If you search for what to do after a drunk driving accident in Los Angeles, start with safety. Call 911 if anyone has serious injuries, faces traffic danger, or needs emergency help. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s drunk driving resources provide general safety information about alcohol-impaired driving.
Tell officers what you observed about the other driver. Do not confront or accuse that person. An arrest or investigation does not establish impairment, fault, causation, or civil liability by itself.
After the crash, seek medical care, preserve evidence, and communicate carefully with insurers. Learn about Dordick Law Corporation and how the firm reviews Los Angeles personal injury claims. See the firm’s Los Angeles personal injury attorneys and published Los Angeles auto collision case result. Published results do not predict an outcome in another matter.
How Dordick Law Corporation Can Help After a Los Angeles DUI Collision
After a collision involving suspected alcohol impairment, Dordick Law Corporation can review available facts and discuss legal options. The review can include the police report, medical records, insurance policies, witness accounts, photographs, video, and other evidence.
The firm serves clients in Southern California and offers a free consultation. Dordick Law Corporation generally handles qualifying matters on a contingency fee basis. The fee arrangement and available options depend on the facts and written agreement. No lawyer can promise a particular result.
Learn more about the firm’s drunk driving collision practice and contact the firm to discuss a possible claim. The Los Angeles office provides local contact information.
Take These Steps at the Crash Scene
Call 911 and Report Possible Impairment
Give the dispatcher the crash location. Include the freeway, exit, intersection, or nearby landmark. Request an ambulance when necessary.
Tell officers about observable facts. These facts may include an alcohol odor, slurred speech, open containers, unsafe driving, or trouble standing. Do not guess about the driver’s blood alcohol level. Do not follow, threaten, or argue with the other driver.
California Vehicle Code section 20008 generally requires the driver of a vehicle, other than a common carrier vehicle, to make a written report after a qualifying crash. The crash must cause injury or death. The driver must send the report to the California Highway Patrol or the proper local police agency, depending on the location. The statute allows the driver to make the report or have someone make it.
Section 20001 generally requires an involved driver to stop, provide information, and offer reasonable assistance after injury or death. California Vehicle Code section 20001 identifies the applicable statutory duties. Section 20005 addresses an injured driver who cannot make a report required by section 20003. These driver duties do not automatically apply to every victim or witness. Let officers guide you through the immediate reporting process.
Move to Safety and Exchange Information
Move away from traffic if you can do so without worsening an injury. If traffic creates danger, move to a nearby safe location when possible.
When safe, exchange names, contact information, driver’s license details, vehicle information, and insurance information. Ask witnesses for their names and contact information.
Record the responding agency, officer’s name, and report number. If emergency care or immediate danger prevents these steps, tell officers what happened as soon as practical. Complete any reporting or information duties that apply to you.
Get Medical Care and Preserve Evidence
Seek Prompt Medical Evaluation
Call 911 for trouble breathing, loss of consciousness, confusion, weakness, numbness, or serious bleeding. Seek prompt medical advice for severe pain or other concerning symptoms.
Even without immediate symptoms, monitor yourself and follow medical guidance. Whiplash and concussion symptoms can appear later. Review the firm’s Los Angeles traumatic brain injury information for related background.
Arrange an evaluation if symptoms appear, worsen, or concern you. Keep medical records, bills, prescriptions, work notes, and follow-up information. A symptom log can record when problems began and how they affect daily activities.
Save Records and Crash Evidence
When safe, photograph or record the vehicles, damage, visible injuries, road conditions, signs, signals, debris, and surrounding area. Preserve dashcam footage, text messages, receipts, repair estimates, wage records, and photographs in their original form.
Ask witnesses whether nearby businesses, residences, or vehicles may have captured the crash. Businesses and other custodians may delete footage under routine retention practices. That possibility does not create a preservation duty in every situation.
If litigation seems reasonably foreseeable, discuss preservation with a lawyer. A lawyer can assess relevant evidence and send a preservation request when appropriate. A request does not automatically create a legal duty for every nonparty custodian. Review what to do after a personal injury in Los Angeles for additional practical guidance.
Handle Insurance Communications Carefully
Notify Your Insurer Without Speculating
Notify your own insurer within the time stated in your policy. Provide accurate facts and avoid guesses about speed, fault, injury severity, or alcohol levels.
The other driver’s insurer may request a recorded statement, medical authorization, or release. A request does not automatically require you to sign a blanket authorization. Consider legal advice before providing those materials, especially while treatment continues.
Consider Available Sources of Compensation
A California drunk driving injury claim may involve the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may also apply if the driver lacks insurance or carries limited coverage. California Insurance Code section 11580.2 addresses certain uninsured- and underinsured-motorist policies; consult the California Insurance Code provision for the statutory language.
Depending on the facts and policy, potential compensation may include medical expenses, lost income, and physical or emotional harm. Property damage may involve liability coverage or collision coverage. Uninsured-motorist property damage coverage may have additional requirements.
Policy limits, available evidence, policy terms, and collision facts affect available compensation. Review insurance options before accepting a settlement or signing a release. The firm’s California personal injury practice areas provide broader information.
Understand the DUI Case, Civil Claim, and California Deadlines
Criminal and Civil Matters Follow Different Paths
A California criminal DUI case and a related civil injury claim follow separate paths. A DUI arrest does not by itself establish civil liability. A conviction may provide evidence, but it does not prove every element of negligence or damages.
You usually need not wait for the criminal case before seeking advice about a civil claim. A court may manage or stay a related civil proceeding in some cases. A stay does not automatically extend the civil filing deadline.
California Vehicle Code section 23152 addresses several DUI offenses. One provision addresses alcohol impairment. Another uses a 0.08 percent blood alcohol threshold for drivers covered by that provision. Other thresholds and driver classifications may apply.
Section 23153 addresses some DUI conduct that causes bodily injury. Depending on the subdivision, the statute requires additional facts. Those facts can include a concurrent unlawful act or neglected legal duty and proximate causation. The statute applies different classifications to different violations.
Watch the Filing and Reporting Deadlines
California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally provides two years to file an action for personal injury or wrongful death caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect. The period generally runs from accrual. Discovery rules, tolling rules, and other exceptions may affect the deadline. Section 352 applies only in certain circumstances.
Claims against California public entities generally require claim presentation within six months after accrual. This claim deadline differs from the deadline for filing suit. Late claim procedures and exceptions may apply. The California Government Claims Act deadline contains the statutory claim presentation rule.
California DMV guidance describes an SR-1 report within 10 days after a qualifying crash. Qualifying crashes involve injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage. Review the California DMV SR-1 accident-reporting instructions for current filing information. This report differs from police, CHP, and insurance reports.
Consider speaking with a lawyer promptly because the applicable deadline can depend on the defendant, claim type, accrual date, and facts. Do not assume that the criminal case or an insurance claim changes a civil filing deadline.
Consider Legal Guidance After a Collision Involving Suspected Alcohol Impairment
Early legal guidance may help preserve evidence, communicate with insurers, review coverage, and evaluate present and future losses.
Consider contacting a lawyer sooner if the crash caused hospitalization, long-term symptoms, missed work, death, disputed fault, uncertain coverage, or a quick settlement offer. Review California car accident fault laws for general background on fault allocation.
Another party may face liability in some circumstances. However, a bar, restaurant, employer, vehicle owner, or alcohol provider does not automatically share liability. California law and the evidence determine whether another claim may exist.
California uses comparative fault principles in many negligence claims. The facts and applicable law control any particular matter. You can contact the firm to discuss your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Suspected Drunk-Driving Collisions in Los Angeles
What should I do immediately after a suspected drunk driver hits me?
Move to safety, call 911, request medical care, and report your observations to police. Exchange information and document the scene only when safe.
Do not confront the other driver or guess about the driver’s alcohol level. A suspected impairment investigation does not establish fault or civil liability by itself.
Do I need a DUI conviction to bring a personal injury claim?
The criminal DUI case and civil injury claim follow separate paths. A conviction may provide evidence, but it does not prove every part of a civil claim.
In most situations, you need not wait for the criminal case before seeking legal guidance. A court may manage or stay civil proceedings in a particular case.
Can I recover punitive damages from a drunk driver?
Possibly, but punitive damages do not apply automatically. Under California Civil Code section 3294, a claimant must show oppression, fraud, or malice by clear and convincing evidence.
Section 3294 defines those terms and sets additional requirements. Intoxication alone does not automatically establish a punitive-damages claim. The facts and applicable law control the analysis.
Contact Dordick Law Corporation After a Los Angeles Collision Involving Suspected Alcohol Impairment
If a collision involving suspected alcohol impairment harmed you or a family member, Dordick Law Corporation can review the circumstances and discuss legal options during a free consultation.
Call (310) 551-0949 or complete the online contact form. Results depend on the facts. This article provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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