DWI Accidents Causing Injuries

Welcome to the Rodgers Law Firm

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,569 motorists in Texas were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2005. Experts estimate that 70 Texans are injured or killed in alcohol-related crashes every day. Knowledge that the accident could have been easily avoided if the person at fault, the wrongdoer, had simply let someone else drive, take a taxi, or stay home to drink, magnifies the grief, sadness, anger and frustration caused by the drunken driving accident.

We at the Rodgers Law Firm in Fort Worth, Texas understand the devastation and losses suffered by drunken driving victims and their families. Victims who survive a drunken driving collision often have no transportation, are unable to work due to the injury, have no health insurance or large savings to pay for medical care, and do not have the energy or know how to deal with the insurance company for the wrongdoer.

That's why we are here – to do everything we can to help our clients get the answers, the assistance, and the compensation that they are entitled to under the law.

We handle DWI/Dram Shop injury cases throughout the Metroplex, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Denton, Burleson, Cleburne, Decatur, Weatherford, Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Azle, Mineral Wells, Sherman, and Denison.
If you or someone close to you has been harmed in a DWI accident, contact us for a free, no obligation consultation. We will meet with you at our office or any location convenient to you.
In a free, no obligation consultation with us you may evaluate our capabilities to help you and other family members work through the legal, economic and emotional hurdles faced in this type of case.
The following pages of detailed legal information will give you insights into the depth of our capabilities in DWI/Dram Shop injury cases.

Overview of DWI & Dram Shop Claims

The Department of Public Safety reports that of the 98,349 drunken driving arrests made in Texas in 2004, 303 young people between nine and sixteen years old were arrested for drinking and driving. An additional 9,285 minors between ages 17 and 20 were arrested for driving under the influence. That means more than 11 percent of all the people arrested for drinking and driving were under 21—the legal age for alcohol in Texas.

Safety experts say that one in every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives.

A driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) must be below .08 to be within the legal limit for intoxication in Texas. However, drivers can be stopped and cited for impaired driving due to alcohol or other drugs regardless of BAC. Texas also has a zero tolerance law. For anyone under 21, it is illegal to drive with any detectable amount of alcohol.

How Much is Too Much? Impairment begins with the first drink. Gender, body weight, the number of drinks consumed and the amount of food in one’s stomach affect the body’s ability to handle alcohol. Women, younger people and smaller people, whether male or female, often have lower tolerances.

Whether or not the drunken driver who injured you is punished through the criminal court, you have a right to financial compensation by filing a personal injury claim in civil court.

Dram Shop Claims
In many circumstances, the drunk driver is not the only person with fault. In Texas, when an establishment is granted the privilege of holding a license to sell alcoholic beverages, that business must do so in a responsible manner.

Texas law, the Alcoholic Beverage Code, allows "dram shop" claims against taverns, restaurants and sellers/servers of alcohol that violate the law.

A dram shop claim arises when a bar, restaurant or liquor store sells alcoholic beverages to an already "intoxicated person." If the "intoxicated person" is provided alcohol, and then injures someone as a result of the influence of alcohol, the courts may impose liability for the injuries on the server/seller of the liquor.

If the intoxicated driver is a minor under the age of 18, an adult 21 years of age or older is liable for damages caused by the intoxication of the minor if the adult is not the minor's parent, guardian, or spouse; or an adult in whose custody the minor has been committed by a court; and the adult knowingly served/provided to the minor any of the alcoholic beverages that contributed to the minor's intoxication; or allowed the minor to be served/provided any of the alcoholic beverages that contributed to the minor's intoxication on the premises owned or leased by the adult.

The "dram shop" claim may be the only means to provide lawful compensation to the DWI victim, especially when the intoxicated driver is uninsured or underinsured.

Losing the Right to Make the Claim
You must file your DWI or Dram Shop injury suit within a certain time period or else you will lose your right to pursue your claim. In many such liability suits, the suit must be filed within two years from the date of the accident.

Simply contacting the business responsible for the premises where the accident occurred or contacting the businesses’ insurance company about the accident is not enough to stop the running of the limitations period.
There are other reasons to act quickly. Key witnesses may disappear, witnesses’ memories may fade, and vital documents may be lost. Sometimes it takes months of investigation to determine who the true defendants are that are legally responsible for the accident. It is crucially important that you do not delay in consulting with an attorney.

Contact us for a free no-obligation consultation as soon as possible to ensure that you retain your right to pursue your claim.
Contact Us for a Second Opinion If Another Attorney Has Declined To Represent You
Attorneys regularly decide whether the case that they are reviewing does or does not meet all the requirements to be a viable, sound case. Making this determination is not an exact science. Based on different experiences and analytic abilities, one attorney may turn down the opportunity to represent a client and another attorney may decide to take the case.

The second reviewing attorney saw something the first reviewing attorney may have overlooked. The first attorney may have decided that liability was not clear, that the damages were not large enough, that there was not available insurance coverage or other sources to pay the money damages, or that there were other problems in seeking a recovery.

We would welcome the opportunity to review your eye injury claim even if another attorney has turned the case down. There is no charge or obligation for our review.
You may contact us at the following phone numbers at any time:

Office: toll free: 1-866-560-1075

local: 817-717-4080
Copyright 1994 - 2007 Clifford B. Rodgers.
Last Modified July 6, 2007.