Carrollton Drunk Driving Accident Attorney

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A drunk driving crash on Carrollton roads can change your life in seconds. Whether it happened near the busy stretch of I-35E running through town, on Belt Line Road, or close to one of the neighborhoods along Josey Lane, the aftermath is the same: serious injuries, mounting medical bills, lost wages, and a lot of unanswered questions. At Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys, we represent injured victims throughout the Carrollton area and across North Texas, and we know how to hold drunk drivers accountable under Texas law.

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Texas Penal Code Section 49.01 defines “intoxicated” in two ways. A person is intoxicated if they do not have normal use of their mental or physical faculties due to alcohol, drugs, or a combination of substances. A person is also legally intoxicated if their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood.

Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.04, driving while intoxicated (DWI) is a criminal offense. A basic first-offense DWI is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum of 72 hours in jail. If a driver had an open container at the time, the minimum confinement jumps to six days. If a blood or breath test shows a BAC of 0.15 or higher, the charge becomes a Class A misdemeanor. Driving drunk in a school crossing zone is treated as a state jail felony under the same statute.

The stakes get even higher when a child is involved. Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.045, driving while intoxicated with a passenger under 15 years old is automatically a state jail felony, regardless of the driver’s BAC level.

These criminal charges matter in your civil case. When a driver is convicted of DWI, that conviction can be treated as negligence per se in a personal injury lawsuit, meaning the conviction itself establishes that the driver was negligent without requiring you to prove it separately. That is a significant advantage for injured victims pursuing compensation.

Serious Injuries and Wrongful Death Claims Arise From Drunk Driving Crashes

Drunk driving crashes are among the most violent types of collisions on the road. Impaired drivers often fail to brake, swerve without warning, or run red lights at full speed. Victims frequently suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, broken bones, and severe lacerations. In the worst cases, families lose loved ones entirely.

Driving under the influence of alcohol remained a major factor in traffic fatalities in Texas. In 2024, 1,053 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers, accounting for 25.37% of all traffic deaths. That is more than one in four traffic deaths in the state tied directly to a driver who chose to get behind the wheel drunk.

When a drunk driving crash causes death, surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71. This type of claim allows spouses, children, and parents to seek compensation for their loss, including funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and the emotional pain of losing a family member.

If the drunk driver caused serious bodily injury rather than death, they can face criminal charges under Texas Penal Code Section 49.07, known as intoxication assault. Under that statute, causing serious bodily injury while driving drunk is a third-degree felony. “Serious bodily injury” means an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or results in the prolonged loss of a body part or organ function. On the civil side, these same injuries form the basis of a personal injury claim for damages.

The personal injury lawyers at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys handle both catastrophic injury claims and wrongful death cases for Carrollton-area families. Every situation is different, and past results in other cases do not guarantee the same outcome in yours, but our team works hard to pursue full and fair compensation for every client we represent.

Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Carrollton Drunk Driving Accident

The drunk driver is the most obvious party to hold responsible, but Texas law allows victims to look beyond just the driver in many cases. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.02 establishes what is commonly called dram shop liability. Under this statute, a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider can be held civilly liable if they served alcohol to someone who was “obviously intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others” and that person then caused injuries or death.

Think about a scenario where someone spends hours at a bar near Carrollton’s Old Downtown area, visibly slurring and stumbling, and the bartender keeps serving them. If that person then gets in their car and hits you on Frankford Road, both the driver and the bar may share legal responsibility for your injuries. Building a dram shop claim requires strong evidence, including surveillance footage, witness statements, and purchase records, all of which can disappear quickly if you wait too long to act.

A social host who provides alcohol to a minor can also face liability under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.03. If an underage driver was drinking at a house party and then caused your crash, the adult who provided the alcohol may be a responsible party in your civil case.

Texas uses a proportionate responsibility system under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. This means fault can be divided among multiple parties, including the driver, the bar, and any other contributing party. Under Section 33.001, you can still recover damages as long as your own percentage of fault does not exceed 50%. Your compensation is reduced by your share of fault, but you are not barred from recovery unless a jury finds you more than 50% responsible.

What Damages Can You Recover After a Drunk Driving Crash in Carrollton

Texas law allows injured victims to recover two main types of damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are the measurable financial losses tied to your injury. These include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and the cost of ongoing care or rehabilitation. Non-economic damages cover the human side of your loss, including physical pain, emotional suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and disfigurement.

Drunk driving cases also open the door to exemplary damages, which are sometimes called punitive damages. Under Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a jury can award exemplary damages when a defendant’s conduct rises to the level of gross negligence or malice. Choosing to drive drunk is the kind of reckless disregard for others that courts have found to support exemplary damage awards. These damages are capped under Texas law, but they can significantly increase the total recovery in serious injury or wrongful death cases.

The types of injuries that follow drunk driving crashes, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, and severe burns, often require years of treatment. Medical costs alone can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. Your claim should account for all future care, not just the bills you have already received. An attorney who understands how to calculate long-term damages is essential to making sure nothing is left on the table.

Keep in mind that Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Miss that deadline and you permanently lose your right to seek compensation, regardless of how clear the other driver’s fault is. Evidence also disappears fast. Surveillance footage from businesses along Broadway Boulevard or Old Denton Road typically gets overwritten within 30 to 90 days. Acting quickly protects your claim.

Why Carrollton Drunk Driving Victims Need an Experienced Attorney

Insurance companies respond to drunk driving claims the same way they respond to any claim: they look for ways to minimize what they pay. Even when a driver has already been arrested and charged with DWI, the insurer may dispute the extent of your injuries, argue that you contributed to the crash, or offer a settlement that falls far short of your actual losses.

An attorney handles the investigation, gathers the evidence, and deals with the insurance company so you can focus on recovering. This includes pulling the police report from the Carrollton Police Department, obtaining BAC test results, tracking down surveillance footage from businesses near the crash scene, and identifying every possible source of compensation, including dram shop claims against any bar or restaurant that overserved the driver.

Drunk driving cases can also involve parallel criminal proceedings. The driver faces criminal charges in Denton County or Dallas County depending on where the crash occurred, and those proceedings can produce evidence that strengthens your civil case. An attorney who understands both the criminal and civil sides of a DWI case knows how to use that evidence to your advantage.

Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys is based in Denton, Texas, and serves clients throughout the Carrollton area, including those involved in crashes near the George Bush Turnpike interchange, along Marsh Lane, and throughout the Bent Tree and Prestonwood neighborhoods that border Carrollton. Our attorneys are licensed in Texas and handle cases in the courts serving this region. If you or someone you love was hurt by a drunk driver, call us at (940) 800-2500 to talk about your situation. There is no obligation, and we do not collect a fee unless we recover compensation for you.

FAQs About Carrollton Drunk Driving Accident Attorney

How long do I have to file a drunk driving accident lawsuit in Carrollton, Texas?

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003 gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to seek compensation entirely. Because evidence like surveillance footage and witness memories fade quickly, contacting an attorney as soon as possible after the crash gives your case the best chance of success.

Can I sue a bar or restaurant if they overserved the drunk driver who hit me?

Yes. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 2.02 allows victims to file a dram shop claim against an alcohol provider who served a visibly intoxicated person who then caused injury or death. To succeed, you generally need to show that the provider served someone who was obviously intoxicated to the point of being a danger to themselves and others. These claims require quick action to preserve evidence like purchase records and security footage.

What if the drunk driver does not have enough insurance to cover my injuries?

This is a real concern in Texas. If the at-fault driver carries minimum liability coverage, it may not cover serious injuries or wrongful death. Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage can fill the gap if you carry it. A dram shop claim against a bar or restaurant is another potential source of recovery. An attorney can review all available insurance policies and identify every source of compensation available in your case.

Does a DWI arrest or conviction help my civil case?

Yes, it can significantly help. A DWI conviction can be treated as negligence per se under Texas civil law, meaning the conviction establishes the driver’s negligence without requiring you to prove it separately. Even an arrest without a conviction can still be used as evidence in your civil claim. The criminal case and the civil case are separate proceedings, and a civil recovery does not require a criminal conviction.

Can I recover compensation even if I was partially at fault for the crash?

Texas uses a modified comparative fault system under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001. You can recover damages as long as your percentage of fault does not exceed 50%. If a jury finds you 30% at fault and the drunk driver 70% at fault, your compensation is reduced by 30%. Insurance companies often try to shift blame onto victims to reduce or eliminate payouts, which is one reason having an attorney on your side from the start is so important.

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