What to Do After a Drunk Driving Accident

At the Scene: What to Do While Police Respond

Call 911 immediately. A DUI crash scene requires law enforcement for two reasons: documenting the accident and testing the other driver for impairment. The responding officers will conduct field sobriety tests, administer a breathalyzer or arrange a blood draw, and record their observations about the driver's behavior — all of which become evidence in both the criminal and civil cases.

While police handle the other driver, focus on your own documentation. Photograph everything: vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signals, skid marks or the absence of them, debris, and your visible injuries. Note the time. If you can identify the other driver's vehicle — make, model, color, plate number — write it down or photograph the plate.

Talk to witnesses. Bystanders who saw the crash, smelled alcohol on the driver, or observed erratic driving before the collision can provide statements that corroborate impairment. Get their names and phone numbers before they leave the scene.

Preserving Evidence of Impairment and Over-Service

The police will handle BAC testing, but the evidence chain does not stop there. If the impaired driver mentions where they were drinking — a bar, restaurant, party, or event — note that information. It may support a dram shop or social host claim later.

Contact an attorney within the first day or two and share what you know about the driver's last location of consumption. An attorney can send a spoliation or preservation letter to the establishment, legally putting them on notice that they must retain surveillance footage, sales records, staff schedules, and credit card receipts. Without this letter, the establishment has no legal obligation to preserve any of it, and most of it will be destroyed in the normal course of business.

If other patrons witnessed the driver being served while visibly intoxicated, their statements become critical. The earlier these witnesses are identified and interviewed, the more reliable their accounts will be.

Medical Treatment: Start a Record That Begins on Day One

Go to the emergency room or see a physician the same day. Drunk driving crashes tend to produce severe injuries because impaired drivers often fail to brake or swerve before impact. Fractures, internal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal damage are common. Even if you walked away from the scene, internal injuries may not produce symptoms for hours.

Tell the treating physician exactly how the crash happened and describe every symptom, no matter how minor it seems. The medical record created during this visit establishes the clinical baseline connecting your injuries to the collision. Gaps between the crash and your first medical visit give the insurer ammunition to argue your injuries were pre-existing or unrelated.

Follow through on every referral, prescription, and therapy recommendation. Consistent treatment builds a credible medical narrative. Missed appointments suggest to the adjuster that the injuries were not serious enough to require the treatment you are claiming.

Days Two and Three: Organizing for the Claim Ahead

Request a copy of the police report as soon as it becomes available. It is the foundation document of your case — containing the officer's impairment observations, BAC results, witness contact information, and the crash narrative.

Begin a daily journal documenting your symptoms, limitations, and emotional state. Write down what hurts, what activities you can no longer perform, how your sleep is affected, and how the injuries are impacting your work and family life. This real-time record captures non-economic damages in a way that medical charts alone cannot.

Notify your own auto insurer about the accident. Your policy may include medical payments coverage or uninsured motorist benefits that apply regardless of fault — and that become especially relevant if the drunk driver's insurer denies coverage based on a criminal-conduct exclusion. Filing deadlines for injury claims are commonly two to three years, but your state's deadline controls. Government-entity claims often require notice within a much shorter window.

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state for guidance specific to your situation. This site is an independent information resource, not a law firm.