Being hit by a drunk driver is not a regular crash, and the law does not treat it like one. A driver who chose to get behind the wheel impaired did something far worse than make a mistake, and that difference can change what you are able to recover and how the case is built.
I come at these cases from an unusual angle. Proving and attacking impairment evidence is the core of my DUI defense work, so I know exactly how the State builds one of these cases, and how to build yours.
Why a drunk-driving case is stronger
In an ordinary crash you prove the other driver was careless. Here you can often prove more. Choosing to drive while impaired is the kind of conduct Florida treats as gross negligence, which opens the door to punitive damages meant to punish the driver, not just repay your losses. The driver’s own criminal case, the breath or blood result, and the arrest record frequently hand you proof an ordinary case never has.
What sets a drunk-driving case apart for me is that I have spent years on the other side of this exact evidence. As an ACS-CHAL forensic lawyer-scientist who defended DUI cases, an NHTSA-recognized instructor in field sobriety testing, and a lawyer who has run the gas chromatography himself, I know how a breath or blood test is built, and the same science I once used to take those tests apart is the science that proves impairment in your injury lawsuit. I also know how to use the driver’s criminal case to strengthen yours, from the arrest records to the toxicology to the plea. I represent injured people, not insurance companies, and having come up as a public defender who tried numerous cases and cross-examined witnesses constantly, I am willing to put this proof in front of a jury, which is often what moves an insurer to pay fair value. I handle your case personally, from the first call through trial. Learn more about my background.
Why a drunk-driving case is not an ordinary crash case
A collision caused by a drunk driver is a personal-injury case, and it is a stronger and different one than a routine crash, for three reasons worth understanding up front. First, the proof is unusually good, because a criminal investigation usually ran alongside your civil claim, generating breath or blood results, field sobriety observations, and a police report that can become powerful evidence on your side. Second, the money is different, because Florida singles out intoxicated defendants: under section 768.736, Florida Statutes, the usual caps on punitive damages fall away when the driver was impaired or at a 0.08 breath or blood level, which can raise the stakes well beyond an ordinary case. Third, the analysis is different, because impaired driving is a conscious disregard for the safety of everyone on the road, and that can support a claim that goes beyond simple carelessness. Handled by someone who understands both sides of a DUI, these cases carry stakes a fender-bender never does.
More than your medical bills
A drunk-driving claim can reach beyond compensatory damages, the medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering, into punitive damages. Florida normally caps punitive damages, but it lifts that cap, and the harder proof standard, when the driver was impaired. That makes these awards potentially much larger, a subject I cover on punitive damages against a drunk driver.
Proving the driver was drunk
The heart of the case is impairment, and proving it is a forensic exercise: the breath or blood result and what it really shows, the timing of absorption and elimination, and the field sobriety observations. This is the evidence I spend my defense practice taking apart, so I know how to establish it and how to answer the excuses the driver will raise. More on how we prove impairment.
Everyone who may owe you
A drunk-driving crash often has more than one source of recovery, which matters most when the driver alone cannot cover the harm.
| Source | How it applies |
|---|---|
| The driver | The driver’s bodily-injury liability coverage pays first, but many drivers carry little. |
| Your own coverage | Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can apply when the driver is uninsured or underinsured. |
| The driver’s personal assets | Because insurance usually does not cover punitive damages, those can reach the driver’s own assets. |
| A bar or host that overserved | In the narrow cases Florida allows, an establishment that overserved can be a second defendant with its own policy. |
Identifying every source early is part of the work. See insurance and compensation, and when a bar overserved, for more.
Using the criminal case, and your rights as a victim
The State’s DUI prosecution runs alongside your civil claim, and it can help. The criminal file is evidence, and how the driver pleads affects how it is used, which I explain on using the criminal case. You also have rights of your own in that criminal case, and here is how I assert your rights as a crime victim under Marsy’s Law.
When the crash is fatal
When a drunk driver kills someone, the family’s claim runs through Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, with its own rules about who may recover and what. A fatal crash charged as DUI manslaughter can also change the filing deadline. See wrongful death in a drunk-driving crash.
The deadline
For a crash on or after March 24, 2023, Florida generally gives you two years to sue under Fla. Stat. 95.11. The breath and blood records, the body camera video, and the crash scene are all easier to lock down in the first weeks than the first year, so the sooner the work starts, the stronger the case.
Most injury lawyers see a drunk-driving crash as a car case with a sympathetic fact. I see it as a case I understand from the inside, because I spend my professional life taking apart the State’s DUI evidence, the breath machines, the blood testing, and the field exercises, and I know exactly where the proof of impairment lives and how strong it really is. On the victim side, I turn that same knowledge into your advantage, reading the criminal file the way its own author would and building the civil case on what really happened. I represent injured people, not insurance companies, and a drunk driver’s case is one I know how to make count.
Common Questions
Is a drunk-driving case different from a regular car crash claim?
Yes, and it is usually stronger. Driving drunk is not ordinary carelessness, so it can open the door to punitive damages that a routine crash never reaches, and the driver's own criminal case can help prove your civil claim. The evidence is also more technical, which is where knowing how impairment is proven matters.
Can I recover more than my medical bills from a drunk driver?
Often. Beyond the medical care, lost income, and pain and suffering that any injury claim covers, a drunk-driving case can support punitive damages. Florida lifts its usual caps on punitive damages when the driver was impaired, so the potential recovery can be considerably larger.
Do I have to wait for the criminal DUI case to finish?
No. The criminal case and your civil claim are separate, and your claim does not depend on a conviction. The criminal file, including the breath or blood records and the body camera video, is useful evidence we can obtain, but your right to compensation stands on its own.
What if the drunk driver has little or no insurance?
The claim is not over. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply, a bar or host that overserved the driver may share liability, and because insurance usually does not cover punitive damages, the driver's personal assets can be on the table. Finding every source early is part of the work.
How long do I have to file?
Generally two years from the crash under Fla. Stat. 95.11. If the crash was fatal and charged as DUI manslaughter, the deadline may be different. Either way, evidence fades quickly, so it is best not to wait.
Related: How a Florida injury claim works, How we prove impairment, Punitive damages, Using the criminal case, When a bar overserved, Wrongful death, and Insurance and compensation.
In the News
This page is general information about Florida law for people injured by drunk drivers, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The governing authorities include Fla. Stat. 316.193 (driving under the influence), 768.72 and 768.736 (punitive damages and the intoxication exception), 768.125 (vendor liability), the Florida Wrongful Death Act (768.16 through 768.26), 627.727 (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage), 768.81 (comparative negligence), and 95.11 (the limitations period). Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.
