San Antonio Drunk Driving Statistics

Texas Accident Injury Lawyer Michael Grossman Discusses Drunk Driving Accident Statistics in Texas

Drunk driving is a serious problem across the country, but especially in the state of Texas. Numerous drunk driving accident statistics illustrate how serious this problem really is. There are more drunk driving accidents in Texas than in any other state in the country.

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In 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) filed a report that stated that 1,200 people were killed in drunken driving accidents in Texas that year. Out of all the traffic-related fatalities in Texas, almost half of them involve intoxicated drivers. Five people are killed by drunk drivers every day in Texas. Over 40% of drunk driving accidents involving death occur in the northern or eastern areas of the state.

The NHTSA has shown through numerous studies that the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit plays a large role in the number of alcohol-related accidents every year. During the early 1990s, the legal BAC limit was 0.10% in many states, as opposed to the 0.08% found in all states today. Studies showed that, in states that enforced a 0.08% BAC limit, alcohol-related accidents were significantly reduced when compared to states with a legal BAC limit of 0.10%. But even with a 0.08% national limit, over 16,000 people are killed in the United States every year by intoxicated drivers. We have made progress, but we have a long way to go to address this problem.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a drunken driver accident, San Antonio drunk driver accident attorney Michael Grossman can help you seek justice. Filing a lawsuit in this type of accident is a complex and technical process, primarily due to dram shop causes of action. Under a dram shop cause of action, a victim hurt by a drunk driver (or any drunk individual, whether or not the person was driving) can sue the bar or establishment that served the drunk person to the point of intoxication. Bars and other alcohol-serving establishments have a responsibility to ensure that their patrons do not endanger other people. Despite this responsibility, it is not easy to secure compensation through a dram shop cause of action.

But our attorneys have twenty years of experience helping victims hurt by drunk drivers, and we have gone up against every major insurance company and alcohol liability defense firm in the country. These organizations know about our successful track record, and we can often secure a fair settlement without ever stepping foot in court simply because these people are afraid of what our attorneys can do if the case goes to trial. Essentially, we can get you the compensation you need quickly so that you can get on with your life. So if you or a loved one has been hurt by a drunk driver, contact San Antonio intoxicated driver accident lawyer Michael Grossman today, and make sure that those responsible for your accident are brought to justice.


Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases
$100,000.00 Recovery - Third-Party Dram Shop Accident (Broken Leg)
(policy limits) Recovery for pedestrian who suffered a broken leg when he was hit by a drunken driver.
Total Recovery:
$100,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$33,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$1,000.00
$350,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / First Party Dram Shop
Our firm was hired by the minor child and parents of a young man who was killed in a motorcycle accident after being over served alcohol at a South Padre Island bar. The plaintiffs hired our firm to investigate the claim on the basis that the decedent was over the legal limit at the time of his death. In initial attempts to settle the case out of court, the defendants denied liability. Suit was filed soon thereafter.

The defendants initially argued that the decedent never consumed alcohol on their premises. Through physical evidence and deposition testimony to the contrary, we were able to conclusively prove that the decedent had indeed been drinking at the establishment.

The defendants then asserted allegations that the decedent's minor child was not actually his biological child, which would bar his claim entirely. A DNA test was performed and this argument was defeated.

The defendants then asserted the safe harbor defense. Our attorneys argued that the defendants did not qualify for safe harbor protection due to the fact that their servers were not all licensed providers. However, while this element was being addressed, our attorneys focused their attention on addressing the second element of the safe harbor defense regarding the bar's encouragement of the over service of alcohol. The defendants claimed that they would never serve the double-shot Bacardi cocktails that witnesses claimed the decedent drank several of. We sent private investigators into the bar to order the same drinks that the decedent consumed on the night of his death and the very same bar tenders who over served the decedent, without hesitation, served copious amounts of alcohol to the investigators, all of which was captured on hidden camera.

Once the safe harbor defense was defeated, the defendants argued that the decedent's BAC was low enough at the time of his death (as recorded by the hospital) that he would not have necessarily appeared obviously intoxicated to the servers and therefore the bar should not be held liable even if he had been over served. Eyewitness testimony refuted this.

Additionally, our firm's testifying medical expert reviewed the medical records related to the emergency helicopter flight that transported the decedent to the hospital after his accident. She determined that the EMS technicians administered numerous blood transfusions while in flight. Armed with this newfound data, our medical expert reverse extrapolated and determined conclusively that the decedent's BAC was actually in the range of .19-.21 at the time of the accident, though it was drastically diluted by the time he arrived at the hospital, which accounted for the relatively low BAC found in the hospital's medical records. This testimony proved to be pivotal in the case, resulting in a successful recovery for our clients.
Total Recovery:
$350,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$140,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$40,000.00
$97,500.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / First-Party Dram Shop Accident
(policy limits were $100k) Recovery for wife of a motorcyclist who was killed in a drunk driving accident.
Total Recovery:
$97,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$48,750.00
Litigation Expenses:
$0.00
$337,500.00 Recovery - Third-Party Dram Shop Accident (Punctured Colon and Soft Tissue Injuries)
Our client suffered a punctured colon and numerous soft tissue injuries in an alcohol-related car accident. The accident occurred as the defendant driver crashed his car into a concrete median. The plaintiff, a passenger in the vehicle, alleged that the defendant driver was over served alcohol to such an extent that he was several times the legal limit. As such, a claim was brought against the defendant driver and the bar which over served him. A settlement was reached with the defendant driver and the plaintiff turned his focus on the bar in question. The case was resolved successfully through litigation. Based on the egregious conduct of the bar and it's numerous TABC violations, the defendant's liquor license was revoked soon after the case was resolved.
Total Recovery:
$337,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$134,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$3,750.00
$109,500.00 Recovery - Third-Party Dram Shop Accident (Broken Leg)
Recovery for passenger who suffered broken leg in a drunken driving accident.
Total Recovery:
$109,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$41,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$30.00
Confidential Recovery - Wrongful Death / Automobile Accident
(policy limits) Our firm was hired to pursue an intoxicated driver who killed an elderly school crossing guard. The fatal accident occurred as the decedent was escorting a woman and her child across the roadway through a crosswalk. The defendant then sped through the school zone, in an intoxicated a state, and struck the decedent who died on the scene.

The family hired our firm to investigate and pursue the defendant under a wrongful death cause of action. Following our investigation and preliminary vehicle inspection, our attorneys issued a Stowers' demand to the defendants. A significant factor in resolving this claim is that merely days before we submitted our demand to the defendant' insurance carrier, we won a large case against the very same insurance carrier, which was one of several such victories secured against the carrier in our firm's history. Our threats of litigation were therefore heeded and the defendants offered policy limits to settle the claim without the need to file suit.
Total Recovery:
Confidential
Attorney Fees:
Confidential
Litigation Expenses:
Confidential
$550,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / First Party Dram Shop
A young woman lost her life after a bar over served her to more than three times the legal limit resulting in her burning to death in a single-vehicle accident. Witnesses stated that she was so intoxicated that she could barely make it to her vehicle without assistance. Through litigation, our attorneys ascertained the necessary evidence to prove that the establishment provided alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person, thus resulting in her ultimate demise.
Total Recovery:
$550,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$220,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$25,000.00
$100,000.00 Recovery - Third-Party Dram Shop Accident (Broken Arm)
Recovered for client injured in a liquor liability accident.
Total Recovery:
$100,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$40,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$5,000.00
$300,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Third Party Dram Shop
(policy limits) An incredibly intoxicated driver drove head-on into a vehicle, killing several of the vehicle's occupants. The defendants had limited assets, yet an alternative policy was uncovered, which the defendants argued was non applicable. Under threat of litigation, our attorneys negotiated a settlement for the policy limits.
Total Recovery:
$300,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$132,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$0.00

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