Milwaukee and across the state of Wisconsin for more than three decades, and we’re here to put our experience and skill to work for you. Our motto is, “One call… that’s all!” It’s as simple as that: you call Gruber Law Offices, and our dedicated team will take care of all aspects of your drowsy driving accident case.

Call (414) 436-2496 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.

How Dangerous Is Drowsy Driving in Milwaukee?

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a lack of sleep can have effects on your alertness, judgment and responses similar to the effects of alcohol consumption.
Being awake for 18 hours straight is the same as a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05.
being awake for a full 24 hours is equivalent to being legally intoxicated.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that between 2011 and 2015, drowsy driving accidents accounted for 2.4 percent of all fatalities and 2 percent of injury crashes.

However, a 2018 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety suggests that drowsy driving is a factor in a much higher portion of crashes than federal statistics indicate. The AAA study found that drowsiness was a factor in about 9.5 percent of crashes.

People who have been involved in accidents in Milwaukee caused by drowsy drivers often face challenges in proving the cause of these crashes. Wisconsin is one of only two states in the nation in which accident report forms do not have a way to denote fatigue or sleepiness as a crash factor. Fortunately, an experienced attorney can investigate the accident, collect evidence, and build the strongest claim possible on your behalf.

Common Injuries Due to Drowsy Drivers

In many cases, people suffer very serious injuries in crashes caused by drowsy drivers. A driver who falls asleep while driving may not attempt to brake before a collision. A driver who nods off may drift across the center line and hit an oncoming car head on, resulting in severe injuries.

Some of the most common injuries resulting from drowsy driving crashes include, but are not limited to:

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
Fractures
Head Injuries
Whiplash
Burn Injuries
Lacerations

Spinal Cord Injuries
Internal Organ Damage
Paralysis
Nerve Damage
Soft Tissue Injuries
Neck Injuries

Severe injuries often require lengthy terms of hospitalization as well as many weeks or months of follow-up care that can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. People who are recovering from severe injuries typically are unable to work for a period of time. Some accident victims are incapable of working again because of their injuries.

People harmed by drowsy drivers have a legal right to demand compensation for the medical expenses and other expenses they are facing because of the negligence of another driver. A victim of a drowsy driving crash in Milwaukee should work with a skilled lawyer who can investigate the cause of a drowsy driving accident.

Fatigued Driving in Milwaukee is Preventable

Commercial truck drivers often spend long hours behind the wheel to get deliveries to destinations as soon as possible. They are among the motorists commonly affected by driver fatigue and the truck accidents the fatigue causes.

The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS), based on a three-year data collection project conducted by NHTSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), found that 13 percent of commercial motor vehicle drivers were considered fatigued at the time of crashes. Because of the danger posed by sleepy truck drivers, FMSCA enacted federal rules to limit the number of hours that commercial drivers can operate a tractor-trailer without taking a rest break.
Commercial truck drivers can drive up to 11 hours during a 14-hour period after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours. Then a driver must remain off duty for 10 consecutive hours.

Truck drivers are required to keep logs that show their driving history and rest breaks. Unfortunately, some truck drivers disregard the rules, try to falsify their logs and drive big rigs when dangerously fatigued, putting everyone on the road at risk. When fatigued truck drivers cause crashes in Milwaukee, they should be held accountable.

Drowsy driving is also common among younger drivers and people who work long hours or have jobs with grueling physical conditions such as construction. It is not always easy to know whether another driver was fatigued, as a crash can certainly provide a jolt of adrenaline. Police car accident reports may contain some kinds of evidence that are commonly associated with drowsy driving, like a failure to stop before the crash.
In other cases, a motorist’s cell phone records may provide evidence of how far a driver traveled within a period of time, indicating they traveled a long distance without rest. A driver also may have sent messages mentioning being fatigued.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) recommends that people get a good night’s sleep before long trips and see a physician if they are experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness. Drive with a companion who stays awake on long trips and stop for a break every couple of hours or 100 miles.
Wisconsin DOT also recommends avoiding alcohol and medications that can affect driving performance.
You should stay off the road between midnight and 7 a.m., a period when DOT says your body’s “biological clock” makes all people feel sleepy.

Wisconsin DOT says you should be aware of the common signs of fatigue such as lane drifting, yawning, or difficulty keeping your eyes open. You should take a brief nap in a safe rest area when this occurs. Also consider drinking coffee or another source of caffeine.

Talk to a Milwaukee Fatigued Driving Lawyer Today

Proving that a driver’s fatigue caused a crash can be a challenge. The drowsy driver’s insurance company is highly unlikely to admit its client was fatigued. Instead, they will often try to shift the blame to you.

Some insurance companies may offer you a lump sum settlement to resolve your case. The amount is likely to be far less than the fair value of your expenses related to the accident. If you want to be treated fairly, then you will need an experienced Milwaukee attorney to stand up for you in dealings with the other driver’s insurance company. Otherwise, you will be at a disadvantage.

Our drowsy driving accident lawyers at Gruber Law Offices have experience investigating car accidents and identifying the evidence necessary to show another driver’s negligence led to a crash.

You could be entitled to claim compensation for economic damages such as medical bills and lost income due to your injuries as well as noneconomic damages. Economic damages are actual losses that can be calculated and proven such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Noneconomic damages include emotional distress, and pain and suffering.

Did you sustain catastrophic injuries or was your loved one killed in an accident caused by a fatigued driver in the greater Milwaukee area? Contact Gruber Law Offices as soon as possible. Let us review your case when you call (414) 436-2496 or contact us online to set up a free consultation. One call… that’s all! We’ll do the rest. Need something different? Contact our Wisconsin drunk driving accident lawyers and let us help you with your claim.