Round Rock Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer: Fighting Impaired Drivers
Drunk driving accidents are preventable tragedies. When an impaired driver strikes your vehicle, the negligence is intentional. The driver chose to consume alcohol. The driver chose to get behind the wheel. The driver’s recklessness devastates innocent families.
McFarlane Law represents victims injured by impaired drivers. We pursue both personal injury claims and punitive damages, seeking to hold drunk drivers accountable and deter future reckless conduct. We fight aggressively against impaired drivers and the insurance companies that defend them.
Impairment and Negligence
Alcohol and drugs impair drivers’ ability to operate vehicles safely. Impaired drivers exhibit reduced reaction time, impaired judgment, decreased coordination, and loss of vehicle control. These impairments cause accidents that would not occur if the driver were sober.
Texas law allows punitive damages in DWI-related accidents. If the impaired driver is found to have driven with conscious indifference to human life or with intent to cause injury, punitive damages may be awarded in addition to compensatory damages. Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct.
Criminal DWI and Civil Liability
The impaired driver’s DWI criminal conviction (if obtained) helps establish negligence in your civil case. DWI convictions are admissible evidence of negligence, making your case stronger. However, you can recover damages even if the driver avoids criminal conviction or is acquitted. Civil negligence uses a lower standard of proof (preponderance of the evidence) than criminal DWI (beyond reasonable doubt).
Dram Shop Liability
Texas dram shop law imposes liability on alcohol vendors who serve alcohol to intoxicated persons who subsequently cause accidents. If the impaired driver was served alcohol by a bar, restaurant, or other vendor, we may pursue claims against the vendor in addition to the driver. Dram shop claims can provide additional recovery sources beyond the driver’s insurance.
Serious DWI Accident Injuries
Drunk driving accidents cause severe injuries due to impaired drivers’ inability to brake, avoid collisions, or maintain vehicle control:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury and paralysis
- Multiple fractures and broken bones
- Internal injuries
- Lacerations and disfigurement
- Amputations
- Fatalities
Damages in DWI Accident Cases
DWI accident victims recover compensatory damages plus punitive damages:
- Compensatory Damages: Medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, physical impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and disfigurement.
- Punitive Damages: Additional damages intended to punish the impaired driver’s recklessness and deter similar conduct. Punitive damages are not limited to actual damages and can be substantial.
Why McFarlane Law for DWI Accident Cases
DWI Accident Experience: We specialize in drunk driving accident cases and understand the unique legal strategies for pursuing punitive damages.
Dram Shop Claims: We investigate whether alcohol vendors improperly served the impaired driver and pursue dram shop claims against vendors.
Punitive Damages Advocacy: We present evidence of the driver’s recklessness to juries and seek substantial punitive damages.
Aggressive Representation: We don’t accept inadequate settlements in DWI cases. We prepare for trial and demonstrate our willingness to try cases.
No Fee Unless You Win: We work on contingency basis.
Contact McFarlane Law After a DWI Accident
If you’ve been injured by an impaired driver in Round Rock or Central Texas, contact McFarlane Law immediately. We’ll pursue full compensation including punitive damages. Your future is our fight.
McFarlane Law – Your Future. Our Fight.
—Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue the bar or restaurant that served the drunk driver?
Yes. Texas Dram Shop liability under the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code allows lawsuits against establishments that serve alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person who then causes injury. Proof requires showing the establishment served someone who was clearly drunk (slurred speech, unsteady gait, excessive consumption) and that the over-service caused the accident. Bar receipts, surveillance footage, witness testimony, and staff training records establish dram shop liability. This creates an additional defendant with commercial liability coverage.
Are additional damages available in drunk driving accident cases?
Yes. When an at-fault driver acted with gross negligence—which includes driving drunk—Texas law allows exemplary (punitive) damages beyond standard compensatory damages. Punitive damages punish egregious conduct and deter future drunk driving. They are not capped in Texas for personal injury cases (only wrongful death claims have caps). This means drunk driving victims can recover economic damages, non-economic damages, AND punitive damages—substantially increasing total compensation available.
How does a drunk driver’s criminal case affect my civil personal injury claim?
A DWI criminal conviction is powerful evidence in your civil claim—it proves the driver was intoxicated, which establishes negligence. However, civil and criminal cases proceed independently. A not-guilty verdict in criminal court does not bar your civil case (different burden of proof: beyond reasonable doubt vs. preponderance of evidence). You can recover civil damages even if the drunk driver avoids conviction. McFarlane Law builds independent civil cases using accident reports, BAC evidence, toxicology, and witness testimony.
What if the drunk driver who hit me has minimal insurance?
Texas requires minimum liability coverage of only $30,000 per person—often inadequate for serious drunk driving injuries. Multiple recovery sources may be available: your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, dram shop liability against the bar that over-served the driver, and the drunk driver’s personal assets. McFarlane Law investigates all recovery options and pursues maximum compensation from every viable source, not just the primary at-fault driver’s insufficient policy.