Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer

Bradenton DUI Accident Lawyer

A Bradenton DUI accident lawyer represents people hurt or killed by drunk or drugged drivers in Manatee County. The impaired driver is responsible for the harm, and Florida law adds tools these cases often need, including punitive damages without the usual caps when the driver was impaired, and claims against vehicle owners, employers, and, in narrow cases, those who served the alcohol.

Heintz Law represents injured people and grieving families after impaired driving crashes in Bradenton, Palmetto, Manatee County, and across the Suncoast, from wrong-way crashes on I-75 and I-275 to late-night collisions on Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road. Founding Partner Steven E. Heintz and our Bradenton drunk driving accident lawyers handle these claims as part of the firm's car accident lawyer practice, within our broader personal injury lawyer practice.

What Should I Do If a Drunk Driver Hit Me?

If a drunk driver hit you, call 911, stay at the scene if you can safely, and get medical care. Tell officers what you noticed about the driver, such as the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, or open containers. Photograph the scene, collect witness names, and see a doctor within 14 days to protect your personal injury protection benefits.

Evidence of impairment fades fast, and the first steps protect it:

• Call 911 so officers can investigate impairment, conduct field sobriety tests, and request breath or blood testing
• Tell the officer anything you saw: weaving, no headlights, wrong-way driving, open containers, or the driver's behavior
• Photograph the vehicles, the road, and anything visible inside the other car
• Get names and phone numbers from witnesses, including anyone who saw the driver at a bar or restaurant earlier
• Write down the driver's name, insurance carrier, policy number, and plate number if it is safe to do so
• Get medical care right away, even if you feel fine
• Get the crash report number and the criminal case number
• Avoid recorded statements to the driver's insurance carrier

Our article on what to do if injured in a New Year's Eve drunk driving accident covers these steps for one of the highest-risk nights of the year.

Can I Sue a Drunk Driver in Florida?

Yes. An impaired driver who causes a crash can be sued for the injuries and deaths that result, separate from any criminal DUI case. The civil claim seeks money damages for the injured person, while the criminal case seeks punishment. The two move on separate tracks, and the civil claim does not have to wait.

A criminal DUI conviction can help the civil case, but it is not required. The civil case has a lower burden of proof, so a driver who is acquitted, pleads to a lesser charge, or is never charged can still be found responsible in a civil lawsuit.

Our article on whether you can sue a drunk driver who hurt you walks through the claim against the driver in more detail.

What Is the Legal Limit for DUI in Florida?

In Florida, a driver is under the influence with a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, or when alcohol or drugs impair their normal faculties at any level. Drivers under 21 face a much lower threshold of 0.02. Impairment from prescription drugs, marijuana, or other substances also counts.

For a civil injury claim, the question is whether the driver's impairment caused or contributed to the crash. Evidence often includes:

• Breath and blood test results
• Field sobriety test results and body camera or dashcam video
• Officer observations, such as odor, speech, balance, and admissions
• Bar and restaurant receipts showing what was served and when
• Surveillance video from the establishment and the parking lot
• Witness accounts of the driver's behavior before the crash
• Toxicology reports for drug impairment
• The driver's prior DUI history, when it is relevant and admissible

Can I Get Punitive Damages Against a Drunk Driver?

Florida law can allow punitive damages, which punish especially reckless conduct, when an impaired driver's behavior rises to gross negligence. Florida's usual limits on punitive damages do not apply to a defendant whose normal faculties were impaired by alcohol or drugs, or who had a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.

Punitive damages are not automatic. The court must first allow the claim based on evidence such as a high blood alcohol level, extreme speed, wrong-way driving, or a history of DUI arrests. Punitive damages are also often excluded from auto insurance, so whether an award can be collected depends on the driver's own assets.

Compensatory damages, which repay actual losses, remain the core of most claims. Our article on repeat DUI offenders discusses one of the most dangerous situations on Florida roads.

Can I Sue the Bar That Served the Drunk Driver?

Only in narrow situations. Florida generally protects anyone who sells or serves alcohol to an adult 21 or older from liability for what that adult does while intoxicated. A claim may exist when alcohol was willfully and unlawfully served to someone under 21, or knowingly served to someone habitually addicted to alcohol.

Serving a visibly drunk adult, by itself, is generally not enough under Florida law, which surprises many families. The habitual addiction exception requires proof that the server actually knew of the addiction, often shown through the customer's history at that establishment rather than one night.

Florida's rule covers social hosts as well. A homeowner who willfully and unlawfully gives alcohol to underage guests who then drive may be responsible for the harm they cause. Bar receipts, ID scanner logs, video, and staff testimony are the key evidence in these claims.

Who Else Can Be Responsible for a Drunk Driving Crash?

Beyond the impaired driver, Florida law may allow claims against the owner of the vehicle, the driver's employer if the driver was working, parents who signed a teen driver's license application, and, in narrow cases, a bar or host. Your own uninsured motorist coverage may also pay when the driver's insurance is not enough.

• The impaired driver, through their liability insurance and personal assets
• The vehicle owner, because Florida generally holds owners responsible when they let someone else drive
• Employers, when the driver was on the job or in a company vehicle
• Parents who signed a minor's license application
• Bars, restaurants, stores, or hosts, if a dram shop exception applies
• Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, which can step in when the driver has little or no coverage

Impaired drivers in commercial vehicles raise additional questions, covered on our truck accidents page.

Who Pays My Medical Bills After a DUI Crash?

Your own personal injury protection coverage, called PIP, generally pays first, regardless of who caused the crash. PIP covers 80 percent of reasonable medical bills and 60 percent of lost income, up to its limits. Florida requires at least $10,000 in PIP, and initial care must begin within 14 days.

The full $10,000 is available for medical care only if a qualified provider determines there was an emergency medical condition. Otherwise, medical benefits are limited to $2,500. Health insurance, medical payments coverage, and the impaired driver's bodily injury coverage follow.

Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage, and impaired drivers are often underinsured. Uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy is frequently the largest source of recovery. Crime victims may also be eligible for help with certain expenses through the Florida Attorney General's victim compensation program, and courts may order restitution in the criminal case.

Can I Recover Pain and Suffering After a DUI Crash?

Yes, if the injuries meet Florida's serious injury threshold. Under the no-fault system, pain and suffering against the at-fault driver requires a permanent injury, a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, significant permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Different rules may apply to motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Drunk driving crashes are often high-speed and head-on, so injuries such as fractures requiring surgery, spinal injuries, and traumatic brain injuries frequently fall within the threshold. Treating physicians must support permanency within a reasonable degree of medical probability.

Motorcycle riders generally fall outside the no-fault system, which changes how these rules apply. Our motorcycle accident and pedestrian accident pages explain the differences.

What Compensation Can I Recover After a Drunk Driving Accident?

An injured person may seek economic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and property damage, and non-economic damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, scarring, and loss of enjoyment of life. A spouse may have a separate claim, and punitive damages may be available without the usual caps.

• Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, rehabilitation, and attendant care
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity
• Home modifications, medical equipment, and transportation to treatment
• Vehicle repair or replacement and other property damage
• Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and other emotional injuries
• Loss of companionship and support for a spouse
• Punitive damages when the driver's conduct rises to gross negligence

What If a Drunk Driver Killed My Family Member?

When an impaired driver causes a death, Florida law allows a wrongful death claim brought by the personal representative of the estate. Surviving spouses, children, and in some cases parents may recover for lost support, companionship, and their own grief, and the estate may recover medical and funeral expenses.

The wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years of the death. It is separate from the criminal case, which may involve DUI manslaughter charges. Families have rights in the criminal case as well, including the right to be informed and heard. Our wrongful death page explains the process.

What Injuries Are Common in Drunk Driving Crashes?

Impaired driving crashes often involve high speeds, wrong-way driving, and head-on or side impacts, which cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, multiple fractures, internal organ damage, severe burns and lacerations, and post-traumatic stress. Many are catastrophic or fatal.

• Traumatic brain injuries, from concussions to severe brain trauma, covered on our Bradenton traumatic brain injuries page
• Spinal cord injuries, herniated discs, and vertebral fractures
• Multiple, compound, hip, and facial fractures
• Liver, spleen, lung, and kidney injuries, and internal bleeding
• Whiplash, torn ligaments, and other soft tissue injuries
• Burns from vehicle fires and deep lacerations from glass
• Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and fear of driving
• Chronic pain and long-term complications

What If I Had Also Been Drinking?

Florida has an alcohol and drug defense. An injured person who was impaired or had a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, and who was more than 50 percent at fault because of that impairment, cannot recover damages. Below that level, recovery is generally reduced by the injured person's share of fault.

This rule works alongside Florida's modified comparative fault rule, under which anyone more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing. A passenger who rode with a driver they knew was drunk may face comparative fault arguments, depending on the facts. These defenses require specific findings, and the evidence on both impairment and fault matters.

How Long Do I Have to File a Drunk Driving Accident Claim?

For most negligence claims arising from crashes on or after March 24, 2023, Florida's statute of limitations is two years from the date of the crash. Wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years of the death. The civil deadline runs no matter what is happening in the criminal case.

Bar video and receipts can disappear within days, and the criminal case may take many months. Preservation letters to the establishment and early requests for the criminal file help protect the evidence. Older guidance giving four years is out of date for most current crashes.

How Do Our Bradenton Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers Handle These Cases?

Our Bradenton drunk driving accident lawyers handle each case in stages, from first contact through investigation, pre-suit negotiation, discovery, mediation, trial, and appeal. Every file is prepared from the start as if a jury will hear it, because that preparation shapes how insurance carriers value the claim.

• First contact. Review the crash, the injuries, every insurance policy, and the deadlines.
• Preservation. Send preservation letters to bars, restaurants, and hosts, and request the criminal file, test results, and body camera video.
• Investigation. Trace where the driver was drinking, interview witnesses, and work with the outside professionals we retain, such as accident reconstruction engineers and toxicologists.
• Medical documentation. Work with treating physicians to document injuries and any permanent impairment.
• Demand and negotiation. Present the claim to every responsible carrier, including uninsured motorist coverage, and evaluate punitive damages and dram shop claims.
• Lawsuit and discovery. File in the Manatee County Circuit Court or another proper court, take depositions, and prepare for the defense's compulsory medical examination.
• Mediation, trial, and appeal. Negotiate with the case ready for trial, present it to a jury when needed, and handle appeals in the Florida District Court of Appeal.

When an insurer unreasonably delays or undervalues a claim, our bad faith insurance page explains the options.

Why Choose Steven E. Heintz for Your Drunk Driving Accident Case?

Steven E. Heintz is the Founding Partner of Heintz Law, a Bradenton firm that represents only injured people and their families. His approach is careful preparation, aggressive advocacy where the facts call for it, and trial readiness from the first conference. Settlement on the right number is welcome. Settlement that shortchanges a client is not.

Drunk driving accident cases are handled on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery. Families in Bradenton can also find guidance on our Bradenton drunk driving victim attorney page, and those hurt by drivers on phones can see our distracted driving lawyer page.

Contact Our Bradenton Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

If you or a family member was hurt or killed by an impaired driver in Bradenton, Palmetto, or anywhere in Manatee County or the surrounding counties, Heintz Law can review the crash, preserve the evidence of impairment, and explain your options under Florida law.