Drunk driving accidents are entirely preventable tragedies that typicallyresult in life-altering consequences for innocent victims.
If a drunk driving accidengt in San Antonio has injured you or a loved one, you have certain rights and protections by law. One of those is the right to receive compensation for any damage caused by someone else’s negligence.
For these cases, it’s important you’re aware that the criminal case against the drunk driver proceeds separately from your civil claim. While prosecutors handle the criminal charges, your personal injury case focuses on securing compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages.
At Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, our San Antonio Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers help accident victims get fair compensation so they can rebuild their lives.
Call us at (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation about your drunk driving accident case.
Why Choose Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock for This Fight?
Your Story Matters. Your Calls Get Answered.
We see the human being whose life was upended, not a police report number. From the first call, you receive direct, personal attention. A crisis doesn’t operate on a 9-to-5 schedule, and neither do we. Our team is available 24/7. You will have a direct line to us, ensuring your questions find answers and your concerns are met with action, not voicemail.
We Have a History of Forcing Accountability.
Our firm brings decades of focused experience to the field, specifically handling high-stakes personal injury litigation against powerful insurance carriers and corporations. Michael R. Cowen has more than 20 years in the practice and has tried over 100 cases. We are built to go toe-to-toe with giants, securing significant verdicts and settlements for victims of catastrophic injury and wrongful death. Our job is to carry the legal weight so you can focus on one thing: healing.
We Don't Just React; We Drive Change.
Michael Cowen’s advocacy spurred a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation that resulted in a massive recall of defective SUV tires. This is the proactive, aggressive stance we take. We work on a contingency basis, which means you pay us nothing unless we win. Your initial case review is always free, so you can understand your options without financial risk.
San Antonio Is Our Home. We Protect Our Neighbors.
Our office is at 6243 IH-10 West, Suite 801, San Antonio, TX 78201, positioned on the I-10 West corridor. This location makes us easily accessible for clients throughout Bexar County. We are not a faceless national firm; we are part of this community. Our attorneys, including Michael R. Cowen, Sonia M. Rodriguez, Robert M. Disque, and Laura Pazin Porter, are consistently recognized for their legal skill, including by publications like Super Lawyers®.
What Is a Life Derailed Actually Worth?
The answer involves a meticulous inventory of every loss you've suffered and every resource you’ll need to put your life back together. Our job is to account for all these costs and back them up with receipts.
Economic Damages: The Tangible Price Tag
These are the calculable, on-paper losses.
- Medical Costs—Past, Present, and Future: Every dollar for the ambulance, ER, surgery, hospital stays, medication, and rehabilitation. More than that, it includes the projected cost of all future care—physical therapy, pain management, or home assistance—stemming from the crash.
- Lost Income and Earning Potential: The wages you have already lost. Just as important, this covers the future income you will lose if your injuries prevent you from returning to your job or earning at your previous capacity.
- Property Destruction: The full cost to repair or replace your vehicle and everything of value inside it—laptops, phones, even the child safety seats that are now compromised.
- Out-of-Pocket Necessities: Every related expense matters. Gas for trips to the doctor, prescription co-pays, home modifications like a wheelchair ramp, or childcare you needed because you were incapacitated, for example.
Non-Economic Damages: The Cost of Your Humanity
This is compensation for the suffering that doesn't come with a receipt. It is no less real and no less deserving of recognition.
- Pain and Suffering: The physical pain you’ve endured and will continue to endure. The chronic ache, the searing nerve pain, the migraines. It also includes the sheer frustration and disruption to your life.
- Mental Anguish: The invisible wounds like PTSD, anxiety, insomnia, or depression.
- Physical Impairment and Disfigurement: Compensation for the permanent changes to your body: a lost limb, significant scarring, or perhaps the loss of use of a hand. This addresses how your physical self has been permanently altered.
- Loss of Consortium: When your injuries are severe, your spouse may have a claim for the loss of your companionship, affection, and intimacy. The law recognizes that a catastrophic injury happens to a marriage, not just an individual.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: The inability to do the things that made you, you. This might look like coaching your kid's soccer team, hiking, playing an instrument, or simply enjoying a day without pain.
Punitive Damages: Reserved for the Worst Cases
Punitive damages are not automatic in Texas drunk driving cases. You must prove the drunk driver acted with gross negligence—a conscious and extreme lack of care for others' safety. Simply being intoxicated isn't enough.
What can support punitive damages:
- Extremely High BAC: Blood alcohol levels significantly above the 0.08 legal limit
- Repeat Offender: Multiple prior DWI convictions showing a pattern of dangerous behavior
- Aggravated Conduct: Fleeing the scene, excessive speeding while drunk, or other reckless acts
These damages require rigorous investigation and sophisticated legal arguments to prove. We can determine if this is a viable path in your specific case.
Where Do These Accidents Unfold in San Antonio?
A drunk driver can strike anywhere, but certain corridors and conditions consistently appear in the reports that cross our desks.
Major Arteries and Interchanges:
- I-35, Loop 410, I-10, and US 281: The combination of high speeds and an impaired driver's delayed reactions makes these highways lethal. The complex interchanges and access roads demand quick, clear decisions—something an intoxicated brain cannot provide.
Entertainment and Nightlife Hubs:
- The Pearl, the Downtown Riverwalk area, The St. Mary's Strip, and The Rim/La Cantera: These vibrant districts are where people gather and drink. They also become departure points for those who then make the catastrophic decision to drive.
Outlying County Roads:
- The poorly lit, high-speed roads on the outskirts of Bexar County often see horrific head-on and single-vehicle crashes. A false sense of security from lighter traffic can encourage speeds that, when mixed with alcohol, are unforgiving.
The Chaos of Construction Zones:
- San Antonio is a city of perpetual road work. These zones, with their shifting lanes, concrete barriers, and confusing signage, are treacherous.
What Does 'Holding Them Accountable' Actually Involve?
The Legal Framework of Your Claim:
- Negligence: The foundation of your claim is proving the other driver was negligent. In a drunk driving case, their decision to drive while intoxicated often establishes negligence per se.
- Negligence per se is a legal doctrine that says the violation of a safety law (like DWI statutes) is, in itself, proof of negligence. This shifts the main legal fight to proving the negligence caused your specific injuries and calculating the damages.
- Texas Dram Shop Laws: Can a bar or restaurant be held responsible? Yes. If an establishment serves alcohol to a person who is already obviously intoxicated, and that person goes on to cause a crash, the establishment can share liability.
- The 51% Bar Rule: Texas uses a "modified comparative fault" system. You can recover damages as long as you are not 51% or more at fault for the accident. Your recovery is simply reduced by your percentage of fault.
- The Two-Year Clock: The statute of limitations in Texas generally gives you only two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, the courthouse doors slam shut forever, no matter how strong your case is. Two years evaporates quickly when conducting investigations, gathering evidence, and preparing a legal strategy. Delay only helps the other side.
The Collisions We See Most Often:
Impairment breeds specific types of violent crashes:
- Rear-End Collisions: A direct result of an impaired driver's inability to process distance and reaction time.
- Head-On Crashes: The devastating consequence of disorientation, where a driver drifts across the center line into oncoming traffic.
- T-Bone Accidents: Occur at intersections when an intoxicated driver ignores a red light or stop sign.
- Wrong-Way Driving: A uniquely terrifying event almost always caused by severe impairment.
- Pedestrian and Bicyclist Strikes: An impaired driver’s dulled perception makes them a lethal threat to the most vulnerable people on our roads.
The Injuries These Crashes Inflict:
The human body is not designed for the forces unleashed in these collisions:
- Whiplash and Neck Injuries: Violent soft tissue damage to the neck and spine.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): From concussions with persistent symptoms to severe, life-altering cognitive and motor function damage.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage that can result in partial or complete paralysis.
- Broken Bones: Complex fractures requiring surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
- Internal Organ Damage: Life-threatening injuries to the spleen, liver, kidneys, or bowels.
- Lacerations and Disfigurement: Permanent scarring that serves as a constant reminder of the trauma.
- Wrongful Death: The ultimate price paid for another's recklessness, leaving families to navigate a future they never imagined.
Dealing with the Insurance Company
It’s nothing personal—insurance companies are businesses and their first priority is producing a profit. They will scrutinize every detail in your claim to try and minimize how much they are obligated to pay out. We work to help them see the true value of your claim, backed by black-and-white evidence.
Common Insurance Adjuster Behaviors:
The Recorded Statement Request
- Their Approach: "We just need your version of events for our records. It's standard procedure and will help us process your claim faster."
- What's Really Happening: Adjusters use trained questioning techniques to gather information that supports their evaluation. They may ask leading questions about your condition ("You mentioned you could walk after the accident?") or activities ("Were there any distractions while you were driving?"). Your responses become part of your permanent claim file and can be used to challenge your case later.
- Your Best Response: "I'm not comfortable providing a recorded statement right now. I'll have my attorney contact you to discuss the claim." Then politely end the call.
The Quick Settlement Offer
- Their Approach: "We know medical bills can be stressful. We can offer you $3,000 today to resolve this matter and help you move forward."
- What's Really Happening: Early offers are typically based on minimal information and don't account for ongoing medical needs, lost wages, or long-term complications. Some injuries don't show symptoms immediately, and the full impact of trauma can take weeks or months to understand. Accepting these offers closes your case permanently, even if you later discover more serious injuries.
- Your Best Response: Always consult with an attorney to understand your claim's actual value before accepting any settlement. Professional representation eads to more thorough claim evaluations.
The Documentation Marathon
- Their Approach: Requesting extensive medical records, employment documents, tax returns, and repeated forms asking for the same information in slightly different formats.
- What's Really Happening: While some documentation is legitimately necessary, excessive requests can serve to delay resolution and test your persistence. The longer claims remain open, the more likely claimants are to accept lower settlements.
- Your Best Response: Work with your attorney to provide necessary documentation efficiently while avoiding unnecessary delays or oversharing personal information.
The Medical Treatment Challenge
- Their Approach: "This treatment seems excessive for your type of injury" or "Our medical review suggests you don't need ongoing physical therapy."
- What's Really Happening: Insurance companies employ medical professionals to review treatment plans and may challenge care they consider unnecessary or excessive. They may suggest alternative, less expensive treatments or question the duration of your care.
- Your Best Response: Ensure your medical providers document the necessity of all treatments. Your attorney help communicate with insurance company medical reviewers when treatment disputes arise.
The Surveillance Concern
- Their Approach: Monitoring your social media profiles and potentially conducting physical surveillance to assess your claimed limitations.
- What's Really Happening: Insurance companies routinely review claimants' public social media for photos, posts, or activities that might contradict claimed injuries. A photo of you smiling at a family gathering or mentioning a "good day" can be taken out of context to suggest your injuries aren't severe.
- Your Best Response: Limit social media activity during your claim period. Set profiles to private and avoid posting about your accident, injuries, or daily activities.
The Policy Language Maze
- Their Approach: Citing specific policy clauses, "standard industry practices," or internal guidelines to justify coverage denials or payment limitations.
- What's Really Happening: Insurance policies contain complex language that can be interpreted different ways. Companies naturally interpret ambiguous terms in ways that favor their interests.
- Your Best Response: Have an attorney review policy language and coverage disputes. Legal professionals understand how courts interpret insurance contracts and can identify when companies are applying unreasonable interpretations.
Your Next Move
Call us at (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation. There’s no obligation to work with us, and you’ll walk away with a greater understanding of your rights and the true value of your case.