Hit by a Drunk Driver in San Antonio?

If you’ve been hit by a drunk driver, call 911 immediately. Tell the dispatcher you suspect the other driver is impaired — this ensures police respond with the intention of conducting field sobriety tests and potentially a breathalyzer or blood draw at the scene.

The responding officers need to document the drunk driver’s condition before it changes. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) drops over time, and every minute matters. The police report from a DWI crash is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence in your civil claim — it captures the driver’s BAC, field sobriety test results, witness statements, and the officer’s own observations of impairment.

Get yourself to a hospital. University Hospital, part of University Health System, is Bexar County’s Level I trauma center and treats an average of 250 drunk driving injury patients per year — roughly 20 per month. Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Joint Base San Antonio–Fort Sam Houston is the Department of Defense’s only Level I trauma center and also serves civilian patients. Drunk driving crashes tend to be high-speed, high-impact collisions — the injuries are often catastrophic. Don’t wait to “see how you feel.” Go now.

When officers arrive, give them a complete account. If you saw the other driver swerving across lanes, running a red light, driving the wrong way, or drifting off the road before the collision, say so. If you smelled alcohol when you interacted with the driver, say that too. Every detail goes into the police report — and that report becomes a key piece of evidence in your civil claim.

The officers will handle the DWI investigation: field sobriety tests, a breathalyzer or blood draw, and potentially an arrest. A BAC result showing the driver was over 0.08 is powerful evidence of negligence that’s very hard for any insurance company to argue against. Texas does not allow traditional sobriety checkpoints, but San Antonio and Bexar County run aggressive no-refusal initiatives during holidays and major events — law enforcement obtains warrants for blood draws from drivers who refuse testing. During Fiesta 2024, San Antonio police made 139 DWI arrests over the event’s 11-day run.

If you’re physically able, photograph everything. The other driver’s vehicle, your vehicle, the intersection or stretch of road, traffic signals, skid marks, debris, and any visible injuries. If there are beer cans, bottles, or open containers in or around the other driver’s car, photograph those too — from a safe distance. Don’t touch anything in the other vehicle.

Get the other driver’s name, insurance information, and license plate number. Get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. In the chaos after a crash, people leave quickly — grab their contact info before they go.

Keep photographing your injuries over the following days and weeks. Bruising deepens. Surgical incisions scar. Casts and braces tell a visual story that medical records alone don’t capture. Save every medical bill, pharmacy receipt, and record of missed work.

Your civil claim is separate from any criminal charges the driver faces. Even if the drunk driver pleads guilty to DWI, that doesn’t automatically get you compensated. You have to pursue your own claim — either through the driver’s insurance company or by filing a lawsuit.

Texas is an at-fault state. The drunk driver (and their insurance) is responsible for your damages: medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, and any long-term impacts on your life and earning capacity.

Liability in drunk driving cases is rarely disputed. A driver with a BAC over 0.08 was breaking the law, period. The fights in these cases are almost always about the size of the payout, not who caused the crash. Expect the insurance company to argue your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim, that you had pre-existing conditions, or that you somehow contributed to the collision.

Unlike many states, Texas gives you a real chance to hold the bar accountable. Under Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 2.02, a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider can be held liable if they served alcohol to a person who was obviously intoxicated to the extent that the person presented a clear danger to themselves or others — and that intoxication caused your injuries.

This is a significant avenue for additional compensation, especially when the drunk driver has minimal insurance. San Antonio’s nightlife is concentrated along the River Walk, the St. Mary’s Strip, Southtown, and the Pearl district — if the driver was served well past the point of visible intoxication at a bar, restaurant, or venue in these areas before the crash, the establishment that served them may share liability.

Proving a dram shop claim requires evidence that the establishment’s employees continued serving alcohol despite observable signs of intoxication. Witness testimony, surveillance footage, credit card receipts showing the volume and timing of drinks purchased, and server testimony all come into play. An experienced attorney can subpoena this evidence early, before it’s deleted or discarded.

Texas also extends liability to social hosts in limited circumstances. Under Tex. Alco. Bev. Code § 2.02(c), an adult who knowingly provides alcohol to a minor (under 18) can be held liable for injuries that minor causes while intoxicated.

Drunk driving crash victims in Texas can recover the full range of personal injury damages. Texas does not cap non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in most personal injury cases.

Medical expenses cover everything from the emergency room and ambulance ride through surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, and any future treatment related to the crash. Drunk driving injuries tend to be severe — traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, internal organ injuries — because impaired drivers often hit at full speed without braking.

Lost wages include time missed from work during recovery and any long-term reduction in your earning capacity. If you can’t return to the same job because of your injuries, the difference in lifetime earnings is compensable.

Pain and suffering covers the physical pain and emotional toll of the crash and recovery. Fear, anxiety, PTSD, nightmares, and the psychological impact of knowing someone chose to drink and drive are all compensable.

In drunk driving cases, Texas also allows exemplary (punitive) damages when the driver’s conduct rises to gross negligence. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003, if you can show by clear and convincing evidence that the harm resulted from fraud, malice, or gross negligence, the jury can award punitive damages capped at the greater of 2x economic damages plus up to $750,000 in non-economic damages, or $200,000 (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.008). Driving drunk is strong evidence of gross negligence.

You have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). If the drunk driver killed someone, the wrongful death statute of limitations is also two years from the date of death.

Don’t confuse your civil deadline with the criminal case timeline. The criminal DWI case operates on its own schedule. Your civil claim has its own clock, and it runs whether or not the criminal case has been resolved.

If your crash involved a government vehicle or occurred on a government-maintained road, the notice deadline is much shorter: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101 requires formal written notice within 6 months. San Antonio has multiple military installations — Joint Base San Antonio encompasses Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, and Randolph AFB — and crashes involving federal military vehicles may involve additional jurisdictional considerations. Consult an attorney immediately if a military vehicle was involved.

Two years sounds like enough time. It’s often not. Medical treatment takes months. You may not know the full extent of your injuries for a year or more. Negotiations with insurance drag on. Start the process early.

Drunk driving crash cases are among the strongest personal injury claims because liability is usually clear. But “strong” doesn’t mean “easy.” The insurance company’s job is to pay as little as possible, even when their policyholder was legally drunk behind the wheel.

An experienced attorney can obtain the police report and BAC evidence, coordinate with the Bexar County District Attorney’s office on the criminal case, investigate potential dram shop claims against the establishment that served the driver, calculate your full damages (including future medical needs and lost earning capacity), and negotiate with the insurance company from a position of strength.

Most personal injury attorneys in San Antonio handle drunk driving crash cases on contingency — no upfront cost, and they only get paid if you recover money. A free consultation costs you nothing and tells you whether your case has value and what the process would look like.

If your injuries are serious, if the driver’s insurance is offering a lowball settlement, or if someone was killed, don’t try to handle this alone. These cases have real value, and the insurance company knows it.