Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer in McAllen, TX

A drunk driving crash sets off two separate cases, and they don’t run on the same rules. The criminal case punishes the driver. Only the civil claim puts money back in your pocket, and you don’t have to wait for one to finish the other.

The two cases also don’t need the same proof. A criminal court has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before a driver goes to jail. A civil claim only needs the more likely than not standard, which is a much lower bar to clear.

A conviction isn’t required

You can still file, and win, a civil claim even if the driver is never convicted. Maybe they plead down to a lesser charge. Maybe the criminal case falls apart for reasons that have nothing to do with what actually happened to you. A jury can have real doubt about proof beyond a reasonable doubt and still believe, more likely than not, that the driver caused your crash. Both things can be true at once. None of that erases what happened to you, and none of it closes the door on your own case.

What the criminal case hands you

A DWI arrest often builds a paper trail your civil claim can use. The arrest report describes what the officer saw and why they made the stop. Breath or blood test results establish how impaired the driver was. Officer testimony and body camera footage, where it exists, can back up your version of the crash. Even if some of that evidence gets challenged in the criminal case, it can still show up in your civil claim. Civil cases run under their own rules of evidence. This paper trail isn’t created for your benefit, but once it exists, it’s fair game for figuring out what your claim is worth.

Who else might share the blame

The driver usually isn’t the only one who could be responsible. Texas law allows a claim in some cases against a bar, restaurant, or store that kept serving a visibly intoxicated person who then drove. This is sometimes called a dram shop claim. Whether that applies depends heavily on the specific facts. It’s worth having someone look into it, rather than assuming the driver is the only name on the claim. That kind of claim is separate from the one against the driver, not a replacement for it.

Waiting for the criminal case can cost you

Civil claims in Texas carry a two-year filing deadline that starts on the crash date. That clock doesn’t pause for a criminal trial, even though a trial can take a year or more to resolve. If a loved one didn’t survive, a wrongful death claim runs on its own two-year deadline from the date of death. That claim doesn’t wait on the criminal court’s schedule either. Filing your civil claim while the criminal case is still open is normal, not something to put off.