Drunk Driving Car Accidents

When Impairment Causes Harm.

A DUI investigation can become important evidence in an injury claim.

Drunk driving crashes can leave injured people facing serious medical treatment, time away from work, vehicle damage, and difficult questions about insurance and legal responsibility. In California, alcohol-impaired driving remains a major traffic-safety problem. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, 1,355 people were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes in 2023.

The Law Firm of Oscar A. Ischiu represents people injured in serious motor vehicle accidents from its West Covina office, serving clients throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County. When a crash involves a driver suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, the civil injury claim may involve evidence from the collision itself, the DUI investigation, medical records, insurance coverage, and in some cases a potential claim for punitive damages.

Why Drunk Driving Crashes Can Cause Serious Injuries

Alcohol can impair judgment, reaction time, coordination, attention, and the ability to judge speed and distance. Those impairments can contribute to dangerous driving behaviors such as drifting between lanes, failing to brake in time, speeding, running traffic signals, making unsafe turns, or entering opposing traffic.

When an impaired driver does not recognize a hazard or react appropriately before impact, the resulting collision can be severe. Injuries may include fractures, head and brain injuries, spinal injuries, internal injuries, soft-tissue injuries, and other conditions requiring emergency treatment or extended rehabilitation.

The seriousness of the injuries still has to be established through medical evidence. A drunk driving allegation does not automatically determine the value of a personal injury claim. The available evidence must connect the driver’s conduct to the collision and the collision to the injuries and losses being claimed.

What Evidence Can Matter After a Drunk Driving Accident?

A DUI arrest can be important evidence, but a civil injury case should not depend on the arrest alone. Useful evidence may include the traffic collision report, officer observations, breath or blood test results, body-camera or dash-camera footage, witness statements, photographs, surveillance video, vehicle damage, skid or roadway evidence, and medical records.

Evidence should be preserved as early as possible. Video can be overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to locate, and vehicles may be repaired or disposed of. If the crash caused serious injuries, investigation of the scene and available records can help establish how the collision occurred and whether alcohol impairment contributed to it.

California DUI Laws and BAC Limits

California law prohibits driving under the influence of alcohol even when a driver’s blood alcohol concentration is below a particular numerical limit if alcohol has impaired the driver’s ability to operate the vehicle safely.

California also uses specific BAC limits. It is unlawful for most drivers age 21 or older to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. The limit is 0.01% for drivers under 21 and for drivers subject to DUI probation. A 0.04% threshold applies when driving a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license and also applies to certain drivers carrying passengers for hire.

Those criminal and administrative rules can become relevant to a civil injury claim, but the two proceedings are not the same. A criminal DUI case focuses on whether the government can prove a criminal offense. A personal injury claim focuses on whether the driver’s conduct caused compensable harm to the injured person.

Does a DUI Conviction Automatically Establish Civil Liability?

A DUI conviction can be powerful evidence in a civil case, but the old version of this page went too far by suggesting that every conviction automatically resolves negligence without further analysis. California’s negligence-per-se rules contain specific elements that must be satisfied before a statutory violation creates a presumption of negligence.

Even without a criminal conviction, an injured person may still pursue a civil claim if the evidence shows that the driver acted negligently and caused the crash. The criminal case and civil case also use different burdens of proof. A dismissal, reduced charge, or lack of conviction does not necessarily prevent an injured person from proving civil liability.

What Compensation May Be Available?

When liability and causation are established, a drunk driving accident claim may include compensation for losses such as reasonable medical expenses, future medical care, lost earnings, reduced earning capacity, property damage, and non-economic harm such as physical pain, emotional distress, inconvenience, and loss of enjoyment of life.

The amount that may be recovered depends on the actual evidence, the severity and duration of the injuries, available insurance, disputed fault, future medical needs, employment consequences, and other circumstances. There is no fixed settlement value simply because alcohol was involved.

If the collision results in death, eligible surviving family members may also need to evaluate a California wrongful death claim. The firm’s Wrongful Death page explains the basic framework for those claims.

Can Punitive Damages Be Available in a Drunk Driving Case?

Possibly. California punitive damages are different from compensatory damages. Their purpose is not to reimburse an injured person for medical bills or lost income, but to punish and deter conduct involving oppression, fraud, or malice as defined by California law.

California courts have recognized that driving while intoxicated can support a punitive-damages claim when the facts show the required conscious disregard for the safety of others. That does not mean punitive damages are automatic in every DUI collision. Whether they are available depends on the driver’s conduct and the evidence in the particular case.

Insurance issues can also become more complicated when punitive damages are alleged. The existence of a punitive-damages claim should therefore be evaluated separately from the compensatory claim for the injuries and losses caused by the crash.

Does the Drunk Driver’s Insurance Still Apply?

In many cases, the driver’s automobile liability insurance remains relevant even when alcohol impairment contributed to the crash. Coverage depends on the policy, the insured driver, the vehicle, exclusions, limits, and other facts. An injured person should not assume either that insurance automatically disappears because the driver was intoxicated or that every category of damages will necessarily be covered.

Serious injuries can also exceed the at-fault driver’s liability limits. When that happens, other potential sources of coverage may need to be reviewed, including applicable uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and any additional responsible parties supported by the facts.

Drunk Driving Accident Claims in West Covina and Los Angeles County

A drunk driving collision can involve two parallel processes: the government may investigate and prosecute a DUI offense, while the injured person pursues a separate civil claim for compensation. The criminal case can produce useful evidence, but the civil claim still requires its own investigation of liability, causation, damages, and insurance.

The Law Firm of Oscar A. Ischiu can review serious car accident claims involving suspected drunk drivers in West Covina, the San Gabriel Valley, and throughout Los Angeles County. The firm’s Car Accidents page provides more information about fault, evidence, insurance, and damages after a California collision.