Police may treat a suspected DUI crash as a criminal investigation, but the injured person’s civil claim does not move on the same timetable. An arrest does not pay medical bills, establish every element of fault, or resolve insurance coverage. You still need to document the injuries, preserve crash evidence, and identify the policies that may apply.
At the scene and during the first days
Get medical care, report the collision and tell officers what you actually observed. Let law enforcement handle suspected impairment. You do not need to confront the other driver or guess how much alcohol that person consumed.
Save photographs, witness contact details, medical instructions and insurance correspondence. Note where cameras may have recorded the collision or the driver’s behavior. Body-camera footage, dash-camera footage, 911 recordings, officer observations and chemical-test records can answer different questions. Some records require consent, a subpoena, a court order or another lawful process to obtain; they are not all immediately available to an injured person.
Notify your insurer as your policy requires. If an adjuster requests a recorded statement, broad medical authorization or release, understand the request before agreeing. Preserve relevant messages and social-media material, and avoid posting about the crash while the facts are being investigated. The firm’s Louisiana crash-documentation guide explains how to keep the scene, medical, wage, and insurance records together.
The early work in a drunk-driving injury claim is often locating evidence before it disappears. Keep a record of missed work, expenses, symptoms and the help you need at home as well.
You do not have to wait for a conviction to investigate your claim
The government controls the prosecution. A civil claim seeks compensation for harm caused by legally responsible parties. The cases may use some of the same evidence, but an arrest does not establish every element of the injury claim. You still must connect the driver’s conduct to the crash and your losses.
Likewise, a reduced charge, refused chemical test or decision not to prosecute does not necessarily end the civil claim. Video, driving behavior, witness accounts and other admissible evidence may matter even without a conviction. Waiting for the criminal case to finish can put both evidence and civil filing deadlines at risk.
Which people and policies belong in the investigation?
The impaired driver’s conduct is the starting point. An employer may also be involved if the driver was acting within the course and scope of employment. A vehicle owner’s decision to entrust the vehicle to the driver, a defective part or negligent maintenance may warrant investigation when the facts support that issue. None of these theories follows automatically from the DUI allegation.
A bar or social host presents a different question. R.S. 9:2800.1 generally treats consumption as the cause of alcohol-related harm and protects covered sellers and hosts from specified off-premises injury claims involving people of lawful purchase age. Its protection has limits, including forced consumption or falsely representing that a drink contains no alcohol. Underage service requires separate analysis. The driver’s age, where the injury occurred and what the provider actually did matter.
Insurance must be investigated separately from fault. Potential coverage may include the driver’s liability policy, an applicable commercial policy, your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, or medical-payments coverage. Household and vehicle policies can also warrant review. Actual policy language, insured status, exclusions, valid selections or rejections and policy dates determine what applies.
Our Baton Rouge car accident guide explains the broader claims process. If you were riding a motorcycle, preserve the motorcycle, helmet and visibility evidence relevant to the collision; the motorcycle accident page addresses those concerns.
Compensation requires proof of what the crash changed
Medical bills, future care, lost income, reduced earning ability and property loss may be part of the claim. Pain, disability, scarring, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life also require supporting evidence. A diagnosis on the first day may not settle the question of future treatment or ability to work. Our discussions of brain injuries and orthopedic injuries explain why treatment history and prognosis matter.
When someone dies, Louisiana’s separate survival and wrongful-death rules determine the proper claimants and available damages. Families can begin with our wrongful-death overview, but need advice on the particular dates and family relationships.
Alcohol involvement can also support a claim for exemplary damages under Civil Code article 2315.4. The claimant must prove wanton or reckless disregard for others’ rights and safety and that the defendant’s intoxication while operating a motor vehicle was a cause of the injuries. These additional damages are not automatic whenever alcohol appears in a crash report.
Before settling, account for medical balances, liens and any reimbursement rights asserted by health insurance or benefit programs. The settlement figure and the amount you receive after fees, expenses and valid obligations can be different. A release may permanently end the claims it covers.
Two dates that need attention before negotiations drag on
The first is the incident date. The current Civil Code article 2323, effective January 1, 2026, bars recovery when the injured person’s negligence is 51% or more and proportionally reduces damages below that threshold. Older claims may fall under the prior rule. An intoxicated driver can still dispute another person’s share of fault; compare the allegation with the physical evidence rather than accepting the insurer’s characterization.
The second is the filing deadline. Civil Code article 3493.1 generally provides two years for delictual injury actions arising on or after July 1, 2024. Act 423 of 2024 made the change prospective, so an older claim may have a shorter deadline. Other claims and circumstances can have different rules. Get the actual deadline calculated rather than assuming that an open insurance file or pending prosecution protects it.
When an individual review is especially useful
A property-only claim with clear fault may be manageable without counsel. The decision becomes more consequential when injuries are significant, recovery remains uncertain, fault is disputed, several policies may apply, or health plans and benefit programs assert reimbursement rights.
A useful consultation should identify the evidence at risk, the coverage that needs investigation, and the filing deadline that applies to the accident date. It should also explain who will handle the case, how attorney fees and litigation expenses work, and how a hypothetical recovery would be distributed. Our article on fault, causation, and damages after a Louisiana crash provides more context for that discussion.
Discuss the crash, evidence, and insurance
Bring the crash report, photographs, medical instructions, insurance correspondence, and any information about the criminal case that you already have. Call (225) 500-5000 or use the case-review form below to discuss the next steps that fit the circumstances.