Drunk Driving Accident Attorney in Dallas
Medical & Engineering Depth Behind Every Drunk Driving Case We Take
When a drunk driver causes a crash, the legal path forward is different from a standard car accident claim. There’s potential dram shop liability, exposure to exemplary damages, and insurers who know the stakes are higher and behave accordingly. Marchand Law is built for exactly this kind of case. David Marchand brings a master’s degree in aerodynamics from Georgia Tech and more than 30 years of trial experience. Leanna Marchand holds an SMU law degree earned cum laude in 1996 and an active Texas RN license. That combination shapes how we approach every drunk driving injury claim we take on.
Every case is personally handled by David and Leanna. No work is passed to associates. When you call our firm, the attorneys who review your medical records, analyze the crash, and sit across from the insurer are the same ones at trial if it comes to that.
If you or someone you love was hurt by a drunk driver in Dallas or the surrounding area, including University Park, call us at (903) 345-1807 or reach us through our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation.
How Our Medical & Engineering Background Serves Your Case
Drunk driving crashes frequently cause catastrophic injuries. Traumatic brain injury, spinal trauma, and complex orthopedic injuries are common outcomes, and the financial toll extends well beyond immediate hospital bills into long-term care, rehabilitation, and lost earning capacity. Leanna’s nursing background directly informs how we read medical records, understand treatment protocols, and build a complete picture of what your injuries may cost over time.
David’s engineering training shapes how we reconstruct a crash. Vehicle dynamics, road conditions, and the sequence of events leading to impact are material to proving that intoxication caused the collision. He has handled hundreds of personal injury cases requiring that kind of systematic liability analysis, from car and truck wrecks to cases involving defective flight control systems and complex multi-party liability chains.
Leanna was named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 in 2019 and 2020 and has served on the boards of both the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. Marchand Law was founded in Dallas and serves clients throughout the DFW Metro.
Damages Available in a Texas Drunk Driving Claim
Texas law provides multiple categories of recovery in a drunk driving case, and drunk driving claims often justify a broader damages picture than standard negligence cases.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover past and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, vehicle repair or replacement, and diminished vehicle value. These are calculated against documented costs and projected future needs.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and physical impairment, both past and future. They reflect what the crash has taken from you and what it may continue to take.
Exemplary (Punitive) Damages
Exemplary damages are available in Texas when a defendant’s conduct rises to gross negligence, defined as conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others. Courts and juries often characterize drunk driving that way. Proving exemplary damages requires clear and convincing evidence, and Texas law applies statutory caps. When available, they can significantly affect the value of a claim.
If a drunk driving crash was fatal, surviving spouses, children, and parents may bring wrongful death claims under Texas law. When the at-fault driver carries insufficient insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage through your own policy may provide additional recovery.
How We Build a Drunk Driving Accident Case
Investigation begins immediately. We obtain the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, request open records including officers’ notes, witness statements, and body camera footage, and monitor any criminal DWI charges filed against the at-fault driver. A guilty plea or no-contest plea in the criminal proceeding can be used as evidence in the civil case, though a conviction isn’t required to pursue compensation. The civil burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence, a meaningfully lower bar than the criminal standard.
Where a bar or restaurant may have overserved the driver, we investigate dram shop liability under the Texas Dram Shop Act. That can mean pulling receipts, reviewing surveillance footage, gathering witness statements, and evaluating whether a complaint to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) is warranted. Dram shop claims open a separate avenue of recovery and often a separate defendant with its own insurance coverage.
Insurance claims in a drunk driving case can run in multiple directions at once: a liability claim against the driver, a dram shop claim against the serving establishment, a potential employer liability claim if the driver was on duty, and a UM/UIM claim through your own carrier. We manage all of it, including evidence gathering, insurance communications, and litigation if the case doesn’t resolve on fair terms.
Talk to a Dallas Drunk Driving Accident Attorney Today
Texas’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injury and dram shop claims means it’s important to act promptly. Evidence disappears, witnesses become harder to locate, and surveillance footage is routinely overwritten. Early action protects your options.
At Marchand Law, David and Leanna Marchand personally handle every case from the first conversation through resolution. You won’t be handed off. Call us at (903) 345-1807 or contact us online to schedule your confidential consultation.