Orlando Drunk-Driving Accident Lawyer

Orlando Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer: Pursuing Full Accountability

A drunk driving crash is never just an accident. Under Florida Statute §316.193, driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or higher, or while impaired by alcohol or drugs, is a crime, and the driver who chose to get behind the wheel intoxicated made that choice knowing the risk. Florida law treats that choice differently than ordinary carelessness, and the civil compensation system reflects it.

At Louis Berk Law, our Orlando drunk driving accident lawyers pursue full accountability against impaired drivers, including punitive damages that are not available in most other car accident cases. We build these cases around the criminal evidence, the toxicology results, and the civil law that treats intoxicated driving as more than simple negligence.

DUI Is a Crime in Florida: Criminal Penalties That Strengthen Your Civil Case

Florida Statute §316.193 sets criminal penalties for DUI that escalate sharply when the crash causes injury or death. A DUI that causes serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. A DUI that causes death is charged as DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony carrying a mandatory minimum of four years and up to 15 years in prison, with fines up to $10,000. If the driver knew about the crash and fled the scene, the charge becomes a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

A criminal DUI conviction, or even the arrest record, toxicology results, and field sobriety test results, becomes powerful evidence in your civil case. A guilty plea or conviction removes much of the dispute over whether the driver was actually impaired, letting your case focus on the value of your injuries rather than fighting over liability.

Punitive Damages: Why DUI Cases Are Different From Other Car Accident Claims

Florida law makes it easier to pursue punitive damages in a drunk driving case than in almost any other type of personal injury claim, and the financial ceiling that applies to most negligence cases does not apply here at all.

In most Florida personal injury cases, punitive damages are capped at three times compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater, under §768.73. Under §768.736, that cap simply does not apply when the defendant's normal faculties were impaired by alcohol or drugs, or their blood or breath alcohol level was 0.08% or higher, at the time of the crash. There is no ceiling on what a jury can award once punitive damages are permitted in a DUI case.

Florida courts have also long recognized that drunk driving meets the standard for punitive damages more easily than ordinary negligence. In Ingram v. Pettit, 340 So. 2d 910 (Fla. 1976), the Florida Supreme Court held that the voluntary act of driving while intoxicated is a sufficiently reckless disregard for the safety of others to let a jury decide whether punitive damages are warranted. Before any punitive claim can proceed, §768.72 requires a reasonable evidentiary showing, but a DUI arrest, a breath or blood test result, and field sobriety test records typically provide exactly that kind of evidence.

Attorney Louis Berk has handled drunk driving cases where the at-fault driver's insurer initially tried to negotiate the claim like a standard fender-bender. Once we filed to add a punitive damages claim, backed by the arrest record and BAC results, the value of the conversation changed entirely.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Drunk Driving Accident?

The intoxicated driver is always the primary target of a drunk driving claim, but Florida law allows additional parties to be pursued in specific circumstances.

• The drunk driver: Liable for the crash itself, and the source of any punitive damages claim under §768.736.
• The driver's employer: If the driver was working or driving a company vehicle at the time, the employer may share liability, particularly if the employer knew of a prior DUI history and allowed the employee to drive anyway.
• A bar, restaurant, or vendor (dram shop liability): Under Florida's dram shop law, §768.125, an establishment that serves alcohol is generally not liable just because a patron of legal drinking age became intoxicated and caused a crash. Florida's dram shop law is narrower than many other states. Liability only attaches in two specific situations: the establishment willfully and unlawfully served alcohol to someone under 21, or it knowingly served someone habitually addicted to alcohol. Serving a visibly intoxicated adult, on its own, does not create liability under Florida law.
• Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage: If the drunk driver carries minimal or no insurance, our uninsured motorist attorneys pursue your own UM/UIM policy for the gap.

How HB 837 Affects Drunk Driving Accident Cases

Florida's 2023 tort reform (HB 837) applies to drunk driving cases in some ways, but not others. The modified comparative negligence rule under §768.81(6) still applies: if you are found 51% or more at fault, your claim is barred entirely, even against an intoxicated driver. Insurers have been known to argue that a victim was speeding, distracted, or failed to react in time, regardless of the other driver's intoxication, so evidence documenting the full picture of the crash still matters.

The medical damages evidence rule under §768.0427 limits recoverable medical expenses to amounts actually paid, not billed, the same as in any other Florida injury case. But critically, HB 837 did not touch §768.736. The removal of the punitive damages cap for intoxicated defendants remains fully intact.

The statute of limitations for a drunk driving injury claim is two years from the date of the crash under §95.11.

Common Injuries in Drunk Driving Accidents

Impaired drivers frequently fail to brake, swerve into oncoming traffic, or strike other vehicles at full speed because reaction time and judgment are the first things alcohol impairs. That often means drunk driving crashes involve higher speeds and less evasive action than a typical accident, producing more severe injuries.

• Traumatic brain injury: Common in head-on and high-speed drunk driving crashes. Our brain injury attorneys in Orlando handle these cases specifically.
• Spinal cord injuries: High-speed impacts from an impaired driver who never braked can cause fractures and paralysis. Our spinal cord injury lawyers build these cases around lifetime cost data.
• Multiple fractures and orthopedic trauma: Frequently requiring surgical hardware and extended rehabilitation.
• Wrongful death: Drunk driving remains a leading cause of fatal crashes in Florida. If a loved one was killed by an impaired driver, our wrongful death team handles the claim.

When injuries meet Florida's legal definition of a catastrophic injury, our catastrophic injury attorneys in Orlando bring the additional life care planning resources those cases require. In one case, our team secured $1,750,000 for a driver who sustained a traumatic brain injury and multiple lower-extremity fractures after being struck by an intoxicated motorist driving the wrong way on Interstate 4 in Orlando.

Motorcyclists, Pedestrians, and Cyclists Are Especially Vulnerable

Riders and pedestrians have no vehicle structure to absorb the impact of a drunk driver's crash, and impaired drivers frequently fail to see or react to motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists at all. Our motorcycle accident attorneys and pedestrian accident lawyer team handle these cases with the added urgency drunk driving crashes require. In one case, our team secured full available bodily injury and umbrella coverage of $250,000 for a motorcyclist who suffered severe road rash and broken ribs after being struck by an intoxicated driver making an illegal turn near University Boulevard.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

Drunk driving accident victims in Florida can recover the same categories of damages available in any personal injury case, plus punitive damages that are uniquely accessible in DUI claims.

• Medical expenses: Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and ongoing treatment.
• Lost wages and earning capacity: Income lost during recovery and projected future losses.
• Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, PTSD, and loss of enjoyment of life.
• Property damage: Vehicle repair or replacement.
• Punitive damages: Uncapped under §768.736 when the defendant was intoxicated, unlike the capped punitive damages available in most other negligence claims.
• Wrongful death damages: Funeral expenses, lost financial support, and loss of companionship if the crash was fatal.

In another case, our team recovered $750,000 for a motorist who suffered severe orthopedic injuries and required surgical hardware placement after a drunk driver ran a red light at high speed on East Colonial Drive.

How Louis Berk Law Handles Drunk Driving Accident Cases

At Louis Berk Law, we treat every drunk driving case as more than a standard negligence claim from the first call. We obtain the police report, the arrest record, breath or blood test results, and field sobriety test documentation immediately, and we evaluate whether a dram shop claim against a bar or vendor applies based on the specific facts of who served the driver and what they knew.

We move to add a punitive damages claim once the evidentiary threshold under §768.72 is met, because an uncapped punitive damages exposure changes how an insurer values and negotiates the case. When insurers still refuse to offer fair compensation, we are prepared to take the case to trial. In one case, our team obtained full liability and stacked UM policy limits of $150,000 for a client who sustained lumbar disc herniations requiring epidural steroid injections after being rear-ended by a drunk driver stopped at an expressway toll plaza.

For any other type of injury, our personal injury attorney in Orlando is ready to help, and you can review our case results to see how we have fought for Central Florida families.

Disclaimer: This page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different. For advice about your specific situation, contact a licensed attorney. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.