Although driving is a daily activity for many Floridians, it carries risks. Last week, two individuals were harmed in what may have been a drunk driving hit-and-run auto accident in Broward County.

According to police, a gold 2003 Chevrolet SUV reportedly struck two vehicles near Federal Highway and Hallandale Beach Boulevard and then fled the scene. The auto accident resulted in serious injuries to two individuals, who required treatment at a hospital.

Following the accident, police tracked down a vehicle that matched this description, which was by then heading south on South Dixie Highway. When police stopped the driver they reported smelling alcohol and saw beer cans in the back seat. Police also claimed that the man told them that he had consumed 10 beers.

After a sobriety test, the man, who had a blood alcohol content of more than 0.16, twice the legal limit in Florida, was arrested on several charges including leaving an accident scene and DUI causing serious injury to another.

Like in the case here, Floridians who suffer injuries in an accident as the result of someone else's negligence often benefit from educating themselves on the law and their rights. This process is an important step in receiving justice and the compensation necessary to help a person who is injured due to someone else's negligence to heal mentally, physically and financially.

For example, although people have a natural sense of what negligence means, a person injured in an accident needs to know how the law defines negligence. The law breaks negligence up into several parts that a plaintiff must prove in order to win a negligence case. At its most basic, the defendant must have owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and have breached that duty which causes the plaintiff to be harmed. This is a complicated concept and often victims are wise to seek legal counsel when pursuing personal injury claims.

Source: Sun Sentinel, "Hallandale man held in drunken driving crash that injured 2," Juan Ortega, Sept. 25, 2012