Hit by a drunk driver: what your claim actually involves
The state prosecuting the driver is not the same thing as you being compensated. Those are two separate cases, with two separate deadlines, and the criminal one does not pay your medical bills. This page is about the other one.
A defense attorney is the opposite of what you need
Search results mix the two constantly, because both are called «DUI lawyers». A DUI defense attorney is hired by the person who was charged. What you need is a personal injury attorney, who acts for you against that driver and, in practice, mostly against their insurance company. The same firm almost never does both, and one that claims to should raise a question.
The criminal case is useful to you, but indirectly. A conviction establishes facts you would otherwise have to prove yourself, which is why an injury attorney will follow it. It does not compensate you, and its schedule is not yours.
The driver is not always the only one responsible
The driver’s insurer
The usual first source, and often the smallest. State minimum liability limits are low enough that a serious injury can exceed them within days of hospital treatment.
The bar or the host
Many states have dram shop laws making a venue liable for serving someone already visibly drunk, and some extend it to private hosts. Whether it applies, and how far, is set state by state.
Your own policy
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage exists for exactly this situation. It means claiming against your own insurer — on cover you already pay for, and which many people forget they have.
The deadline runs whether or not anyone tells you
Every state sets a statute of limitations for injury claims, and it is shorter than most people assume. Claims for a death follow their own clock, which may differ from the injury one in the same state. Miss it and the claim is gone regardless of how clear the fault was.
We do not publish a number here, because publishing the wrong state’s deadline is worse than publishing none. It is the first question worth asking in a free consultation, and the answer takes a minute.
Asked about drunk driving accident claims
Is a drunk driving accident lawyer the same as a DUI lawyer?
No, and the difference matters. A DUI defense attorney represents the person charged with the offense. If you were hit, you need a personal injury attorney, who represents you against the driver and their insurer. The two sit on opposite sides, and firms rarely do both.
Do I have to wait for the criminal case to finish?
No. Your civil claim runs on its own track and its own deadline, which can expire while the criminal case is still going. The conviction can help prove fault once it happens, but waiting for it is how people run out of time.
Can anyone besides the driver be responsible?
Sometimes. Many states have dram shop laws that make a bar or restaurant liable for serving someone already visibly intoxicated, and some extend that to social hosts. If the driver was working at the time, their employer may be involved. This varies by state and is one of the first things an attorney checks.
What if the driver had almost no insurance?
Common, and it is the reason many claims are worth less than the harm caused. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may then be the main source of recovery — which means making a claim against your own insurer, on a policy you already pay for.
What does a claim cover?
Typically medical treatment already received and still needed, earnings lost while unable to work, and compensation for the injury itself. Where someone was killed, a wrongful death claim belongs to surviving family members and follows different rules and a different deadline.
Crash law and deadlines are state law
Dram shop rules, insurance minimums and filing deadlines all change at the state line. Our state pages cover the criminal side; the deadline for your claim is a question for an attorney there.
Attorney advertising. InterlockDeviceNearMe is not a law firm, does not practice law, and does not give legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Requesting a consultation connects you with an independent attorney or a legal referral service, who decide separately whether to take your case. Case outcomes depend on facts we do not know, and no result is ever promised. Deadlines in DUI cases are short and vary by state — speak to a licensed attorney in your state before relying on anything you read here.