Austin Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer

If a drunk driver hit you in Austin, The Sharp Firm represents people hurt by drunk and impaired drivers and will fight for the compensation you deserve. An Austin drunk driving accident lawyer can pursue payment for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering from the driver and, sometimes, the bar that served them.

Alcohol-impaired crashes injure and kill people across Travis County, where the Texas Department of Transportation counted 27 alcohol-related driver deaths in 2024.

As with our Austin car accident lawyer practice, every drunk driving case starts with a free consultation and is handled by lawyers with more than 30 years of trial experience.

What should you do after being hit by a drunk driver in Austin?

After a drunk driver hits you in Austin, call 911, document the scene, get medical care, and talk to a lawyer before you speak with the other driver’s insurer. These steps protect your health and preserve the evidence your injury claim will rely on:

1. Call 911 before anything else. Austin Police Department officers can give the driver a breath or blood test, and that number is often the clearest proof of impairment you will get.
2. Ask the officer for the crash report number. Texas officers file a CR-3 Peace Officer’s Crash Report, and you can order a copy later from the Texas Department of Transportation.
3. Photograph the vehicles and your injuries, and get a name and phone number from anyone who saw the crash.
4. See a doctor the same day. Concussions and internal bleeding may not show symptoms right away, and your medical records are what tie those injuries to the crash.
5. Talk to a drunk driving accident lawyer before you talk to the other driver’s insurer, which may ask for a recorded statement it can later use to pay you less.

“The insurance adjuster is not on your side. They’ll steer the conversation to lower the company’s exposure, especially on your injury claim. Don’t discuss your injuries with the insurance company. Talk to a lawyer first.”

Lance Sharp

Is the DWI case the same as your injury claim?

No. The DWI case and your injury claim run on separate tracks with different goals. The State of Texas brings the criminal case to punish the driver, while you bring the injury claim to recover compensation for your losses.

Under Texas Penal Code Chapter 49, prosecutors can charge driving while intoxicated, intoxication assault when someone suffers serious bodily injury, or intoxication manslaughter when someone dies. A criminal sentence can bring jail time and a license suspension, but it does little to pay for your medical care or lost income.

Still, the criminal record can strengthen your claim. A conviction, a guilty plea, or a breath test above the 0.08 legal limit can help a DWI accident lawyer prove the driver was negligent. Negligence means the driver failed to use the care a reasonable person would use behind the wheel.

Your claim also does not depend on a conviction, because civil cases use a lower standard of proof called preponderance of the evidence. That standard only requires showing your version of events is more likely true than not.

We understand how frustrating it is to watch the criminal case crawl along on the State’s schedule. Your injury claim moves on its own timeline.

Can you sue the bar or restaurant that served the drunk driver?

Sometimes you can sue the bar or restaurant that served the drunk driver, but only when the facts meet the test in Texas dram shop law. A dram shop lawsuit is a claim against a business licensed to sell alcohol for serving someone who later caused harm.

Under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code § 2.02, a provider can be held responsible for serving someone who was obviously intoxicated. The intoxication must have been apparent to the server and made the person a clear danger to themselves and others. It must also have caused the crash that injured you, which lawyers call proximate cause.

A dram shop claim can name bars, restaurants, clubs, and stores that sell alcohol under a Texas permit. Private hosts serving adult guests generally fall outside the statute, and proof against a business usually comes from three places:

• Receipts and bar tabs, which show how many drinks the driver bought and when the last one was served
• Security video of the driver stumbling or slurring while staff kept serving
• What bartenders and other customers saw before the driver walked out

Video is usually the first thing to disappear. Many businesses record over their footage within days, so we send preservation letters, written demands that a business keep its records, as early as we can.

Bars often raise the safe harbor defense under § 106.14, which can protect a business whose employees completed seller training approved by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). Our guide to dram shop liability explains these rules further.

Who pays when the drunk driver has little or no insurance?

When the drunk driver has little or no insurance, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, known as UM/UIM, usually pays what the driver’s policy cannot. A dram shop claim against the business that served the driver can add a second source of payment when the facts support it.

Texas drivers only have to carry $30,000 in liability coverage per injured person and $60,000 per crash under Transportation Code § 601.072. That money goes fast. A serious injury from a drunk driving crash can run past those limits within the first few weeks of treatment.

Under Texas Insurance Code § 1952.101, insurers must include UM/UIM coverage in Texas auto policies unless you rejected it in writing. Uninsured motorist coverage pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, and underinsured motorist coverage pays when their limits run out.

People are often surprised that their own policy pays for a crash they did not cause. Before you accept any offer, have a drunk driving accident attorney look at every policy that might cover you.

What can you recover after a drunk driving crash?

Texas law lets you recover economic and non-economic damages after a drunk driving crash, and you may also seek punitive damages. Economic damages cover losses with a dollar amount, while non-economic damages cover harms like pain and mental anguish.

“Damages come down to how the accident has affected your life.”

Lance Sharp

• Medical bills, including surgery and future care
• Lost wages, and lost earning capacity if you cannot go back to the same work
• Pain, mental anguish, and physical impairment
• Damage to your vehicle and anything inside it

Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, exist to punish the defendant, and Texas normally caps them. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.008(c), that cap does not apply when the driver’s conduct is felony intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter.

We understand how painful a fatal drunk driving crash is for a family. A DWI accident attorney can bring a wrongful death claim on your family’s behalf.

Important: This page is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts. Contacting The Sharp Firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Our experience

Lance and Laura Sharp have represented injured people across Texas for more than 30 years, from insurance negotiations through trial and appeal. Every case starts with a free and honest evaluation.

Drunk driving accident FAQs

Do I have to wait for the criminal case to end?

No. You can pursue your injury claim while the DWI case is still pending, because the civil and criminal cases move separately. The two-year filing deadline keeps running during the criminal case, so waiting for a verdict can put your claim at risk. A conviction that comes later can still serve as evidence in your civil case.

What if the drunk driver was under 21?

More people may be responsible when an underage driver was drinking. Under § 2.02(c), an adult 21 or older can be liable for knowingly serving alcohol to a guest under 18, unless the adult is the minor’s parent, guardian, or spouse. A bar or store that served an underage driver may also face a dram shop claim.

What if the driver was working when they crashed?

The employer may share responsibility. Texas follows respondeat superior, a rule that makes an employer answer for an employee’s negligence while the employee is doing their job.

Work schedules or delivery logs usually prove the driver was on the clock. Claims against a drunk driver in a commercial truck often turn on the trucking company’s hiring and alcohol-testing records. Those companies also tend to carry higher insurance limits.

How long do I have to file?

Two years. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. That deadline is called the statute of limitations. A wrongful death claim must usually be filed within two years of the date of death.

Talk to a lawyer about your case well before that deadline. Dram shop claims take time to build.

How can an Austin drunk driving accident lawyer at The Sharp Firm help?

Your case stays with two senior trial lawyers, hands-on, from the first call through trial. We kept the firm small on purpose, so the attorneys can give each client their full attention.

Lance Sharp served as a Hays County Assistant District Attorney, so he has seen how DWI cases are built and how the other side defends them. Lance and Laura Sharp are both Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and each brings more than 30 years of litigation experience.

We offer a free and honest evaluation of every case, and we will fight for the compensation you deserve so your next step is forward. If you need an Austin DWI accident victims lawyer, call 512-407-8800 or contact us online for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we win your case.

The Sharp Firm – Austin, TX Office

7800 N. Mopac Expy.
Suite 200
Austin, TX 78759

Call: 512-407-8800