What To Do If You're Hit By a Drunk Driver
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What To Do If You're Hit By a Drunk Driver
A crash caused by a drunk driver leaves you dealing with injuries, insurance calls and a criminal case. This guide walks through the steps to take after the accident and how a lawyer can help protect your personal injury claim.
Key Takeaways
- If you’re wondering what to do when hit by a drunk driver, start by calling 911 so officers can document the driver’s condition while alcohol may still be in their system.
- You can sue for being hit by a drunk driver, whether or not the driver is criminally charged.
- In some cases, a bar or another party may share responsibility for the drunk driving crash.
- A drunk driving personal injury claim can cover medical care, lost income and pain. Some cases also allow punitive damages because of how the driver behaved.
A drunk driving crash isn’t an ordinary accident. Along with your injuries, you may be dealing with a police investigation, a criminal case against the other driver and an insurance company that already knows its policyholder was arrested.
Those extra layers can affect how your injury claim is handled and what compensation may be available to you. Understanding what to do when hit by a drunk driver can help you protect your health, preserve important evidence and strengthen your personal injury claim from the beginning.
What Should You Do After Being Hit by a Drunk Driver?
In the moments after the crash, focus first on your safety and then on creating a clear record of what happened. The following steps can help you protect your health and support any claim you may need to file later.
1. Call 911
If you’re hit by a drunk driver, call 911 from the scene if you’re able, or ask someone nearby to call for you. Police need to reach the driver while the alcohol is still in their system. Officers can request a breath or blood test, run field sobriety tests and write down what they observed. Weeks later, without that record, proving the driver was impaired becomes far more difficult.
When you talk to the dispatcher and the responding officer, describe what you noticed, such as slurred speech, the smell of alcohol or open containers in the car. Stick to what you actually saw and heard rather than guessing about what happened.
If the drunk driver who hit you leaves before police arrive, write down the license plate, the vehicle description and the direction they were headed. Reporting an impaired driver quickly gives officers their best chance of finding that person before the evidence is gone.
2. Get Medical Care and Keep Track of Your Injuries
See a doctor the same day, even if you walked away from the drunk driving accident feeling mostly fine. Adrenaline can hide pain for hours, and some serious injuries, including concussions, internal bleeding and soft tissue damage, don’t cause obvious symptoms right away.
Tell your health care provider about every symptom, including headaches, dizziness, trouble sleeping or memory problems. Keep your follow-up appointments and finish the treatment your doctor recommends.
If you stop getting treatment partway through, the insurance company will likely argue that you recovered sooner than you did, which can harm your personal injury claim. Save your bills, discharge paperwork and receipts for medication or equipment.
3. Keep Records of How the Drunk Driving Accident Has Affected You
Your medical chart shows your diagnosis, but it may not capture how the accident affects your day-to-day life. A journal can help document those changes while the details are still fresh.
Write down details such as:
- Pain levels and physical tasks you can no longer do
- Work you missed, including hours and lost pay
- Sleep trouble, nightmares about the drunk driver who hit you, anxiety or fear of getting back in a car
- Help you need from family with driving, childcare or chores
- Activities, events or plans you had to give up
These notes can give an insurance adjuster or jury a clearer picture of how your injuries have affected you over time, without requiring you to rely on memory months or even a year later.
4. Be Careful When Dealing With the Insurance Company
Within a few days of the crash, you’ll probably hear from the drunk driver’s insurance company. The adjuster may ask what happened, how you’re feeling and whether you’ll give a recorded statement. You generally aren’t required to give one.
Even if the conversation feels routine, be careful about what you say. The adjuster is looking for information the insurance company can use to evaluate and potentially reduce your claim. A casual comment like “I’m fine,” for example, may later be used to argue that your injuries aren’t serious.
You also don’t want to describe the full extent of your injuries while you’re still being treated. Some injuries take time to develop, and you may not yet know how long your recovery will take or what care you’ll need.
The same caution applies to accepting an early settlement offer. Accepting one usually means signing a release that ends your claim, even if your condition gets worse later. Understanding when to hire an attorney before dealing with the insurer can help you avoid making decisions before you know the full value of your claim.
5. Consider Whether Others May Share Responsibility for the Crash
The impaired driver may not be the only party who owes you compensation. Depending on where the driver was drinking and why they were on the road, another person or business may share legal responsibility for the drunk driving accident. This is especially important when the driver's insurance won’t come close to covering your bills.
Parties that may share responsibility for the accident include:
- A bar, restaurant or store that served an obviously intoxicated customer
- A business that sold alcohol to someone under 21
- An employer, if the driver was working at the time of the crash
- The owner of the vehicle, if they handed the keys to an impaired person
- A social host in some states, especially when a minor was served
Who can be held responsible for the accident depends on the state where the crash happened. Arizona, for example, has a specific liquor liability statute that sets out when a licensed alcohol seller can be held liable for injuries caused by an intoxicated customer.
Other states, including California and Colorado, put tighter limits on these claims, so your options can look very different depending on where the accident happened.
6. Understand What Happens After the Driver Is Charged With a DUI
A DUI charge is a criminal case brought by the state, and it’s separate from your injury claim. If the driver is convicted, they may face jail time, fines and a suspended license.
However, that conviction won’t pay your medical bills. Criminal courts can order restitution, but it’s usually limited and rarely covers everything the crash cost you.
Your civil claim is where compensation comes from. You can sue for being hit by a drunk driver whether the driver is charged, convicted or found not guilty. The two cases also use different standards. A DUI conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, while your personal injury claim only requires showing that the driver more likely than not caused your injuries.
The criminal case can still help you in your personal injury claim. Breath test results, the arrest report and the officer's observations often become evidence in your claim. Under Arizona's impaired driving law, a driver can be charged when they’re impaired to the slightest degree or have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher. Evidence of impairment can also make it harder for an insurance company to dispute the driver’s responsibility.
7. Consider the Full Value of Your Drunk Driving Claim
Your drunk driving claim may be worth more than the medical bills and other expenses you’ve already incurred. It can also include future treatment, income you lost while recovering and the physical pain and emotional strain caused by the crash. If your injuries affect the kind of work you can do in the future, you may also be able to recover for reduced earning capacity.
Drunk driving cases can also involve punitive damages. These damages are meant to punish conduct a court considers especially reckless. Driving after drinking may meet that standard in some cases.
For example, if your medical bills, lost wages and other damages add up to $80,000, a jury could award punitive damages on top of that amount based on the driver’s conduct. These awards aren’t automatic, and each state has its own rules for when they apply.
It’s also worth reviewing your own auto insurance policy. If the driver who hit you has little or no insurance, your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may help cover some of your losses.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer If You're Hit By a Drunk Driver
At Sargon Law Group, we handle the legal and insurance issues that come with a drunk driving claim so you can focus on recovering. We deal with the adjuster, gather evidence from the criminal case, look for every available source of insurance coverage and fight for the full value of your losses.
Our firm represents injured people throughout Arizona, California and Colorado. We also work on a contingency fee basis, which means there’s no upfront cost to hire us. If you’re sorting out what to do when hit by a drunk driver, schedule a free consultation with a
car accident attorney at Sargon Law Group to learn more about your legal options.