Injured by a Drunk Driver in Dallas? What to Know About Your Insurance and Injury Claims

A Dallas drunk driver accident claim can involve a criminal investigation, a personal injury claim against the driver, multiple insurance policies, and—in certain circumstances—a claim against a business or another party that contributed to the driver’s intoxication or access to a vehicle.

Although evidence of intoxication can be extremely important, an arrest or DWI charge does not automatically compensate an injured person. You must still identify the responsible parties, establish how the crash occurred, connect your injuries to the collision, document your losses, and pursue the appropriate insurance or civil claims.

Prompt action is especially important because surveillance footage, vehicle data, witness recollections, alcohol-service records, and other evidence may become unavailable if it is not preserved.

How Common Are Alcohol-Related Crashes in Dallas?

Alcohol-related crashes continue to cause serious injuries and deaths throughout Dallas. According to the Texas Department of Transportation’s most recent complete city-level report, Dallas recorded 809 DUI-alcohol crashes during 2024.

These figures represent reportable crashes collected from Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Reports and processed by TxDOT as of April 9, 2025. They demonstrate that impaired driving is not an isolated problem on Dallas roads.

Statewide, TxDOT reported that 1,053 people were killed in crashes involving a driver under the influence of alcohol during 2024. Those deaths represented more than one-quarter of all Texas motor-vehicle traffic fatalities that year.

Additional background is available in our article discussing the continuing consequences of drunk-driving collisions.

What Counts as Intoxicated Driving Under Texas Law?

Texas law does not define intoxication exclusively through a blood alcohol concentration measurement. Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.01, a person may be considered intoxicated when the person:

• Does not have the normal use of mental faculties because of alcohol, drugs, a controlled substance, another substance, or a combination of substances
• Does not have the normal use of physical faculties because of one or more of those substances
• Has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more

Texas Penal Code Section 49.04 generally makes it an offense for an intoxicated person to operate a motor vehicle in a public place.

A civil investigation should not focus solely on whether the driver’s reported blood alcohol concentration exceeded 0.08. Evidence that alcohol or drugs impaired the driver’s judgment, reaction time, perception, coordination, or vehicle control may also be relevant.

What Rights Do You Have After Being Hit by a Drunk Driver?

An injured person may pursue a civil claim against a driver whose intoxication and negligent operation caused the collision. The claim is separate from any criminal prosecution brought by the State of Texas.

A civil claim may seek compensation for losses such as:

• Emergency transportation and hospital care
• Medical appointments and diagnostic testing
• Surgery, rehabilitation, and physical therapy
• Prescription medications and medical equipment
• Future medical treatment supported by appropriate evidence
• Lost wages and employment benefits
• Reduced future earning capacity
• Vehicle repairs or replacement
• Loss of vehicle use and rental expenses
• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental anguish and emotional distress
• Physical impairment or disability
• Scarring or disfigurement
• Other legally recoverable losses caused by the collision

The available compensation depends on the evidence, injuries, insurance coverage, responsible parties, and other circumstances. The fact that the other driver was intoxicated does not establish the amount of damages by itself.

What Is the Difference Between the Criminal DWI Case and Your Injury Claim?

The criminal and civil proceedings serve different purposes. Prosecutors handle the criminal DWI case on behalf of the state. The injured person’s civil claim seeks compensation from the responsible parties and applicable insurers.

The outcomes do not necessarily have to be identical. A criminal charge could be reduced, dismissed, or unresolved while a civil claim remains possible. Conversely, a criminal conviction does not eliminate the need to prove causation and damages in the civil claim.

Do not assume that the prosecutor, police department, or criminal court will preserve and obtain every item needed for your injury claim. The civil investigation may require additional evidence from insurers, businesses, vehicle owners, employers, witnesses, medical providers, and electronic systems.

Does a DWI Arrest Automatically Prove the Driver Is Liable?

No. A DWI arrest is significant evidence, but an arrest is not the same as a civil judgment. The injury claim must still establish that the driver failed to exercise reasonable care and that the failure caused or contributed to the collision and resulting injuries.

The investigation may examine whether the driver:

• Ran a traffic signal or stop sign
• Crossed the center line
• Departed from the proper lane
• Followed another vehicle too closely
• Failed to yield the right of way
• Drove too fast for the conditions
• Failed to brake or react appropriately
• Made an unsafe turn or lane change
• Drove without headlights
• Stopped unexpectedly in a travel lane
• Struck a parked vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist

Evidence of intoxication can help explain why the driver engaged in unsafe conduct. However, the collision should still be reconstructed using physical evidence, witness accounts, video, vehicle data, and the complete police investigation.

Our overview of proving fault after a car accident explains how traffic-law violations, witness testimony, photographs, electronic records, and other evidence may establish negligence.

What Evidence Can Show That the Driver Was Intoxicated?

Evidence of intoxication may come from the driver, responding officers, witnesses, businesses, medical providers, vehicles, and electronic records.

Potential evidence includes:

• Breath-test or blood-test results
• Field-sobriety testing records
• Body-camera and dashboard-camera video
• Police observations of the driver’s speech, balance, coordination, eyes, or behavior
• Statements made by the driver at the scene
• Open alcohol containers or controlled substances found in the vehicle
• Receipts and payment records from a bar, restaurant, liquor store, or event
• Surveillance footage showing the driver consuming alcohol
• Witnesses who observed the driver before the collision
• Text messages, photographs, videos, or social-media posts
• Mobile-device location records
• Rideshare, parking, or valet records
• Medical records created after the collision
• Criminal charging documents and court records
• Prior statements regarding how much alcohol or another substance was consumed

A single test result should be evaluated with the complete evidence. The timing of the test, collection procedures, chain of custody, testing method, medications, and other factors may become relevant.

Witnesses may also provide important observations even if no chemical-test result is available. A bartender, passenger, friend, server, event employee, valet attendant, or other person may have observed the driver drinking or displaying signs of intoxication before entering the vehicle.

What Evidence Can Prove How the Dallas Crash Happened?

Intoxication evidence and collision evidence should be preserved together. The investigation must establish not only that the driver was impaired, but also how the driver’s conduct caused the accident.

Important crash evidence may include:

• Photographs and videos of the complete accident scene
• Vehicle positions and points of impact
• Skid marks, gouge marks, debris, and fluid trails
• Road, lighting, visibility, and weather conditions
• Traffic signals, signs, lane markings, and roadway geometry
• Witness names and recorded statements
• 911 calls and emergency-dispatch recordings
• Police reports and supplemental reports
• Traffic-camera and business-surveillance footage
• Dash-camera recordings
• Event data recorder or airbag-control-module information
• Mobile-device and navigation information
• Vehicle inspection and damage evidence
• Medical records documenting the timing and nature of the injuries

Nearby footage may be overwritten quickly. Identify cameras at intersections, businesses, apartment buildings, parking facilities, residences, and surrounding vehicles as soon as possible.

Our guide to using traffic-camera footage to establish negligence discusses the types of video that may be available and why prompt preservation requests can be important.

Who May Be Liable for a Drunk-Driving Accident?

The intoxicated driver is usually the primary focus, but the investigation should consider every person or business whose conduct may have caused or contributed to the crash.

Potentially responsible parties may include:

• The intoxicated driver
• The driver’s employer when the driver was acting within the scope of employment
• A company that negligently hired, retained, trained, or supervised the driver
• A vehicle owner who negligently entrusted the vehicle to an unsafe driver
• A bar, restaurant, club, or alcohol provider under Texas dram-shop requirements
• An adult who provided alcohol to a minor under circumstances covered by Texas law
• Another driver whose separate negligence contributed to the collision
• A manufacturer or repair company when a vehicle defect also contributed

The presence of another person or business does not automatically make that party responsible. Evidence must connect the party’s conduct, control, or legal duty to the collision.

Can a Bar or Restaurant Be Liable Under Texas Dram-Shop Law?

Texas law permits a claim against an alcohol provider under limited circumstances. Under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.02, providing, selling, or serving alcohol may support a statutory claim when:

• At the time the alcohol was provided, it was apparent to the provider that the recipient was obviously intoxicated to the extent that the person presented a clear danger to themselves and others; and
• The recipient’s intoxication was a proximate cause of the damages suffered.

This standard requires more than showing that the driver purchased alcohol at a particular establishment. The evidence must address the driver’s apparent condition when alcohol was served and connect the intoxication with the collision.

Relevant dram-shop evidence may include:

• Itemized receipts and transaction times
• Credit-card records
• Surveillance footage
• Server, bartender, security, and customer testimony
• The type and quantity of alcohol served
• Statements made by the driver
• Observations of slurred speech, poor balance, confusion, aggression, or impaired coordination
• Communications among employees
• Training, staffing, and alcohol-service records
• Valet and parking records showing when the driver departed

Bars and restaurants may retain video and transaction information for limited periods. Prompt preservation requests can therefore be critical when the evidence suggests the driver was drinking at a commercial establishment before the crash.

Could the Driver’s Employer Be Responsible?

An employer may require investigation when the intoxicated driver was performing work-related duties at the time of the collision. Relevant questions may include:

• Was the driver making a delivery or service call?
• Was the driver traveling between work locations?
• Did the employer own or lease the vehicle?
• Was the driver transporting a client, employee, or company property?
• Did the employer direct the trip?
• Was the driver attending a company-sponsored event?
• Did the employer know about prior unsafe driving or alcohol-related conduct?
• Did the company negligently hire, retain, supervise, or entrust a vehicle to the driver?

Simply driving to or from work does not make an employer responsible for every accident. The driver’s purpose, assigned duties, control, vehicle ownership, and relationship to the employer should be examined.

Could the Vehicle Owner Be Responsible?

The intoxicated driver may have been operating a vehicle owned by a relative, friend, employer, rental company, or another business. Ownership alone does not automatically establish liability, but the owner’s conduct may matter if the vehicle was negligently entrusted to an unsafe or incompetent driver.

An investigation may consider whether the owner knew or should have known that the driver:

• Was intoxicated when given the keys
• Had a history of impaired driving
• Did not have a valid driver’s license
• Was habitually reckless or unsafe
• Was physically or legally incapable of driving safely
• Had already been instructed not to operate the vehicle

Relevant evidence may include communications, prior incidents, driver-history records, witness statements, vehicle-use agreements, and evidence showing how the driver obtained possession of the vehicle.

What Should You Do Immediately After Being Hit by a Drunk Driver?

Your first priority is safety. Call 911, request medical assistance when needed, and remain away from moving traffic, leaking fuel, fire, or other immediate hazards.

When physically able and when conditions permit:

1. Ask law enforcement to respond. Tell the dispatcher or responding officer about any facts suggesting that the other driver may be impaired.
2. Seek medical evaluation. Describe your symptoms accurately and follow appropriate treatment recommendations.
3. Photograph the scene. Capture every vehicle, damage, roadway marks, debris, traffic controls, visible injuries, and the surrounding area.
4. Obtain witness information. Record names, telephone numbers, email addresses, and what each witness observed.
5. Identify nearby cameras. Note businesses, intersections, residences, vehicles, and parking facilities that may have recorded the crash or the driver before the collision.
6. Preserve your vehicle. Avoid authorizing destruction or extensive repairs until the damage and electronic information have been properly documented.
7. Save all records. Keep medical documents, bills, receipts, employment records, repair estimates, photographs, and insurance correspondence.
8. Avoid speculating. Do not guess about speed, distance, fault, injuries, or the driver’s alcohol consumption when speaking with an insurer.
9. Be cautious on social media. Do not post photographs, medical information, accusations, or activity updates that may be taken out of context.
10. Request timely help. Evidence held by businesses, government agencies, and electronic systems may not remain available indefinitely.

More information about protecting accident evidence is available in our guide explaining how to collect evidence after a personal injury.

Why Should Evidence Be Preserved Quickly?

Important evidence may be controlled by different parties. Law enforcement may possess body-camera footage and testing records, a business may hold surveillance video, an insurer may control the damaged vehicle, and the driver’s mobile provider may possess electronic records.

Potentially time-sensitive evidence includes:

• Business and residential surveillance footage
• Traffic-camera recordings
• Body-camera and dashboard-camera footage
• Bar, restaurant, event, or hotel video
• Receipts and electronic payment records
• Mobile-device and location information
• Vehicle event data
• Social-media content
• Witness recollections
• The vehicles and damaged components

A written preservation notice may be necessary to request that a person, business, insurer, vehicle owner, employer, or other organization retain relevant evidence. Waiting for the criminal case to conclude before beginning the civil investigation may result in the loss of information needed to establish liability and damages.

Texas-specific legal and insurance resources are also available through The Morgan Law Group’s Texas Resource Center.

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Which Insurance Policies May Cover a Dallas Drunk-Driving Accident?

A drunk-driving accident may involve several insurance policies. The intoxicated driver’s automobile liability policy is usually the starting point, but it may not provide enough coverage for serious injuries or losses affecting several people.

Potential sources of coverage may include:

• The intoxicated driver’s bodily-injury liability coverage
• The driver’s property-damage liability coverage
• Insurance covering the vehicle’s owner
• An employer’s commercial automobile policy
• Additional or excess liability coverage
• An umbrella policy
• Coverage maintained by a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider
• Your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage
• Your personal injury protection coverage
• Medical-payments coverage
• Your health insurance
• Collision coverage for damage to your vehicle

The policy identified in the police report may not be the only applicable policy. Vehicle ownership, employment, permissive use, household policies, business relationships, alcohol service, and the circumstances of the driver’s trip may reveal additional coverage.

How Much Liability Insurance Must a Texas Driver Carry?

Texas generally requires motorists using insurance to establish financial responsibility to carry minimum liability limits commonly described as 30/60/25 coverage:

These are minimum requirements, not a measurement of the injured person’s damages. A serious collision involving surgery, permanent impairment, extended time away from work, or several injured occupants may produce losses far above the at-fault driver’s liability limits.

A driver may carry higher limits, and other responsible parties may have separate policies. Coverage documents should be reviewed before assuming that the amount initially disclosed represents all available insurance.

What Happens When the Drunk Driver Does Not Have Enough Insurance?

If the intoxicated driver is uninsured or does not have sufficient liability coverage, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may become important.

Uninsured motorist coverage may apply when the responsible driver has no applicable liability insurance or in certain hit-and-run circumstances. Underinsured motorist coverage may apply when the responsible driver has insurance, but the available liability coverage is insufficient to compensate you for covered damages.

Texas automobile policies generally include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing. The policy, coverage selections, endorsements, and any written rejection should be obtained and reviewed.

A UM/UIM claim may require proof of:

• The other driver’s responsibility for the collision
• Your injuries and property damage
• The amount of your legally recoverable damages
• The other driver’s uninsured or underinsured status
• The terms and limits of your policy
• Your compliance with applicable notice and claim requirements
• Amounts recovered or recoverable from other sources

Your insurer does not automatically pay the UM/UIM policy limit merely because the other driver was intoxicated. Liability, damages, available outside coverage, policy language, and other claim requirements must still be addressed.

Additional guidance about situations in which damages exceed one policy is available in our article explaining whether a car accident settlement can exceed the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage.

Can Personal Injury Protection Help With Immediate Expenses?

Personal injury protection, commonly called PIP, may provide first-party benefits without requiring you to establish the other driver’s fault before receiving covered payments. Texas automobile policies generally include PIP unless a named insured rejected the coverage in writing.

Depending on the policy and documented losses, PIP may help cover:

• Reasonable and necessary medical expenses
• A portion of qualifying lost income
• Certain necessary services performed by another person when the injured person cannot perform them
• Funeral expenses in a fatal accident

PIP benefits are limited by the policy’s terms and coverage amount. Receiving PIP benefits does not necessarily prevent an injured person from pursuing a liability claim against the drunk driver or another responsible party.

Medical-payments coverage may also help with covered medical expenses, but it is different from PIP and may be subject to different policy provisions. Request a complete copy of the policy rather than relying only on an insurance card or declarations-page summary.

Can You Use Health Insurance After the Accident?

Health insurance may be used for accident-related medical treatment according to the plan’s terms. Using health coverage can help prevent necessary care from being delayed while liability insurers investigate the collision.

However, a health insurer, government benefit program, or medical provider may assert reimbursement, subrogation, or lien rights against a later recovery. The exact rights depend on the type of plan, applicable law, policy language, payments made, and other circumstances.

Keep copies of:

• Medical bills and itemized statements
• Health-insurance explanations of benefits
• Payment records
• Correspondence about liens or reimbursement
• Letters from collection agencies
• Medical-provider agreements
• Records showing expenses paid personally

A settlement should be evaluated with outstanding medical balances, reimbursement claims, attorney fees, litigation expenses, and future care in mind. The gross settlement amount is not necessarily the amount the injured person will ultimately receive.

Can You Recover Compensation From More Than One Party?

Yes. A collision may involve multiple claims when separate people or businesses contributed to the accident. For example, an injured person might pursue the intoxicated driver while also investigating a vehicle owner, employer, alcohol provider, or another negligent driver.

Possible claims should be evaluated separately because each party may have different:

• Legal duties
• Insurance policies
• Defenses
• Evidence
• Contractual relationships
• Levels of responsibility
• Notice requirements
• Deadlines

Identifying multiple parties does not permit duplicate recovery for the same loss. Instead, the investigation seeks to determine whose conduct contributed to the collision and which coverage may apply to the resulting damages.

What Damages May Be Available in a Dallas Drunk-Driving Claim?

The damages available depend on the injuries, financial losses, evidence, responsible parties, insurance coverage, and applicable Texas law.

Potential economic damages may include:

• Emergency medical transportation
• Hospital and emergency-department expenses
• Physician and specialist treatment
• Diagnostic testing and imaging
• Surgery and hospitalization
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Prescription medications
• Medical equipment and home modifications
• Future medical treatment supported by evidence
• Past lost wages
• Reduced future earning capacity
• Vehicle repair or replacement
• Rental expenses and loss of vehicle use
• Other documented out-of-pocket losses

Potential noneconomic damages may include:

• Physical pain
• Mental anguish
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Other personal effects recognized under applicable law

Damages are not determined by multiplying medical bills by a fixed number. Medical evidence, prognosis, functional limitations, employment history, testimony, photographs, expert opinions, and the effect of the injuries on daily life may all become relevant.

Can Exemplary Damages Be Awarded Against a Drunk Driver?

Exemplary damages, sometimes called punitive damages, are intended to punish and deter qualifying conduct rather than compensate an injured person for a specific financial or personal loss.

Evidence that a driver knowingly consumed alcohol or impairing substances and then operated a vehicle may support an investigation into whether exemplary damages are appropriate. However, intoxication does not make an exemplary-damages award automatic.

Texas generally requires qualifying grounds such as fraud, malice, or gross negligence to be established by clear and convincing evidence. The analysis may consider:

• The driver’s level of impairment
• The amount and timing of alcohol or drug consumption
• Whether the driver knew they were impaired
• Prior warnings not to drive
• Attempts by others to take the driver’s keys
• Prior alcohol-related driving incidents
• The driver’s conduct immediately before the collision
• Speed, racing, wrong-way driving, or other extreme behavior
• Statements, messages, photographs, or videos showing conscious disregard of the risk
• Whether the driver attempted to flee or conceal evidence

Exemplary damages are governed by additional proof requirements and statutory limitations. They should be evaluated separately from medical expenses, lost income, pain, impairment, and other compensatory damages.

How Does Texas Proportionate Responsibility Affect the Claim?

Texas uses a proportionate-responsibility system. An injured claimant generally may not recover damages when the claimant’s percentage of responsibility is greater than 50%. When the claimant’s responsibility is 50% or less, recoverable damages may be reduced by that percentage.

For example, if a claimant sustained $200,000 in damages but was assigned 20% of the responsibility, the recoverable amount could be reduced by 20%, subject to other legal and coverage issues.

Even when the other driver was intoxicated, an insurer may still argue that the injured person:

• Was speeding
• Failed to maintain a proper lookout
• Made an unsafe lane change
• Disregarded a traffic signal
• Failed to use headlights
• Was distracted
• Could have avoided the collision
• Was not wearing an available seat belt

These allegations should be tested against physical evidence, vehicle data, video, witness statements, roadway conditions, and the police investigation. The other driver’s DWI arrest does not prevent the insurer from raising comparative-responsibility arguments.

Should You Give an Insurance Company a Recorded Statement?

The intoxicated driver’s insurer may request a recorded statement shortly after the collision. Your own insurer may also request information under the terms of your policy.

Before providing a statement, determine:

• Which insurer or company the representative works for
• Which person or business the company insures
• Whether the conversation is being recorded
• Why the statement is being requested
• Whether the complete accident investigation is available
• Whether your injuries have been fully evaluated
• Whether another insurer has competing interests

Provide accurate information, but do not guess about speed, distance, visibility, alcohol consumption, medical diagnoses, future treatment, or fault. Symptoms may change after the initial shock of a collision, and the complete facts may not yet be known.

Review medical authorizations carefully. A broadly written authorization could request records unrelated to the accident or extend beyond the information reasonably necessary to evaluate the claim.

Why Should You Be Careful Before Accepting an Early Settlement?

An insurer may offer a settlement before the injured person understands the complete diagnosis, treatment needs, time away from work, or available insurance coverage. An early offer may appear helpful when bills are accumulating, but signing a release can permanently resolve covered claims.

Before accepting an offer, consider whether:

• All injuries have been diagnosed
• Doctors have provided a reliable prognosis
• Future treatment or surgery may be required
• Lost wages have been completely calculated
• The injuries may reduce future earning ability
• All responsible parties have been identified
• All applicable insurance policies have been located
• Medical liens and reimbursement claims have been confirmed
• Property-damage and bodily-injury claims are addressed separately
• The release affects unknown injuries or additional parties
• The settlement resolves a UM/UIM claim

A low initial offer does not necessarily establish the claim’s value. Our guide addressing an insurance settlement that appears too low explains several issues to review before responding.

Can Social Media Affect a Drunk-Driving Injury Claim?

Insurers and opposing parties may review public photographs, videos, comments, location information, and activity updates. A post unrelated to the accident can be presented without context to challenge the severity of an injury or the accuracy of a statement.

After a collision:

• Do not post photographs or videos of the accident
• Do not accuse the driver, bar, restaurant, or another party online
• Do not discuss settlement negotiations
• Do not describe medical conditions before they are confirmed
• Do not post activities that could be misunderstood
• Do not accept unfamiliar connection or follower requests
• Ask relatives and friends not to post about the accident or claim
• Do not delete potentially relevant existing content after a dispute begins without obtaining advice

Privacy settings may reduce public access, but they do not guarantee that content will remain private or unavailable during litigation.

How Long Do You Have to File a Texas Drunk-Driving Accident Lawsuit?

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 generally requires a personal injury lawsuit to be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues. A two-year period also generally applies to an action for injury resulting in death.

The applicable deadline may vary based on:

• The date and location of the collision
• The age or legal status of the injured person
• Whether the injured person died
• Whether a government vehicle or public employee was involved
• The identity of each defendant
• Whether a product defect contributed to the collision
• Whether another state’s law may apply
• The type of insurance claim involved
• Contractual deadlines or notice requirements
• Other circumstances that may affect accrual, tolling, or limitations

A claim against a government entity may require formal notice much sooner than the general filing deadline. Insurance negotiations, medical treatment, a pending DWI prosecution, or discussions with an adjuster do not necessarily suspend the limitations period.

Waiting can also damage the claim before the legal deadline arrives. Surveillance video may be overwritten, witnesses may become difficult to locate, vehicles may be repaired, and alcohol-service or electronic records may be destroyed through ordinary retention practices.

Should You Wait for the Criminal DWI Case to End?

No general rule requires an injured person to wait for the criminal prosecution to conclude before investigating or pursuing a civil claim. Waiting may cause evidence to disappear and may place insurance or filing deadlines at risk.

The civil investigation may proceed while the criminal matter is pending by seeking:

• Police reports and supplemental reports
• 911 and dispatch records
• Publicly available court records
• Body-camera and dashboard-camera footage
• Witness statements
• Business-surveillance footage
• Alcohol-service and transaction records
• Vehicle data and inspections
• Insurance and ownership information
• Medical and employment documentation

Some criminal evidence may not be immediately available, and coordination may be necessary to avoid interfering with an active investigation. Nevertheless, preservation efforts and independent civil investigation should not automatically be postponed.

Does Criminal Restitution Replace a Civil Injury Claim?

Restitution ordered in a criminal case may address certain losses, but it does not necessarily compensate an injured person for every category of civil damages. It may not fully address future medical care, reduced earning capacity, pain, impairment, disfigurement, or the complete value of other losses.

A civil claim should therefore be evaluated separately from:

• The DWI prosecution
• Criminal fines or penalties
• Probation requirements
• License suspension
• Victim-compensation programs
• Any restitution order

Information about the criminal proceeding should be preserved, but an injured person should not assume that the prosecutor represents them in the insurance or personal injury claim.

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How Can an Attorney Help With a Dallas Drunk-Driving Accident Claim?

A drunk-driving collision may appear straightforward when the other driver was arrested, but the civil claim can still involve disputed fault, insufficient insurance, multiple responsible parties, lost evidence, medical liens, and disagreements over the value of the injuries.

An attorney handling the claim may:

• Obtain police reports, body-camera footage, test results, and criminal-court records
• Send preservation notices for surveillance video, receipts, electronic records, and vehicle data
• Interview witnesses who observed the collision or the driver before it occurred
• Investigate where the driver obtained alcohol
• Determine whether a bar, restaurant, employer, vehicle owner, or another party may share responsibility
• Identify liability, commercial, umbrella, uninsured motorist, and underinsured motorist coverage
• Inspect the vehicles and preserve electronic crash data
• Document medical treatment, lost income, impairment, and future losses
• Communicate with insurance companies and respond to comparative-responsibility allegations
• Evaluate settlement offers, releases, liens, and reimbursement claims
• File a lawsuit before the applicable deadline when litigation becomes necessary

The investigation should begin early enough to preserve evidence held by businesses, government agencies, insurers, vehicle owners, and electronic systems.

What Information Should You Bring to a Claim Review?

You do not need every document before requesting a legal review. However, the following information can help identify urgent evidence and insurance issues:

• The date, time, and location of the collision
• The police report or incident number
• The other driver’s name and insurance information
• Photographs and videos from the accident scene
• Witness names and contact information
• Information about the driver’s DWI arrest or citation
• The name of any bar, restaurant, event, or business the driver visited
• Your automobile insurance declarations page
• Health-insurance information
• Medical records, bills, and discharge instructions
• Vehicle repair estimates or total-loss documents
• Employment records showing missed work or reduced income
• Letters, emails, text messages, and recorded calls from insurers
• Any settlement offer, release, or medical authorization you have received

Do not delay obtaining a review merely because the police investigation remains open or some records are unavailable. Early information may be enough to identify footage, witnesses, vehicles, businesses, and electronic data that should be preserved.

Dallas Drunk-Driving Accident Claim Checklist

Speak With The Morgan Law Group About a Dallas Drunk-Driving Accident

Being struck by an intoxicated driver can leave an injured person facing medical treatment, time away from work, vehicle damage, and uncertainty about whether sufficient insurance is available. The criminal prosecution alone will not investigate every potential source of civil liability or calculate the complete value of your losses.

The Morgan Law Group can review the accident, investigate available insurance coverage, preserve important evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, and explain the options available for pursuing compensation under Texas law.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Dallas Drunk-Driving Accident Claims