Greenville, TX Drunk Driving Injury Lawyer

Drunk Driving Injury Lawyer in Greenville, TX

Drunk driving is among the most dangerous driving behaviors behind the wheel. It can slow reaction times, affect judgment, and impair a driver’s ability to see street lanes or other vehicles. Not surprisingly, this conduct regularly results in serious and fatal accidents in Greenville. 

If you were injured by a drunk driver, you may be entitled to compensation through a car accident claim. Smith & Lee has decades of experience handling cases involving motor vehicle accidents, including those involving drunk driving. Our Greenville car accident lawyers can help you seek the compensation you need for your medical bills and other damages.

Our team is ready to listen. For a free consultation with our drunk driving injury lawyers in Greenville, contact our law firm online. You can also call us at (972) 771-2579. 

What to Do After a Drunk Driving Crash in Greenville

Driving while intoxicated (DWI) crashes may seem cut and dry in terms of who is responsible. However, you should take certain steps after a car accident to protect your health and your injury claim. At a minimum, it may be in your best interests to follow these important steps:

    • Call 911 to Report the Crash: Under Texas law, drivers are required to report an accident any time it involves injury, death, or significant property damage. Law enforcement will respond to the scene and complete an accident report, which may note that the other driver was intoxicated before the crash. They may also issue a citation to the drunk driver. These documents can help strengthen your injury claim. 
  • Do Not Admit Fault: You may be tempted to apologize or casually admit shared fault to the other driver, perhaps before you realize they are intoxicated. Do not admit any fault to law enforcement or the other party involved in the crash; this admission can hurt your injury claim later on. 
    • Exchange Information with the At-Fault Driver: If it is safe to do so, you should exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver. You will need these details to initiate an insurance claim.
  • Get the Contact Information of Any Witnesses: Eyewitnesses can help corroborate your version of events and help prove the drunk driver was liable for the collision. 
  • Take Photographs and Videos: You should take photographs and videos of your injuries, the accident scene, and damage to the vehicles. 
  • Seek Immediate Medical Attention: You should seek prompt medical care after your accident, even if you feel uninjured. This step can create a record linking your injuries to the crash. It will also prevent insurers from claiming you failed to mitigate your damages after the accident.

You should also consult an experienced drunk driving accident injury lawyer for help understanding your rights and legal options. Your attorney can handle all aspects of your claim, from initial filings all the way to negotiating a settlement or defending you in court. They will also help you track and calculate your damages so you know the full extent of what you’ve lost.

Reach out to Smith & Lee for help understanding what steps to take after a drunk driving crash. We can help you navigate every part of your claim. 

How Texas Drunk Driving Injury Claims Work 

A drunk driver may face criminal liability if they caused your accident. A criminal DWI case is brought by the State of Texas. The prosecutor’s goal is to hold the driver accountable for violating Texas’s restrictions on driving while intoxicated. If convicted, the driver may face jail time, fines, and other penalties. These are purely criminal consequences and do not directly impact you as the victim, other than providing a sense of justice. 

However, you also have the right to pursue a civil action against a drunk driver who injured you in a crash. Unlike a criminal case, you bring the personal injury claim against the driver with the goal of recovering financial compensation for your monetary and non-monetary losses related to the incident.

Burden of Proof in Criminal and Civil DWI Cases 

The burden of proof in these cases is also different. In criminal court, the state must prove the driver’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the highest standard in the law. In a civil case, you must prove liability by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it is more likely than not that the driver was responsible for your crash. 

Importantly, you do not have to wait for the criminal case to resolve before filing or pursuing your civil injury claim. Additionally, the at-fault driver does not have to be found guilty for your personal injury case to be successful. The two cases proceed independently.

How to Prove the Drunk Driver Was at Fault

In Texas, a drunk driving injury claim is typically based on negligence law. To recover compensation, you must prove four elements:

  • Duty: The driver owed a duty of care to follow traffic laws and operate their vehicle safely. All drivers owe this duty to other road users. 
  • Breach: The driver breached that duty by failing to act like a reasonable person under the circumstances. 
  • Causation: The breach directly caused the crash.
  • Damages: You suffered measurable harm during the incident. 

Driving while intoxicated typically constitutes a breach of duty, or what the law calls “negligence per se.” Negligence per se just means that a person’s violation of a safety law constitutes negligence. This makes it easier to prove the breach element of a negligence claim. 

Potential Evidence Your DWI Accident Lawyer May Collect

Under Texas law, a driver is legally intoxicated if they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, or if they lack the normal use of mental or physical faculties due to alcohol or drugs.

Your DWI wreck attorney may use the following evidence to prove the driver was liable for your crash:

  • Police crash reports
  • Citations
  • Field sobriety test results
  • Breathalyzer results 
  • Blood test results
  • Officer bodycam or dashcam footage
  • Witness statements
  • Accident reconstruction analysis
  • Admissions made by the driver

Even if the driver’s BAC was below 0.08, you may still prove negligence by showing the driver’s impairment contributed to the crash. 

Injuries and Losses DWI Crashes Commonly Cause

Drunk driving crashes frequently cause catastrophic injuries. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, alcohol was involved in over 5,000 crashes statewide in 2024. These collisions caused 322 fatalities and over 500 suspected serious injuries. 

Intoxicated drivers often speed and engage in other reckless behavior that increases the severity of a collision. These accidents often involve serious rear-end impacts and, in the worst cases, head-on impacts.

DWI crashes commonly result in:

  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Back injuries
  • Traumatic brain injuries
  • Neck injuries and whiplash
  • Broken bones
  • Internal injuries
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Wrongful death

Most DWI accidents involve some combination of these injuries rather than just one. If a drunk driver caused your crash, you may be entitled to substantial compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Compensation You Can Recover After a Drunk Driving Accident

Victims of drunk driving accidents are eligible to seek multiple types of compensation. Economic damages will compensate for the direct financial costs related to the incident, specifically those that can be proven through bills and other documentation. Non-economic damages cover your personal, non-monetary losses that affect your daily life but do not have a tangible financial value. 

Your compensation award may include money for:

  • Medical bills (past and future)
  • Lost wages 
  • Reduced earning capacity
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation
  • Property damage
  • Out-of-pocket expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Disfigurement
  • Reduced quality of life
  • Loss of consortium

The Potential for Punitive Damages After a DWI Wreck

In drunk driving cases, punitive damages may also be available. These damages do not compensate you for losses; they punish the at-fault driver for extreme misconduct. These are always rewarded, but they can make up a substantial portion of your claim.

Compensation After a Fatal Drunk Driving Accident

If you lost a loved one in a DWI accident, you may be entitled to wrongful death damages, including funeral expenses, loss of support, and loss of companionship, among other things. An experienced Greenville car accident attorney at Smith & Lee can help you identify all the damages you’re entitled to after your crash. 

Time Limits and Pitfalls in Texas Drunk Driving Cases 

You won’t have unlimited time to pursue a civil action against the drunk driver. Texas law (Tex. Civ. Pract. & Proc. Code § 16.003) generally gives you two years to initiate a personal injury lawsuit. This time period starts on the date of the accident. Wrongful death claims also have a two-year statute of limitations. 

If you fail to file your case by the deadline, you will be barred from recovering compensation in court. Deadlines are not the only challenge you’ll face in your claim. Other common examples include:

    • Comparative Fault: Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule, found in Tex. Civ. Pract. & Rem. Code Chapter 33. If you share fault for the accident, your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you share 30% of the blame, your injury award will be reduced by 30%. However, if you are mostly at-fault (51% or more), you will be barred from recovering compensation. 
  • Insurance Issues: Insurers regularly try to deny liability for drunk driving crashes, citing policy exclusions or other reasons. They may also try to blame you for the accident (see comparative fault section above), even when liability is clear. 

At Smith & Lee, our experienced drunk driving injury attorney can level the playing field between you and the insurance company. We will ensure the insurance company respects your legal rights and doesn’t get away with paying less than you deserve. 

How a Greenville Drunk Driving Injury Lawyer Builds Your Case and Pushes for Maximum Value

A Greenville DWI injury lawyer will use many methods to build your case. First and foremost, they will handle all aspects of your case and help you avoid mistakes that hurt your chances of recovering compensation. 

Your attorney will be responsible for:

  • Investigating your accident to gather evidence such as police reports, breath/blood results, and witness statements, among other things
  • Identifying all liable parties, including the at-fault driver, insurance companies, and any establishment that overserved the individual
  • Consulting with doctors and experts to evaluate how the crash has affected your health, job, and daily life.
  • Calculating the full range of your damages, including but not limited to current medical bills and future treatment costs, as well as lost income and pain and suffering 
  • Handling all communications and negotiations with insurance companies

In addition, should the insurance company refuse to offer a fair settlement, we can represent your interests in court to fight for the compensation you deserve. 

Contact Our Greenville Drunk Driving Injury Lawyers

At Smith & Lee, we believe in helping clients get their lives back on track after an accident. We have decades of experience holding negligent drivers (and insurance companies) responsible for the harm they cause. We’re ready to put our resources and reputation into getting you the compensation you need to move forward. 

Contact Smith & Lee to learn how our drunk driving injury lawyers in Greenville can help build your case and push for maximum value. We offer free consultations to help you understand your rights.