Bridgeport Drunk Driving Accident Attorney

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A drunk driving crash on US-380 near Bridgeport, on Farm-to-Market roads heading toward Lake Bridgeport, or anywhere in Wise County can change your life in an instant. You did nothing wrong. Someone else chose to drink and drive, and now you are the one dealing with hospital bills, missed work, and pain that does not go away. At Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys, we represent people in Bridgeport and across the Denton, Texas area who have been hurt by drunk drivers. Our attorneys are licensed in Texas and handle these cases from start to finish. If you or someone you love was injured, call us at (940) 800-2500 for a free consultation.

Table of Contents

Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.04, a person commits the offense of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) when they operate a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. Texas law defines “intoxicated” in two ways. First, a person is intoxicated if they do not have the normal use of their mental or physical faculties because of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, or any combination of those substances. Second, a person is legally intoxicated if their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, 210 liters of breath, or 67 milliliters of urine.

This matters for your civil case because the same facts that support a criminal DWI charge also support your personal injury claim. A drunk driver’s BAC at the time of the crash is powerful evidence of negligence. If the driver’s BAC was 0.15 or higher, Texas Penal Code Section 49.04(d) elevates the criminal charge to a Class A misdemeanor. That higher BAC reading can also strengthen your civil case by showing the driver was severely impaired.

Texas Penal Code Section 49.08 covers intoxication manslaughter, which applies when a drunk driver causes someone’s death. This is a second-degree felony under Texas law. If the death involved a first responder, firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel, Section 49.08 can be elevated to a first-degree felony. These criminal classifications do not determine your civil recovery, but a criminal conviction creates a strong factual record that your attorney can use in your injury or wrongful death case.

Texas Penal Code Section 49.045 addresses DWI with a child passenger in the vehicle. This is a state jail felony regardless of the driver’s BAC. If the drunk driver who hit you had a child in their car at the time, that fact is relevant to the overall picture of recklessness and can support additional claims in some circumstances.

Drunk Driving Crashes in Bridgeport and Wise County Happen More Than People Realize

Texas consistently ranks among the worst states in the country for drunk driving fatalities. Driving under the influence of alcohol remained a major factor in traffic fatalities in Texas, with 1,053 people killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers in 2024, accounting for more than 25 percent of all traffic deaths that year. That means one out of every four traffic deaths in Texas involved an impaired driver.

The numbers at the national level are equally serious. In 2023, 12,429 Americans died in alcohol-related crashes, and every day, approximately 34 people in the United States die in a drunk driving crash. Texas is not just part of that national problem, it is one of the leading contributors to it.

Bridgeport sits along US-380, a corridor that connects Wise County to Denton and the broader Dallas-Fort Worth area. Drivers heading home from bars and restaurants in Decatur, Bridgeport, or even from events near Lake Bridgeport sometimes make the dangerous decision to get behind the wheel. Rural roads like FM-2123 and FM-1810 have limited lighting and no shoulders in many stretches, making an encounter with a drunk driver especially dangerous. The Wise County Courthouse handles criminal DWI cases, but your civil claim for damages is a separate matter that requires its own legal strategy.

If you were hurt on any of these roads, the fact that a crash happened in a rural area does not make your claim any less valid. Texas recorded 1,699 deaths in alcohol-involved crashes in recent reporting periods, placing it among the top states in the nation for this category of tragedy. Victims in smaller communities like Bridgeport deserve the same legal representation as anyone in a major city.

Texas Dram Shop Law Can Hold Bars and Restaurants Liable for Your Injuries

The drunk driver is not always the only party responsible for your injuries. Texas law allows you to pursue a claim against the bar, restaurant, or other alcohol vendor that served the driver before the crash. This legal theory is called dram shop liability, and it is governed by Chapter 2 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.

In Texas, an alcohol vendor, including bars, restaurants, hotels, and liquor stores, can be partially liable for a drunk driving accident in specific situations. Namely, if an alcohol vendor sells alcohol to someone who is “obviously intoxicated” and is likely to drive later, and that person causes or contributes to a crash, then the vendor can share the liability.

“Obviously intoxicated” has a specific meaning under Texas law. It does not just mean a person had a few drinks. It refers to visible and noticeable signs of impairment, such as slurred speech, stumbling, bloodshot eyes, or belligerent behavior. Anyone licensed or permitted to sell alcohol is expected to recognize these warning signs and stop serving alcoholic beverages when it is no longer safe to continue.

Proving a dram shop claim requires solid evidence. This typically requires witness accounts, security footage, sales receipts, or expert analysis estimating the person’s blood alcohol level at the time of service. Texas law also includes a Safe Harbor defense. If an establishment can show that it provided employee training on responsible alcohol service practices, did not knowingly serve alcohol to someone who was already intoxicated or under 21, and did not promote excessive drinking, it may be able to avoid or limit its liability. Establishment owners may claim Safe Harbor protection if they required staff to attend commission-approved seller training programs and the employer did not directly or indirectly encourage them to break the law. A skilled attorney knows how to challenge that defense when the facts do not support it.

The statute of limitations for a dram shop claim in Texas follows the same general rule as other personal injury claims. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a), you have two years from the date of your injury to file suit. Missing that deadline almost always means losing your right to recover, so acting quickly matters.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Bridgeport Drunk Driving Accident

Texas law allows drunk driving accident victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover your measurable financial losses. Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that do not come with a price tag but are just as real.

Economic damages in a drunk driving case typically include past and future medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage. If your injuries require ongoing care, such as physical therapy after a traumatic brain injury or surgery for spinal damage, those future costs belong in your claim. The injuries caused by drunk driving crashes are often severe. Accidents caused by drunk and impaired driving can cause severe injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, or lost limbs.

Non-economic damages include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. These are real losses that affect your daily life, your relationships, and your ability to do the things you did before the crash. Texas law does not cap non-economic damages in most personal injury cases, which means your full losses can be pursued.

In cases where a drunk driver caused a death, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71. Recoverable damages include funeral expenses, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and the mental anguish suffered by surviving spouses, children, and parents. The attorneys at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys take these cases seriously because the losses involved are permanent.

Texas also follows a proportionate responsibility system under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. This means that even if multiple parties share fault for the crash, you can still recover as long as your percentage of fault does not exceed 50 percent. A drunk driver who blew through a stop sign on FM-1810 and hit your vehicle is not going to have a credible argument that you share responsibility, but insurance companies will look for any angle to reduce what they owe you. Having an attorney in your corner prevents that from happening.

Why Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys Is the Right Choice for Your Bridgeport Drunk Driving Case

Drunk driving cases are not the same as ordinary car accident claims. The criminal case runs on its own track, separate from your civil case. Evidence gathered by law enforcement, including breath test results, field sobriety test records, and police reports from the Bridgeport Police Department or the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, can be used in your civil case. Knowing how to obtain and use that evidence takes experience with both the criminal and civil sides of these cases.

The personal injury lawyers at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. There is no upfront cost to get started, and you will never receive a bill for our time if we do not win your case. This arrangement lets you focus on healing while we handle the legal work.

Our team investigates drunk driving crashes thoroughly. We gather surveillance footage from bars and intersections, obtain bar receipts and server records, work with accident reconstruction professionals, and review the criminal case file for evidence that helps your civil claim. Under the standard established in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993), expert witnesses in federal and Texas state courts must meet reliability standards. We work with qualified experts who can explain BAC levels, crash dynamics, and injury causation in a way that is credible and persuasive.

We know the roads around Bridgeport, the Wise County court system, and the insurance tactics that companies use to minimize payouts to crash victims. Whether your crash happened near the Bridgeport city limits, out on a farm road heading toward Runaway Bay, or on the stretch of US-380 between Bridgeport and Decatur, we are ready to fight for the full value of your claim. Call Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 today. The consultation is free, and there is no obligation.

FAQs About Bridgeport Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys

How long do I have to file a drunk driving accident claim in Texas?

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003(a) gives you two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If the drunk driving accident caused a death, the two-year period runs from the date of death under Section 16.003(b). Missing this deadline typically means losing your right to recover any compensation. Do not wait to speak with an attorney, because building a strong case takes time and key evidence can disappear quickly.

Can I sue the bar that served the drunk driver who hit me?

Yes, in many cases you can. Under Chapter 2 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, commonly called the Texas Dram Shop Act, a licensed alcohol vendor can be held liable if they served alcohol to a person who was obviously intoxicated and that intoxication caused your injuries. This claim runs separately from your claim against the drunk driver and can significantly increase the total compensation available to you, especially if the driver has limited insurance coverage.

What if the drunk driver who hit me does not have enough insurance?

This is a common problem in drunk driving cases. Your options may include filing a dram shop claim against the bar or restaurant that served the driver, making an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim under your own auto insurance policy, and pursuing any other liable parties such as a vehicle owner who knowingly allowed an intoxicated person to drive. An attorney can review all available sources of recovery and help you pursue the maximum compensation possible given the facts of your case.

Does a DWI conviction help my civil case?

A criminal DWI conviction creates a strong factual record that your attorney can use in your civil case. The conviction establishes that the driver was legally intoxicated at the time of the crash. Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.04, a finding of intoxication in the criminal case, including BAC results and field sobriety test evidence, can support your negligence claim in the civil proceeding. The two cases are separate, but the criminal outcome often makes the civil case easier to prove.

What should I do immediately after a drunk driving crash near Bridgeport?

Call 911 right away and stay at the scene. Request that law enforcement conduct a sobriety test on the other driver. Get medical attention even if you feel fine, because some injuries do not show symptoms immediately. Photograph the scene, your vehicle, and any visible injuries. Get the names and contact information of any witnesses. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Then call Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 as soon as possible so we can begin preserving evidence before it is lost.

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