Did a DUI Driver Cause Your Accident?

Drunk young man driving a car with a bottle of beer which represents the dui personal injury cases Howell and Thornhill take on.

If you’ve been injured in a crash involving a known or suspected drunk driver, you likely have urgent questions about what happens next. In Florida, law enforcement can investigate and file driving under the influence (DUI) charges according to specific criminal procedures and timelines, but understanding the criminal process is only one concern for victims. You must also protect your ability to seek compensation for your injuries, medical expenses, and other losses through a civil claim.

While prosecutors handle criminal DUI charges on their own timeline, your strategy as a claimant or plaintiff is undeniably time-sensitive. At Howell & Thornhill, P.A., we help Florida DUI accident victims and their families navigate both the immediate aftermath of these collisions and the long-term recovery process.

Our neighborly approach combines local knowledge with serious legal experience to ensure Central Florida families get straightforward answers and effective representation when they need it most. For your free consultation with skilled drunk driving accident attorneys, contact Howell & Thornhill, P.A. today.

How Long After an Accident Can the Drunk Driver Be Charged with DUI in Florida?

Drunk drivers are often arrested at the accident scene, but formal charges typically only arise after completing a formal investigation.  Unfortunately, blood tests and other proof of intoxication can take months for the State of Florida law enforcement to process.

To be clear, “charging” someone means formally accusing them of committing a crime. In Florida, the State Attorney (a prosecutor) typically decides whether to charge someone with DUI.

Determining If a Driver Should Be Arrested for DUI

To determine whether a motorist should be arrested (and eventually charged) for DUI, police typically conduct a thorough investigation that may include several key components:

  • Field sobriety tests administered at the scene
  • Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) testing through breath, blood, or urine samples, as a BAC of .08 is a key indicator of driving under the influence
  • Witness interviews with victims, passengers, other drivers, and bystanders
  • Accident reconstruction of the crash 
  • Review of surveillance or dashcam footage

The wheels of justice can move slowly. Even so, there is often substantial evidence that a motorist who caused a crash was under the influence, especially if breath or blood results are available. 

For injured victims, this criminal timeline is largely out of your hands. Prosecutors decide when (or whether) to file charges. What you can control is your own civil injury claim, which operates on a completely separate timeline and serves a different purpose.

Criminal vs. Civil Timelines After a DUI Accident

When a motorist is charged with DUI, the prosecutor’s goal is to hold that driver accountable for unlawful and dangerous action. When we pursue a civil case against an impaired motorist (and any other negligent parties), we also seek to hold those parties accountable for their dangerous actions.

The goal of a civil DUI case is also to secure fair compensation for any medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages you might have suffered because of the impaired motorist.

Key Differences Between Criminal and Civil Cases Involving DUI

It’s essential to understand that criminal DUI prosecution and civil injury claims are two distinct legal processes. The key differences include:

  • Criminal Case Purpose: The state charges the drunk driver with a crime, which may result in fines, jail time, license suspension, and other penalties intended to deter criminal behavior.
  • Civil Case Purpose: Your personal lawsuit seeks monetary compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages you’ve personally suffered.
  • Who Controls the Case: Prosecutors handle criminal cases on behalf of the state, while you and your attorney control your civil injury claim.
  • Timelines for Legal Cases: Criminal cases can take months or years to resolve, but your civil claim has its own strict deadlines that don’t hinge upon (and don’t wait for) criminal proceedings.

You might not know how long after an accident the impaired motorist will be criminally charged with DUI, or if they will even be charged. Our DUI accident lawyers don’t have to wait to pursue justice after an accident (the civil way).

Florida Statute of Limitations for DUI Accident Injury Claims

In Florida, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including those arising from DUI accidents, is two years from the date of the accident against the driver who caused the crash. This strict deadline means:

  • You have a limited window to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for your injuries
  • Missing this deadline typically eliminates your right to pursue a claim
  • Once the deadline passes, your options for a financial recovery become extremely limited

Florida law also provides a two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death cases stemming from drunk driving accidents. 

These strict deadlines make early action critical. Even if you’re unsure whether you’ll need to file a lawsuit, consulting with a Lakeland DUI accident attorney from our team right away allows you to keep your options open.

Why Victims Should Speak With a Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Lawyer as Soon as Possible After a DUI Accident

Time is a genuine threat to your civil DUI case. The longer you wait to engage your attorney from our team, the more susceptible your case becomes to:

  • Physical Evidence Deterioration: Skid marks, debris patterns, and roadway damage can disappear within days of an accident, if not hours
  • Video Footage Deletion: Operators of security and traffic cameras often overwrite footage on short cycles, sometimes within 24-72 hours
  • Witnesses Becoming Unreliable: The human memory is fickle, and memories related to a DUI accident can fade quickly
  • Medical Documentation Gaps: Delays in your treatment or incomplete medical care can work against your civil DUI case
  • Insurance Companies’ Predatory Tactics: Insurance adjusters may sense your grounds for a civil DUI case, and may approach you quickly, seeking to shield the insurance company from liability by pushing you to settle for less than full value.

Starting a claim early also helps establish a clear timeline of the accident, your injuries, treatment, and damages. Early documentation creates a stronger foundation for your case and demonstrates the direct connection between the accident and your ongoing medical needs.

We are ready to collect the truth to prove your case, so do not wait to reach out to one of our DUI accident lawyers.

How DUI Accident Attorneys Help Injury Victims and Families

Our personal injury attorneys will take on the complex and high-stakes task of building and presenting your civil claim. We want you focused on recovery while we: 

  • Conduct a Thorough Crash Investigation: Our lawyers typically gather police reports, medical records, witness testimony, photographs, video, and other relevant evidence so we can understand (and prove) what happened.
  • Bring in the Experts: We consult experts whose knowledge and skill align with the goals of our civil DUI cases.
  • Keep Close Watch Over Any Criminal Proceedings: Your attorney will track any accident-related criminal proceedings for evidence and developments that support your civil claim.
  • Assess and Value Your Damages: We will calculate the value of your individual damages, which will eventually help us establish the total value of your DUI accident claim.
  • Fight for Your Financial Recovery: If insurance companies choose not to offer a fair settlement, or other circumstances lead us to court, our attorneys will use our experience and training to push your lawsuit.

Our experienced, locally based DUI accident attorneys understand the Florida law and how to present cases that hold drunk drivers accountable. 

Damages Available to Plaintiffs in Florida DUI Accident Claims

When you’re injured by a drunk driver, Florida law allows you to pursue several categories of damages. The three primary categories of damages we see in drunk driving accident cases are:

Economic Damages

Economic damages reflect the direct financial impact of your injuries from a drunk driving crash. These are tangible losses with clear dollar values proven by bills, receipts, wage statements, and other documentation. 

Common economic damages in Florida DUI accident claims include:

  • Hospital bills
  • Surgical costs
  • Rehabilitation expenses
  • Projected costs for future medical treatment 
  • Lost wages
  • Loss of future earning potential 
  • Vehicle repair or replacement expenses 
  • Costs to retrofit your home with ramps, grab bars, or other accessibility features
  • Expense of wheelchairs, braces, prosthetic devices, and other medical equipment

These quantifiable financial losses create the economic foundation of most DUI accident injury claims in Lakeland, FL, and elsewhere. 

Non-Economic Damages

When a drunk motorist hits another vehicle (or a pedestrian), they inflict damage that bills and invoices alone can’t reflect. 

Non-economic damages compensate you for the deeply personal ways your injuries have affected your life. These kinds of damages are not usually measured in financial terms, except when we are seeking justice for accidents like the one you’ve been involved in.

Common examples of non-economic damages among victims of drunk drivers in Florida are:

  • Acute pain from accident-related injuries
  • Chronic pain and ongoing physical discomfort
  • Stress, worry, depression, and other emotional harm
  • Inability to engage in exercise, hobbies, social activities, and pastimes you previously enjoyed
  • Visible scarring and any other physical changes resulting from the collision
  • Ongoing psychological effects and trauma from the accident
  • The overall decrease in your day-to-day quality of life

Compensation for these types of damages reflects an important reality: serious injuries (and the drunk drivers who cause them) can reshape every aspect of a victim’s life. 

Punitive Damages 

In situations where the driver at fault was also drunk, Florida courts have the authority to award punitive damages. Rather than simply compensating victims, these damages address intoxication and other conduct that crosses the line into extreme recklessness. 

Impaired driving is a factor in about one-quarter of all traffic accident deaths in Florida. If you have lost a loved one because of a drunk driver, one of our Lakeland attorneys will hear your story, offer our support, and explain all the damages that must be included in your case.

The Lasting Impact of Drunk Driving Accidents on Florida Families

The ceaseless campaigns against drunk driving have not stopped the problem. These campaigns are more than warranted, though, because we have seen how impaired motorists saddle their victims with:

  • Long-term medical needs that can include years of physical therapy, pain management, follow-up surgeries, and specialist appointments
  • Permanent disabilities, with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, severe fractures, and internal organ injuries being proof of drunk drivers’ negligence
  • Psychological trauma that haunts victims on a daily basis
  • Relationship strain as family members are forced to become caregivers, marriages face new pressures, and the dynamics of daily life fundamentally change
  • Financial devastation when medical bills accumulate, savings deplete, and families struggle to cover expenses that insurance won’t cover

In wrongful death cases, families lose not only their loved one but also the financial support, guidance, and companionship that person provided. The ripple effects touch every corner of a family’s life, creating needs that persist long after the crash has faded from the public’s memory.

Our Law Firm Is Here to Help

If you or a loved one has been injured in a drunk driving accident anywhere in Central Florida, time is at a premium. Our team at Howell & Thornhill, P.A. is ready to provide you with experienced advice and aggressive representation, which is what survivors need at times such as these. 

Regardless of the status of any criminal proceedings that may result from your accident (or not), we can start fighting for fair compensation on your behalf. Remember that lost evidence and witness testimony mean lost leverage, and so waiting to engage our firm can be a catastrophic strategic misstep.

Contact Howell & Thornhill, P.A. Today to Speak With a Florida DUI Accident Lawyer 

At Howell & Thornhill, P.A., consultations are free. Our Lakeland DUI accident lawyers require no upfront payment from you, as our fee comes when we secure compensation for victims of drunk drivers. That means you have every reason to call us, and no reason not to. For your free consultation with the team at Howell & Thornhill, P.A., contact our law firm online.