Someone made a series of choices that led to the moment their car hit yours, and every one of them was wrong.
They chose to drink. They chose to keep drinking after they felt it. They chose to pick up keys instead of opening a rideshare app. A bartender chose to pour the last round.
None of those choices were yours, yet you are the one in the hospital, the one whose family is afraid to leave the waiting room, the one facing a recovery that could stretch for years.
The criminal case will move on its own timeline, and the driver may serve time, probation, or nothing at all. Either way, that case pays none of your medical bills.
Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, The Trucking Trial Lawyers, represent victims of drunk driving crashes across Texas from our San Antonio headquarters.
When an impaired driver upends your life, our Texas drunk driving accident lawyers pursue the driver, the bar or restaurant that overserved them, and every source of coverage that can fund the recovery.
Call (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation today.
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Why Choose Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock for Your Texas Drunk Driving Accident Case
Drunk driving crashes are not ordinary car wrecks. The damages run deeper, the fault picture is cleaner, and the legal tools available to victims are broader than in almost any other kind of collision. Our firm knows how to use every one of them.
- Catastrophic injury focus: Drunk driving crashes produce the traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, and fatalities that sit at the center of our practice.
- Board certified trial attorneys: Michael Cowen is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and Malorie Peacock holds Board Certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
- Results that pressure insurers: Our firm has secured outcomes including a $10.5 million judgment in a catastrophic injury case and a $4 million jury verdict in a commercial vehicle crash. Defense counsel recognizes our name on a filing.
- Dram shop investigation capacity: We investigate every bar, restaurant, club, and venue that served the driver before the crash. Over-service claims often bring in commercial liquor liability policies far larger than the driver's personal auto policy.
- Direct attorney access: You speak with a lawyer, not a case manager running a script. We return calls, we listen, and we keep you informed from intake to verdict.
- Trial-ready from day one: We love the courtroom, and defense firms know it. Drunk driving cases are among the strongest jury cases in all of civil litigation, and we prepare them accordingly.
- No fee unless we recover: You pay nothing up front. Our fee comes only from what we bring in for you.
When a drunk driver's choices cost you everything, the answer is a firm that will chase every dollar owed and hold every responsible party to account.
Challenges Texas Drunk Driving Accident Victims Face and How We Solve Them
Drunk driving cases carry challenges that look different from standard crash claims. Criminal and civil proceedings run on parallel tracks, insurance coverage issues stack up, and defendants multiply when the facts are developed properly.
- Criminal case confusion: Families often assume the criminal DWI prosecution will compensate them. It will not. Criminal fines go to the state, restitution orders are often unenforceable, and the driver's prison sentence pays nothing toward medical bills. We handle the civil case as a separate and independent track.
- Minimum insurance limits: Texas requires only $30,000 per injured person under Transportation Code Section 601.072, and many drunk drivers carry nothing more. We pursue underinsured motorist coverage, umbrella policies, and dram shop defendants to close the gap.
- Dram shop evidence preservation: Bar receipts, surveillance footage, POS records showing individual drinks, and server schedules typically have retention periods measured in weeks. We send preservation letters immediately and subpoena records before they vanish.
- Comparative fault distractions: Defense lawyers sometimes push marginal fault arguments onto sober victims to shrink awards. A high BAC reading on the other driver almost always carries the case, but we still counter every attempt with physical evidence and reconstruction.
- Emotional pressure to settle fast: Families dealing with funeral arrangements or ICU bills face intense pressure to accept the first offer an insurer extends. We handle the insurer while the family focuses on the patient or the memorial.
Each of these challenges has a legal answer, and our firm applies them from the week you sign on.
Types of Texas Drunk Driving Accident Cases We Handle
Our firm takes on the full range of alcohol and drug-impaired crash scenarios:
DWI head-on and wrong-way crashes
Often the most catastrophic collisions, typically involving drivers who entered highways in the wrong direction after leaving bars or restaurants.
Rear-end and intersection crashes
Impaired drivers missing stopped traffic, running red lights, or failing to react to normal road conditions.
Pedestrian and cyclist strikes
Drunk drivers striking people walking, jogging, or riding bikes in urban areas, near bars, and along entertainment corridors.
Drunk commercial driver crashes
Impaired truck or delivery drivers who violated Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations requiring a BAC below 0.04, half the passenger vehicle limit.
Rideshare driver DWI crashes
Dram shop claims against bars and restaurants
Commercial establishments that overserved the driver before the crash.
Underage drinking cases
Crashes caused by drivers under 21 who were served alcohol by commercial vendors or adult social hosts.
Wrongful death claims
Fatal drunk driving crashes brought on behalf of surviving family members under the Texas Wrongful Death Act.
Whatever the specific facts, the core questions stay the same: who caused the crash, who helped put the driver behind the wheel impaired, and what coverage applies. We answer all three.
Compensation Available in a Texas Drunk Driving Accident Claim
Drunk driving cases often support the largest damage awards in Texas civil law. Recovery falls into three categories, and our firm pursues the full value of each.
Economic damages cover measurable financial losses:
- Medical expenses: Emergency response, hospital stays, surgeries, ICU care, rehabilitation, prescription medication, assistive devices, and projected future treatment.
- Lost wages: Income missed during recovery, including overtime, bonuses, and self-employment earnings.
- Loss of earning capacity: Reduced ability to work in your profession or any future profession because of lasting injuries.
- Property damage: Repair or replacement of your vehicle and personal belongings.
- Future care costs: Long-term rehabilitation, home modifications, adaptive equipment, and in-home nursing.
Full documentation of these losses often requires input from treating physicians, life care planners, and vocational economists.
Noneconomic damages cover the human toll:
- Physical pain and suffering: Chronic pain, ongoing injury symptoms, and permanent physical limitations.
- Mental anguish: PTSD, anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma from the crash and its aftermath.
- Disfigurement and impairment: Scarring, amputation, and permanent loss of body function.
- Loss of consortium: Harm to the relationship between you and your spouse caused by the injuries.
Exemplary damages carry particular weight in drunk driving cases. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41, exemplary damages are available when the defendant acted with gross negligence. Driving while intoxicated routinely meets that standard, and Texas law carves out exceptions to exemplary damage caps when the underlying conduct involves felony DWI.
Dram shop defendants add another layer of recovery. Under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.02, a bar, restaurant, or club may be liable for serving an adult who was "obviously intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others" if that over-service caused the crash.
Commercial establishments typically carry liquor liability policies ranging from $500,000 to several million dollars, far beyond what a drunk driver's personal auto policy provides.
Call us at (210) 941-1306 for a free consultation or contact us below. No cost to you unless we win.
FAQs About Texas Drunk Driving Accident Claims
How long do I have to file a civil claim against a drunk driver or another responsible party?
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 sets a two-year filing deadline for most drunk driving civil claims. Dram shop evidence starts disappearing long before that deadline arrives.
Can I sue the bar that served the drunk driver in Texas?
Yes, if the facts support it. Under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.02, a commercial alcohol provider may be liable when it served an obviously intoxicated patron whose intoxication proximately caused the crash.
Obviously intoxicated means visible signs of impairment were apparent at the time of service, such as slurred speech, staggering, or difficulty maintaining balance. Dram shop claims require fast evidence preservation because receipts, footage, and POS records are routinely deleted within weeks.
What if the drunk driver was served at a private party?
Texas social host liability is narrow. Adults who serve alcohol to other adults at private parties generally face no civil liability for later crashes. The exception is when alcohol is served to a minor under 21, which can support both social host and criminal liability against the adult who provided it.
Does the drunk driver's criminal case affect my civil claim?
The two tracks run independently, but criminal evidence is useful on the civil side. A DWI conviction or no-contest plea can be introduced as evidence of negligence. BAC results, field sobriety test outcomes, and arrest reports all become part of the civil record. The civil claim does not depend on a criminal conviction, and victims can recover even when the criminal case resolves without one.
What if an off-duty commercial driver hit me while drunk?
Employer liability in off-duty cases depends on whether the driver was acting within the scope of employment at the time. Even when vicarious liability does not attach, negligent hiring, retention, or entrustment claims may still reach the employer when warning signs existed beforehand.
How long do I have to file a drunk driving accident lawsuit in Texas?
Most Texas drunk driving injury claims carry a two-year filing deadline under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Wrongful death claims and claims against governmental defendants may follow different timelines, and some require written notice within months of the crash.
How much is my Texas drunk driving accident case worth?
Case value depends on injury severity, medical costs, lost earning capacity, available insurance and dram shop coverage, and the conduct of every defendant involved. Catastrophic injury and wrongful death drunk driving cases often reach seven and eight figures when dram shop defendants are properly pursued and exemplary damages are developed through gross negligence proof.
Speak With a Texas Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Today
The person who hit you made a choice no one else should pay for. Yet here you are, paying. Your body, your time, your income, your family's peace of mind all sit on your ledger while the driver and their insurer hope you accept less than the case is worth.
Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, The Trucking Trial Lawyers, stand ready to investigate every bar that served the driver, identify every available policy, prove gross negligence for exemplary damages, and present the full scope of your losses to a Texas jury. Our record of multimillion-dollar outcomes tells insurers what this case will cost them if they refuse to resolve it honestly.
Call (210) 941-1301 now for a free consultation with a Texas drunk driving accident lawyer. No cost to you unless we recover money for your injuries. Our team answers 24/7, and Spanish-language support is available.
Schedule A Free Case Consultation
Cowen Law - Texas Office
Address: 6243 I-10 #801, San Antonio, TX 78201
Contact No: (210) 941-1306