Getting hit by a drunk driver puts you in a stronger legal position than almost any other crash victim in Alabama, if you protect it. The driver’s impairment opens the door to punitive damages, the bar that served them may share liability, and the criminal case against them generates evidence your civil claim can use. But the first days decide most of it, and the mistakes are easy to make. Here is exactly what to do.
Hit by a Drunk Driver: At a Glance
- At the scene: Call 911 and tell the officer you suspect impairment, so it gets tested and documented
- Three possible defendants: the driver, the establishment that served them, and your own UM/UIM coverage
- Don’t settle early: a quick release can forfeit the claim against the bar
- Deadline: 2 years, and bar receipts and surveillance video vanish in days
- Cost: Free consultation, no fee unless we win: (205) 407-6009
Step 1: Get the Impairment on the Record
Call 911, and when officers arrive, say plainly that you suspect the other driver has been drinking. That statement matters: it prompts field sobriety testing and a breath or blood test, and it puts the observations, slurred speech, the smell of alcohol, open containers, into the crash report. The BAC result, dashcam footage, and the officer’s narrative become the spine of your civil case. Get medical care the same day even if you feel intact; adrenaline hides injuries, and gaps in treatment become the insurer’s favorite argument.
Step 2: Understand Who You Can Recover From, All Three
The drunk driver. Driving impaired is the kind of conscious disregard for safety Alabama law calls wantonness, which opens punitive damages on top of your medical bills, lost wages, and pain. The bar or restaurant that served them. Under Alabama’s Dram Shop Act, an establishment that served a visibly intoxicated person or a minor can be liable too, and licensed businesses carry liquor liability insurance for exactly this claim. Your own policy. Drunk drivers are disproportionately uninsured or underinsured, and your UM/UIM coverage exists for precisely this moment, often stacking across vehicles and policies.
Step 3: Don’t Let Their Insurer Rush You
Expect a fast, friendly call and possibly a fast, small check. Decline both. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and early releases are dangerous in drunk driving cases specifically: settling with the driver’s carrier before the dram shop claim is properly positioned can jeopardize the claim against the bar entirely. The order of operations should be a lawyer’s decision. Insurers price these cases higher than ordinary crashes because they know what a jury does with a drunk driver; make them price yours that way.
What About the Criminal Case?
The DUI prosecution runs on its own track and doesn’t pay your bills, but it helps: a conviction or guilty plea is powerful evidence in your civil claim. Don’t wait for it, though, the two-year civil deadline runs regardless of the criminal calendar, and cooperating with the prosecutor while your own case moves is entirely compatible.
Frequently Asked Questions
If the police report shows DUI, do I automatically win?
No case is automatic, but it comes close to shifting the fight: the impairment evidence largely settles fault and opens punitive damages, so the battle moves to the value of your injuries and how many sources of recovery exist. That’s where the investigation earns its keep.
Their insurance company already offered me money. Should I take it?
Not before a lawyer reviews it. Early offers in drunk driving cases are priced to close the file before the punitive exposure and the dram shop claim are on the table, and signing the wrong release can extinguish the claim against the bar.
What if the drunk driver had no insurance?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage steps in, and a dram shop claim against the establishment that served the driver can add an insured defendant. Between the two, an uninsured drunk driver rarely means an uncompensated victim.
Talk to a Birmingham Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Today
The Birmingham drunk driving accident lawyers at Fob James Law Firm pursue the driver, the bar, and every policy in between, and our guide to drunk driving settlement value shows what these cases are worth. Free consultation: (205) 407-6009 or contact us online.
Fob James, IV
Fob James obtained a B.S., in software engineering from Auburn University and then continued his education by getting his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. After working for a large national firm for several years, Fob found that his passion was fighting for individuals who have been seriously injured or wronged by others. Fob believes that the jury is the great equalizer to the power and influence that large corporations have in society. Many of Fob’s cases are high profile and have been featured in, among others: Bloomberg News, PlanAdvisor, AL.com, PlanSponsor, InsuranceJournal, and BusinessInsider. For his work in obtaining numerous multi-million dollar outcomes for his clients, Fob has been recognized by: National Trial Lawyers Top 100, SuperLawyers Rising Star (2020-2025), Birmingham Business Journal Who’s Who in Law (2023-2025), and TrustAnalytica – Top Personal Injury Lawyers in Alabama.