A wreck caused by an impaired driver leaves you with injuries, bills, and a criminal driving under the influence (DUI) case you have no control over. Richard Schwartz & Associates frequently handles the civil side of those crashes across the state, and our Mississippi drunk driving accident lawyer team can push your claim forward. At the same time, the criminal court does its own separate work.
Our attorneys take impaired driving cases from the Delta to the Gulf Coast. We look at the driver, the insurance company sitting behind that driver, and anyone who may have served alcohol before the collision. Call or connect with us online to discuss your legal options moving forward.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Four Decades of Standing Up for Injured Mississippians
- Is Your Injury Claim the Same as the Criminal DUI Case?
- Who (Besides the Drunk Driver) May Share Responsibility for a Drunk Driving Crash?
- Potential Compensation in a Mississippi DUI Accident Claim
- Evidence Our Drunk Driving Accident Team in Jackson MS Collects
- FAQs: Mississippi Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
- One Call Puts Our Firm to Work on Your Claim. Don’t Wait.
Four Decades of Standing Up for Injured Mississippians
People come to us because we have done this work here for more than 40 years, out of six offices spread across the state. Our roots sit in these same communities, and our attorneys handle cases in local courts instead of shipping files off somewhere else. Specifically, our team takes on:
- Crashes caused by drivers over the legal limit
- Claims involving bars, restaurants, and casinos that served alcohol
- Wrecks caused by drivers impaired by prescription or illegal drugs
- Wrongful death cases brought by surviving family members
- Claims where the at-fault driver carried little or no coverage
Alcohol involvement adds layers to how we prepare Mississippi car accident claims, and it shapes our approach from the first call. Our offices in Jackson, Tupelo, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Columbus, and Greenville put a member of our team within driving distance of most of the state. That local footprint matters when the records you need sit with a county sheriff's office or a municipal court clerk rather than a central state agency.
Impaired driving cases have been part of our practice for as long as we have handled Mississippi injury claims, and that history shapes how we approach the insurer. Someone answers our phone 24 hours a day, and the first review of your crash costs nothing. Call us when you have a minute.
Is Your Injury Claim the Same as the Criminal DUI Case?
No, the two run on separate tracks. The State brings the criminal DUI charge, which can end in fines, license penalties, or jail. Your civil claim belongs to you, and it asks for money to cover what the wreck cost you.
Under Miss. Code Ann. § 99-37-17, a criminal restitution order does not block your lawsuit, although the court credits any restitution already paid against a later civil judgment. The same section says a conviction that necessarily decides the driver's responsibility for your out-of-pocket losses can settle that issue in the civil case.
Specifically, the criminal outcome may help your claim, though waiting on it is a decision worth making with our attorneys rather than alone. Restitution also reaches only certain hard costs, not physical pain or the way an injury reshapes daily life. Ask us to compare what a criminal court may order against what a civil claim can pursue.
How Does Mississippi Law Define Drunk Driving?
State law sets fixed limits, and crossing one of them is enough. Miss. Code Ann. § 63-11-30 makes it unlawful to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher for adults, 0.02% for drivers under 21, and 0.04% for commercial drivers. The same law also covers driving under the influence of drugs or any substance that impairs the ability to drive.
Your claim does not rise or fall on a number, though. A driver who tested below 0.08% can still be held accountable when other proof shows impairment. In contrast, a result above the limit gives our attorneys a clear starting point.
Proof of impairment in a civil claim often comes from:
- Breath, blood, or urine test results
- Body camera and patrol car video
- Field sobriety test observations
- Receipts and tabs from a bar or restaurant
- Statements from passengers and bystanders
- The responding officer's crash report
Gathering those items early matters, so our Mississippi DUI accident attorney team requests the ones agencies release only when someone asks.
Who (Besides the Drunk Driver) May Share Responsibility for a Drunk Driving Crash?
Sometimes the driver is not the only party who owes you something. A dram shop claim, meaning a claim against the business that sold or served the alcohol, is limited in Mississippi, though the law leaves real openings. Most of these claims turn on whether the buyer looked visibly intoxicated at the moment of the sale.
Under Miss. Code Ann. § 67-3-73, a permit holder is generally protected when it sells alcohol lawfully. That protection falls away when the buyer was visibly intoxicated at purchase, when the sale itself was unlawful, such as a sale to someone under 21, or when a person forces drinks on someone or lies about what is in the glass.
Responsibility in an alcohol-related wreck may reach any of the following:
- The impaired driver
- A bar, restaurant, or casino holding an alcohol permit
- A store that sold to a buyer under 21
- An employer whose driver was on the clock
- The owner of the vehicle the driver borrowed
Adding a second responsible party can open a second insurance policy. Our Mississippi drunk driving accident lawyers look at who sold, who served, and who put the driver on the road before deciding how to file.
Potential Compensation in a Mississippi DUI Accident Claim
Compensation covers your money losses and the harm no receipt captures. Our attorneys build that record with medical bills, pay history, and testimony from the providers treating you. The categories usually pursued include:
- Medical costs: Emergency care, hospital billing, and the ongoing treatment your providers document as related to the crash.
- Income and earning ability: Pay lost while you were out, plus long-term losses if the injury changes what you can do at work.
- Pain and emotional harm: The physical and emotional toll the crash takes on daily life, supported by your own testimony and the record your providers keep.
- Property and out-of-pocket costs: Vehicle repair or replacement, rental charges, mileage to appointments, and pharmacy costs.
Punitive damages are handled in a second phase, after a jury has already settled your actual losses. The judge first decides whether the proof could meet the high standard, and only then does the jury weigh whether to award them and how much.
Because that showing is demanding, our attorneys treat punitive damages as a possibility to build toward rather than a number to count on. Find out what your claim may be worth once your treatment picture comes into focus.
Whose Insurance Pays When the Driver Is Underinsured?
Your own policy may fill the gap, though Mississippi has a wrinkle worth learning early. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage sit in the same part of your policy here. Miss. Code Ann. § 83-11-103 counts a vehicle as uninsured when the at-fault driver's liability limits fall below the UM limits on your own policy.
The practical effect catches people off guard. If the driver who hit you carries the same limits you carry, your underinsured coverage may pay nothing at all. The primary reason is that the statute compares the two policies against each other rather than measuring coverage against your losses.
Money after a drunk driving wreck can come from more than one place:
- The at-fault driver's liability policy
- Your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage
- Medical payments coverage on your own policy
- A business policy in a dram shop case
- An employer's commercial auto policy
- Health coverage that later seeks repayment
Lining those sources up in the right order protects what you keep at the end. Our attorneys chart the available coverage before any demand letter goes out.
Evidence Our Drunk Driving Accident Team in Jackson MS Collects
Strong claims rest on records that stay available for a short window. Our team handles drunk driving accidents in Jackson and the counties around it, so we know which agency holds what and how to ask for it. The first step is a written request for everything tied to the arrest and the collision.
The material we gather most often includes:
- The crash report and any supplemental narrative
- Chemical test results and lab paperwork
- Video from patrol cars, body cameras, and nearby businesses
- Bar tabs, card receipts, and server statements
- Cell phone and vehicle event data
- Photos of the scene, the vehicles, and your injuries
- Medical records from the first hospital visit forward
Our attorneys then line all of it up against the account the driver and the insurer give. Send us whatever you already have, and we will track down the rest.
Timing and Fault Rules Are Worth Learning Early (and We Will Explain)
Mississippi generally gives injured people three years from the crash date to file a claim. Different and sometimes shorter requirements may apply when a city, county, or state vehicle is involved, so our attorneys identify the controlling deadline early.
Partial fault does not automatically prevent recovery. Mississippi reduces your award by your percentage of responsibility, meaning someone found 10% at fault may still recover 90% of the damages. Our attorneys prepare for fault disputes from the beginning.
FAQs: Mississippi Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
These are the most common questions people bring us after they decide to file. The answers can clarify what happens next and what issues may affect the claim as it moves forward.
Do I Have to Take Part in the Criminal Case?
Not usually, though it can happen. Prosecutors sometimes call injured people as witnesses, and Mississippi gives crime victims the right to notice of hearings and a chance to be heard at sentencing. Our attorneys can explain what taking part involves and coordinate with the prosecutor's office so the two matters do not collide.
What Happens if the Driver's Criminal Case Is Still Open?
Your civil claim can proceed while the criminal case is pending. A court may pause certain parts if the defendant refuses to answer questions that could affect the prosecution. Our attorneys use that time to gather evidence and keep the rest of the claim moving.
What Happens if the Drunk Driver Died in the Crash?
You can still bring a claim, and it proceeds against the driver's estate and insurance rather than the driver personally. The available coverage does not vanish because the at-fault driver did not survive, though the claim has to move through probate, the court process that settles a person's estate after death. Reach out, and we will explain how a claim against an estate moves forward.
Will Filing a Claim Raise My Own Insurance Rates?
Filing against the at-fault driver's policy generally does not change what you pay. Using your own uninsured motorist coverage is a separate question, and the answer depends on your carrier and the wording of your policy. Bring your declarations page, the summary sheet listing your coverages and limits, and our team will walk you through what it actually says.
Can I Bring a Claim if the Driver Was Never Given a Breath Test?
Yes. A test result helps, and impairment can also be shown through video, witness accounts, the driver's own words, and the physical evidence left at the scene. Our attorneys have built claims out of those pieces when no chemical test existed.
Does an Arrest Mean My Case Will Settle Faster?
Not on its own. An arrest strengthens the liability picture; however, insurers still weigh medical treatment, wage loss, and available coverage before real offers arrive. The pace tends to track your treatment rather than the criminal docket.
Can I Bring a Claim if the Drunk Driver Was a Rideshare or Delivery Driver?
Often, yes, and there may be more coverage than a personal policy alone. When an impaired driver was logged into a rideshare or delivery app at the time of the wreck, the company's commercial policy may apply on top of the driver's own insurance. Which policy pays can depend on whether the driver was waiting for a request, heading to a pickup, or mid-trip, so let our attorneys sort out the driver's status before any offer is on the table.
One Call Puts Our Firm to Work on Your Claim. Don’t Wait.
You did not choose this wreck, and you do not have to carry the paperwork that arrived with it. Richard Schwartz & Associates will handle the claim, the records, and the insurance conversations. Once accepted, our Mississippi drunk driving accident lawyer team can begin work on your file right away.
We work on a contingency basis. Our fee comes out of a recovery, and nowhere else, so there is no bill if the claim does not succeed. Get answers today, and the consultation costs nothing.