Texas Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
A drunk driver makes a choice every time they get behind the wheel. When that choice ends in a crash, the driver isn't always the only one who should answer for it — sometimes the bar or restaurant that kept serving them long after they should have been cut off is on the hook too. Ali Law Group holds every responsible party accountable for drunk driving crashes across Texas.
The Bar That Served Them Might Owe You Too
Under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code §2.02 —
commonly called the Dram Shop Act — a bar, restaurant, or other licensed seller can be
held liable for a crash if it served alcohol to someone who was already obviously intoxicated,
to the point of being a clear danger to themselves and others, and that intoxication caused the crash.
This isn't about a business serving a normal customer a drink.
It's about continuing to serve someone showing visible signs of impairment —
slurred speech, stumbling, an unsteady gait — right up until they got in a car.
This matters because the drunk driver alone often doesn't have enough insurance to cover what a serious crash actually costs.
A dram shop claim against the establishment can open up a second,
sometimes larger source of recovery.
Proving it takes real evidence, though: staff testimony, sales receipts,
security footage, or witnesses who saw how the person was acting before they left.
We investigate this angle on every drunk driving case, not just the driver.
There's a related but separate rule for minors:
an adult 21 or older who isn't the minor's parent or guardian can be
personally liable for knowingly providing alcohol to someone under 18 who then causes a crash.
If the driver who hit you was underage, that's worth looking into as its own claim.
What to Do After a Drunk Driving Accident
Call 911 and get a police report — an officer who suspects intoxication will note it,
and that observation becomes part of the record before any toxicology results come back.
Get medical attention even if you feel fine, since some injuries take a day or more to show themselves.
Photograph the scene and both vehicles, and get the other driver's name, insurance, and license plate if you're able to safely.
If anyone saw what happened, get their contact information —
a witness who can describe the other driver's behavior can matter as much as the police report itself.
Don't give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer, sign anything,
or accept an early settlement offer before talking to a drunk driving accident attorney.
Insurers move fast precisely because early offers are usually lower than what the case is actually worth.
That conversation with us is free.
How Long You Have to File
Under Texas law, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file. That deadline runs regardless of whether the other driver was ever criminally charged or convicted — the civil claim and the criminal case move on separate tracks, and one doesn't wait for the other. If a dram shop claim is part of your case, evidence like security footage and staff schedules can disappear well before that two-year window closes, so earlier is always better here.
What Your Case Might Be Worth
A rear-end fender-bender by a drunk driver and a T-bone collision at highway speed don't get valued the same way,
even though both involved the same kind of reckless decision.
Medical costs are usually the anchor — emergency care, ongoing treatment, whatever's still ahead —
and from there it can extend to lost income, vehicle damage, the physical and emotional toll of the crash, and in serious cases,
how it's affected your relationship with a spouse or your ability to care for your children.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Every case is decided on its own facts.
Punitive Damages: A Real Possibility in Drunk Driving Cases
Most injury cases involve only compensatory damages—money meant to cover what you actually lost.
Drunk driving cases sometimes qualify for something more.
Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 41,
a jury can award exemplary (punitive) damages, on top of compensatory damages,
if clear and convincing evidence shows the driver acted with gross negligence — knowingly disregarding an extreme risk to others.
Choosing to drive drunk, especially with a very high blood alcohol level,
is exactly the kind of conduct Texas courts have recognized can meet that bar.
Punitive damages aren't unlimited, though.
Texas law generally caps them at whichever is greater: twice the economic damages plus non-economic damages up to $750,000, or $200,000.
This isn't a claim we bring reflexively — it takes the right facts, and a jury has to agree on both liability and amount unanimously.
But when those facts are there, it can be a real source of additional recovery beyond medical bills and lost wages.
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Let's Find Out Who's Responsible.
If a drunk driver injured you or someone you love in Texas, Ali Law Group will look into every source of recovery available, including the driver and, where the facts support it, whoever kept serving them.
This website is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.
