Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer in Miami

Miami's nightlife districts — South Beach, Brickell, Wynwood, Coconut Grove — and the long stretches of highway connecting them produce a steady stream of impaired-driving crashes. Florida consistently ranks among the worst states in the nation for fatal alcohol-related crashes, and Miami-Dade County leads the state in raw numbers. If you have been hit by a drunk driver in South Florida, you have powerful civil remedies available — including the possibility of punitive damages and, in some cases, a separate "dram shop" claim against the bar or restaurant that overserved the driver.

The Civil Case Is Separate From the Criminal Case

The criminal DUI prosecution against the drunk driver is brought by the State of Florida and is intended to punish the driver. The civil case is yours. It is brought to compensate you for your losses — medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, disability, and (in death cases) wrongful-death damages. The two cases proceed on independent tracks, and you do not have to wait for the criminal case to conclude before bringing your civil claim. That said, the criminal case usually produces extremely useful evidence: the police DUI report, body-camera footage, breath or blood test results, field sobriety video, and any plea or conviction.

Punitive Damages in Florida DUI Cases

Florida Statute § 768.736 specifically authorizes punitive damages against a drunk driver. If the defendant was operating the vehicle while voluntarily intoxicated (over the legal limit) and that intoxication was a substantial cause of the crash, punitive damages are available without the usual heightened pleading standards. Punitive damages are designed to punish and deter, and they often dwarf the compensatory damages in serious DUI cases.

Florida's general punitive-damages statute (§ 768.73) caps punitive damages at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000 — but that cap is increased (to four times compensatory or $2 million) when the defendant's conduct was motivated by financial gain, and removed entirely when the conduct was specifically intended to harm. Drunk driving is generally treated as gross negligence sufficient to justify punitive recovery up to the standard cap.

Florida's Limited Dram Shop Liability

Florida's "dram shop" statute (§ 768.125) is narrower than in many states. A bar, restaurant, or licensed seller of alcohol generally is not liable for harm caused by an adult patron, even one who was visibly intoxicated. Florida law imposes dram-shop liability only in two circumstances:

• Service to a minor. The seller knowingly served alcohol to a person under 21, who then caused the crash.
• Service to a known habitual drunkard. The seller knowingly served alcohol to a person "habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages."

The "habitual drunkard" theory is harder to prove but is sometimes available against bars and restaurants in nightlife districts where bartenders knew the patron by name and his drinking pattern. Where dram-shop liability does apply, it adds a second, often well-insured defendant to the case.

Insurance Issues in Drunk Driving Cases

Most Florida private auto policies exclude punitive damages from coverage and many will deny coverage altogether for "intentional acts" — a label some carriers attempt to apply to drunk driving. The compensatory portion of your damages will typically be covered by the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability policy, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy will respond if the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured (which, with drunk drivers, is common). We carefully evaluate every available source of recovery — the at-fault driver's primary policy, any umbrella coverage, your own UM coverage, and any potential dram-shop or employer-provided vehicle coverage.

Evidence in a Florida DUI Civil Case

• The Florida Traffic Crash Report and any DUI investigation report
• Breath, blood, and urine test results
• Body-worn camera and dashcam footage
• Field sobriety test video
• Bar and restaurant receipts, surveillance, and POS records (for dram-shop investigation)
• Cell phone records and rideshare/credit-card history showing the driver's pre-crash movements
• Witness testimony from bystanders, bar staff, and other patrons
• The driver's prior DUI history (admissible to support punitive damages)

Statute of Limitations

For drunk-driving crashes occurring on or after March 24, 2023, Florida's statute of limitations is two years from the date of the crash for personal injury claims and two years from the date of death for wrongful-death claims under § 95.11(3). Punitive damages must be specifically pleaded with supporting evidence under § 768.72.

The Elements of DUI Under Florida Law

§ 316.193 makes it unlawful for a person to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence to the extent normal faculties are impaired, or with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher (.02 for drivers under 21 under § 322.2616, .04 for commercial drivers). Aggravating factors — a BAC of .15 or higher, a minor in the vehicle, prior DUI convictions, serious bodily injury, or a death — elevate the offense and strengthen the civil punitive-damages case. We obtain the breath or blood results, the FHP or local agency DUI investigation report, the Intoxilyzer 8000 records, and any blood-draw chain-of-custody documentation through public-records requests under the Florida Sunshine Law (Chapter 119).

Staying the Civil Case During Criminal Prosecution

When the criminal DUI case is still pending, the defendant will often invoke the Fifth Amendment at civil deposition. Florida courts can grant a partial stay of civil proceedings to avoid prejudice, but the case rarely needs to be paused entirely — written discovery, third-party witness depositions, expert work, medical treatment, and demand preparation all proceed. The civil case is often ready to push the moment the criminal case is resolved, with the conviction or plea then admissible.

Insurance Coverage and Sources of Recovery

Florida requires only $10,000 in PIP and $10,000 in property-damage liability under § 324.021(7). Ordinary drivers are not required to carry bodily injury liability, but DUI-convicted drivers are subject to the financial-responsibility requirements of § 324.023, which mandates $100,000/$300,000 BI and $50,000 PD for three years. We pursue every available coverage:

• The at-fault driver's bodily injury liability and any umbrella
• Commercial coverage if the at-fault vehicle was a work vehicle or commercially insured
• The owner's policy under Florida's dangerous-instrumentality doctrine if the driver was operating someone else's car
• The injured party's UM/UIM coverage under § 627.727 — typically the largest source against under-insured drunk drivers
• Stacked UM across household vehicles when the policy permits
• Any dram-shop or social-host coverage if § 768.125 applies

Most personal auto policies exclude punitive damages, so collection on the punitive component generally requires personal assets — but the punitive exposure routinely increases the settlement leverage on the compensatory claim, and assets such as homes (outside the homestead protection), investment accounts, and business interests are fair game post-judgment.

Plaintiff-Side Alcohol Defenses

Florida has two statutes that limit the rights of injured plaintiffs who were themselves intoxicated. § 768.36 bars recovery if the plaintiff was under the influence to the extent normal faculties were impaired and was more than 50% at fault. § 768.075 limits the liability of property owners to trespassers who were intoxicated. Neither applies to a sober victim of a drunk driver, but both come up when the plaintiff was a passenger or co-drinker who left a bar with the defendant. Each fact pattern needs careful evaluation.

Evidence Preservation Checklist

• Spoliation letter to the at-fault driver to preserve the vehicle, cell phone, smartwatch, and personal effects
• Preservation letters to bars, restaurants, and nightclubs along the pre-crash route for receipts, POS records, surveillance footage, and server identities
• Preservation requests to FDOT and toll authorities for SunPass records, traffic camera footage, and any roadside surveillance
• Public-records requests to FHP, MDPD, City of Miami PD, and Coral Gables PD for DUI investigation files, body-cam, and dash-cam
• EDR (black-box) download of both vehicles
• Rideshare subpoenas for Uber or Lyft activity by the defendant that night

Common Defense Tactics

• Disputing impairment causation. Defendant argues the crash was caused by something else — sun glare, brake failure, the plaintiff's lane change — and that the alcohol, while present, did not cause the collision. Reconstruction expert testimony and the temporal proximity of impairment to impact rebut this.
• Comparative fault. Under § 768.81's modified comparative fault with a 50% bar, shifting more than half the blame defeats the case. Expect aggressive attempts to apportion fault to the plaintiff.
• Bifurcation. Defendant moves to bifurcate liability/compensatory from punitive damages, hoping the jury never hears about the DUI in the liability phase. Florida courts often allow some structure, but the BAC and conduct typically come in during the compensatory phase as well because they are relevant to causation.
• Coverage denials. Carriers argue intentional-act exclusions to deny coverage entirely. Florida case law generally rejects the application of intentional-act exclusions to drunk driving.

What to Do After Being Hit by a Drunk Driver

1. Call 911 immediately and request both police and EMS. Tell the responding officer if you smell alcohol or notice signs of impairment.
2. Photograph everything — vehicles, scene, license plates, and any open containers visible in the at-fault vehicle.
3. Identify witnesses who saw the driver before or after the crash.
4. Get medical evaluation within 14 days to preserve PIP benefits.
5. Save all paperwork from the responding officers, including any DUI citation numbers.
6. Retain counsel quickly so preservation letters can go out to bars and other potential defendants before evidence ages out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to wait for the criminal case to conclude before I sue?

No. The civil case can be filed immediately and the two cases run in parallel. The criminal conviction or plea, if obtained, becomes powerful evidence in the civil case but is not a prerequisite.

What if the driver refused the breath test?

A refusal is admissible in both the criminal and civil cases as consciousness of guilt and triggers an automatic one-year license suspension under § 322.2615. Refusals do not protect the driver from a civil judgment — and in fact they often strengthen punitive-damages exposure.

What about social-host liability?

Florida does not generally impose social-host liability on private individuals who serve alcohol to adult guests. Service to minors is the principal exception.

Are punitive damages really uncapped?

§ 768.736 expressly exempts DUI cases from the general punitive-damages caps of § 768.73. Punitive damages can be awarded without the multiplier caps that limit ordinary cases.

If you or a loved one has been hit by a drunk driver in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here to help. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free consultation.