A crash caused by an impaired driver is not an accident in any ordinary sense. Someone decided to drive after drinking or using drugs, and someone else paid for that decision. Our lawyers represent the people who were hit, and their families, throughout the southern states.
The Criminal Case Is Not Your Case
After a DUI crash there are usually two separate matters running at once, and they are easy to confuse.
The criminal case is the state prosecuting the driver. You are a witness in it, not a party. A conviction can mean jail, fines, or a licence suspension, but a criminal court does not compensate you for your medical bills, your lost income, or what the crash did to your life. Restitution, where it is ordered at all, rarely covers the real loss.
The civil case is yours. It is how you recover compensation, and it proceeds on its own track whether or not the driver is charged, convicted, or acquitted.
Both cases draw on the same evidence, which is why having a lawyer involved early matters. Police reports, chemical test results, body camera footage, and witness statements gathered for the prosecution are often central to the civil claim, and some of it is not preserved indefinitely.
What We Investigate
Impaired driving cases turn on proof, and the proof is time-sensitive.
- The investigation file: the crash report, the arresting officer's narrative, field sobriety and chemical test results, and any dashboard or body camera video.
- Where the driver had been drinking: receipts, card records, and witness accounts that establish the hours before the crash.
- The vehicles: event data recorder downloads, damage patterns, and scene evidence that establish speed and point of impact.
- Your injuries and treatment: the medical record that connects what happened on the road to what you are living with now.
- Every available policy: the driver's liability coverage, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and any other policy that may respond.
Why These Cases Are Different
Insurers know how a jury hears the words drunk driver. That pressure can work in your favour, but it cuts both ways: a carrier facing real exposure often moves quickly to settle cheaply, before the full extent of an injury is known and before anyone has looked for additional coverage.
A fast offer in the first weeks is usually a measure of the insurer's risk, not of your claim's value. We do not let the size of an early number decide what a case is worth.
If You Lost Someone
When an impaired driver kills someone, the family's claim is a wrongful death claim, and the rules about who may bring it and what may be recovered differ from state to state. We handle those cases with the care they require. See our wrongful death page, or simply call us and we will walk you through it.
Talk to Us
There is no charge to find out where you stand, and no fee unless we win. Filing deadlines and insurance notice requirements differ across Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, and some of them are shorter than people expect, so the sooner we hear from you, the more options you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to wait for the criminal case to finish?
No. The civil claim is separate and can move forward on its own. Waiting can cost you evidence, and in some situations it can cost you the claim entirely.
What if the driver was never charged, or was acquitted?
You may still have a civil claim. The criminal case and the civil case ask different questions and are decided under different standards, so a charging decision does not control whether you can recover.
What if the drunk driver had little or no insurance?
That is common, and it is not the end of the matter. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may respond, and there may be other policies in play. Finding every available source of coverage is part of what we do.
How much does it cost to hire you?
There are no upfront costs, and you do not pay anything unless we win your case.