When a suspected drunk driving crash injures or kills someone in Texas, most people picture a single courtroom. In reality, two entirely separate proceedings begin, and they do not wait for each other.
The State files criminal charges. The injured person — or the family of someone who died — files a civil lawsuit. Different courts. Different rules of evidence. Different burdens of proof. Different outcomes. Understanding how the two tracks interact matters enormously, because a decision made in one can quietly wreck the other.
Two Proceedings, Two Different Standards
The single most important thing to understand is that an acquittal in the criminal case does not end the civil claim, and a dismissal does not either. The standards are not the same.
| Criminal case | Civil claim | |
| Who brings it | The State of Texas, through the district attorney | The injured person, or the family of the deceased |
| Burden of proof | Beyond a reasonable doubt | Preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not |
| Purpose | Punishment and deterrence | Compensation for the harm caused |
| What is at stake | Prison, fines, licence suspension, a permanent record | Money damages, paid by the driver or an insurer |
That gap in burden is why a driver can be found not guilty and still be held liable. The jury in the civil case is answering a materially easier question.
The Criminal Charges a DWI Crash Can Trigger
An ordinary first-offense DWI is a Class B misdemeanour. Once someone is hurt, the exposure changes completely.
Intoxication Assault — Texas Penal Code § 49.07
If a person operates a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated and by reason of that intoxication causes serious bodily injury to another, the offense is a third-degree felony: two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
"Serious bodily injury" is a defined term. It means injury creating a substantial risk of death, or causing serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member or organ. Whether an injury clears that line is frequently the difference between a misdemeanour and a felony, and it is genuinely contestable.
Intoxication Manslaughter — Texas Penal Code § 49.08
If the crash causes a death, the offense becomes a second-degree felony: two to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Note what the statute requires — that the death was caused by reason of the intoxication. Causation is an element the State must prove, not an assumption it gets to make because a BAC result exists.
When the Person Injured Is a First Responder
Section 49.09 raises the level again. Under § 49.09(b-1), intoxication assault becomes a second-degree felony if the serious bodily injury was caused to a firefighter or emergency medical services personnel in the actual discharge of an official duty, and a first-degree felony if caused to a peace officer or judge in the discharge of an official duty. Under § 49.09(b-2), intoxication manslaughter becomes a first-degree felony where the person who died falls into those same categories.
Leaving the Scene — Transportation Code § 550.021
Failure to stop and render aid is charged separately and stacks on top of everything above. Where the crash resulted in death, it is a second-degree felony; where it resulted in serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony. Panic at the scene routinely turns one felony into two.
The Civil Claim Running Alongside It
The civil case does not require a conviction. It does not even require charges to be filed. It asks a different question: did the driver's conduct fall below the standard of ordinary care, and did that cause the harm?
Driving while intoxicated also supports a negligence per se theory. Because the conduct violates a safety statute designed to protect the class of people the plaintiff belongs to, the violation itself can establish the breach, rather than the jury being asked to weigh reasonableness from scratch.
Recoverable damages typically include medical expenses already incurred and reasonably anticipated in the future, lost earnings and diminished earning capacity, physical pain and mental anguish, physical impairment and disfigurement, property damage, and loss of consortium for a spouse. Where someone died, a wrongful death claim under Chapter 71 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code belongs to the surviving spouse, children, and parents, and a survival claim belongs to the estate.
Exemplary Damages Are Not Subject to the Usual Cap
This is the point most summaries get wrong, and it is worth stating carefully.
Chapter 41 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code normally caps exemplary (punitive) damages. Section 41.008(c) removes that cap where the plaintiff seeks exemplary damages based on conduct described as a felony in an enumerated list of Penal Code sections — and intoxication assault (§ 49.07) and intoxication manslaughter (§ 49.08) both appear on that list, at items (14) and (15).
For most offenses on that list, the plaintiff must additionally show the conduct was committed knowingly or intentionally. Intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter are expressly excepted from that extra requirement by the opening words of the subsection. In practical terms: in these cases the statutory cap does not apply, and the plaintiff does not have to prove the driver meant to hurt anyone. That materially changes the value of a claim and the calculus of every insurer involved.
Others Who May Share Liability
The driver is rarely the only party worth examining. Under § 2.02 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, a licensed provider can be liable where it served a person who was already obviously intoxicated to the extent that they presented a clear danger to themselves and others, and that intoxication was a proximate cause of the harm. Employers may face liability where the driver was in the course and scope of employment. For the separate question of liability at a private gathering, see our article on social host liability in Texas.
Deadlines That Do Not Wait
The civil claim carries a two-year limitations period under § 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, running from the date of the crash for injury claims and from the date of death for wrongful death. Separately, the driver's licence suspension proceeds on an administrative track with its own deadline measured in days after arrest, not years. Evidence has its own clock too: vehicle event data recorders get overwritten, businesses cycle their surveillance footage, and skid marks disappear with the next rain.
How the Two Cases Collide
Running in parallel creates genuine hazards, and this is where experienced handling matters most:
- Testimony crosses over. Anything a driver says in a civil deposition can be used by the prosecution. A defendant facing criminal charges generally should not be answering civil discovery without counsel coordinating both matters.
- The Fifth Amendment has a civil cost. Asserting it in a civil case is permitted, but unlike in a criminal trial, the jury may be permitted to draw an adverse inference from the silence.
- Evidence flows one way efficiently. The criminal investigation produces blood results, reconstruction reports, and body-camera footage that a civil plaintiff can obtain and use.
- Sequencing is strategic. Civil matters are often abated until the criminal case resolves — sometimes to the plaintiff's advantage, sometimes not.
Both Sides of These Cases
The Edgett Law Firm handles criminal defense and personal injury, which means we see these crashes from both directions — though never on both sides of the same matter.
If you have been charged after a crash, causation, the reliability of the blood draw, and whether the injury legally qualifies as "serious bodily injury" are all live questions. Our Collin County DWI defense lawyers handle those cases. If you or a family member were injured or killed by an intoxicated driver, our auto accident attorneys handle the civil claim, including wrongful death matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you be sued if you were not convicted of DWI?
Yes. The civil case is independent of the criminal one and uses a lower burden of proof. A criminal jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt; a civil jury only has to find it more likely than not that the driver was negligent and caused the harm. Acquittal, dismissal, or a case that was never charged at all does not bar a civil claim.
What is the difference between intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter in Texas?
Intoxication assault under Texas Penal Code § 49.07 applies where intoxication causes serious bodily injury and is a third-degree felony. Intoxication manslaughter under § 49.08 applies where intoxication causes a death and is a second-degree felony. Both can be enhanced further when the person injured or killed was a peace officer, judge, firefighter, or EMS personnel on duty.
Are punitive damages capped in a Texas drunk driving case?
Generally no. Section 41.008(c) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code lifts the usual exemplary damages cap for conduct described as a felony in an enumerated list, and intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter are both on that list. Those two offenses are also expressly excepted from the requirement to prove the conduct was knowing or intentional.
How long do you have to file a claim after a drunk driving crash in Texas?
Two years in most cases, under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, measured from the date of the crash for an injury claim and from the date of death for a wrongful death claim. Waiting is still costly, because event data recorders, surveillance video, and physical scene evidence disappear long before the deadline.
Can a bar be held responsible for a drunk driving crash in Texas?
Sometimes. Section 2.02 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code allows a claim against a licensed provider that served someone already obviously intoxicated to the point of presenting a clear danger to themselves and others, where that intoxication was a proximate cause of the harm.