Mississippi Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
A crash caused by an impaired driver usually produces two separate legal tracks, and the criminal one does not pay your hospital bills. The DUI prosecution is run by the state against the driver, while your medical expenses, lost income, and long-term losses are recovered only through a civil claim you bring yourself. Mississippi drunk driving accident lawyer representation exists for that second track, and Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC handles injury claims for people hurt by negligent drivers throughout Mississippi, from Jackson and Madison to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta.
People often assume a guilty plea or a conviction settles what the driver owes them. It does not. A criminal court may order restitution in some situations, but that is not a substitute for a full civil recovery, and the insurance company handling your claim is not bound by what happened in the DUI case. The adjuster will still look for ways to shrink what it pays, and the driver’s policy limits, the driver’s own assets, and any other responsible parties all affect what is realistically collectible.
Drunk driving cases also tend to carry more than one source of recovery. The impaired driver is the obvious defendant, but a bar that kept serving a visibly intoxicated patron, an employer whose worker was driving on the job, or your own uninsured motorist coverage can each become part of the picture. Sorting out which of those apply, and in what order, is where early legal help changes outcomes.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Mississippi Impaired-Driver Injury Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Mississippi and Louisiana firm built around representing injured people, with workers’ compensation at the center of its practice and personal injury work covering car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death. Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. The firm’s attorneys bring over 75 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for its clients. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless benefits or a settlement are recovered. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language, since the firm says “Hablamos espanol.”
Recognition matters when you are choosing who will face an insurance carrier on your behalf. Partners Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers, and the firm was ranked by Best Law Firms for Workers’ Compensation Law, Claimants, in Jackson. Andrew Rueff has successfully tried dozens of jury and bench trials to verdict and has argued personal injury and insurance matters before state appellate courts.
Much of the firm’s day-to-day work is back, neck, shoulder, knee, and fracture injuries, the same injuries a high-speed impact from an impaired driver tends to cause. Results include a $685,000 settlement for a surgical tech with a lower back injury, $600,000 for a construction worker with a complex back injury, and $385,000 for a project manager with back injuries after being struck in his work vehicle. Clients describe an attorney team that listens, stays responsive, and deals directly with the insurance company so they do not have to.
Who and What Can Be Responsible After an Impaired-Driver Crash in Mississippi
- The Intoxicated Driver: The primary defendant in nearly every case. Proof usually comes from the crash report, any chemical test result, field sobriety observations, and body camera or dash camera footage. A pending or completed DUI charge helps, but a civil claim does not depend on a conviction.
- Employers of On-the-Job Drivers: If the impaired driver was making deliveries, running a service call, or otherwise driving for work, the employer may share liability. Commercial drivers and company vehicles also bring additional insurance policies into play.
- Bars, Restaurants, and Other Alcohol Sellers: Depending on the facts, a business that served someone who was already visibly intoxicated may face its own exposure. These claims turn on receipts, witness accounts, and surveillance video, which businesses do not keep forever.
- Your Own Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Many impaired drivers carry minimal coverage or none at all. Your own policy may fill part of that gap, and the claim has its own notice requirements and insurer tactics.
- Work Injuries Caused by an Impaired Driver: If you were hurt while driving for your job, such as in a work truck, a delivery route, or a job-site commute, you may have a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against the drunk driver. Those two claims interact, which is a point the firm’s dual practice is designed to handle.
- Wrongful Death Claims: When a crash kills someone, eligible family members may bring a civil action for the loss. Mississippi’s negligence limit for wrongful death is three years, and a cap on noneconomic damages generally applies to these cases while economic losses are not capped.
- Government Vehicles and Roads: A crash involving a county or other governmental body brings the Mississippi Tort Claims Act into the case, which has a one-year limit and a notice requirement. This is far shorter than the ordinary deadline and is easy to miss.
What to Do in the Days After a Drunk Driving Crash
Get medical care first and let the records reflect every symptom, including the ones that seem minor. Neck and back injuries from rear-end and head-on impacts often show their full extent over days, and a gap between the crash and your first treatment is something insurers use to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Whether you are treated at a hospital in Jackson, on the Gulf Coast, or in a smaller community, keep every discharge paper, bill, and prescription record.
Make sure police responded and a report exists, and ask the responding agency how to obtain a copy. The report is where officers note signs of impairment, any breath or blood testing, and witness names, and it is often the first document the insurer looks at. If you can safely do so, photograph the vehicles, the scene, and your injuries, and save the names and numbers of anyone who saw what happened. If alcohol was served before the crash, the name of the bar or restaurant is worth writing down immediately, because video and sales records can be overwritten.
Be careful with the other driver’s insurance company. An adjuster may call within days offering a quick payment and asking for a recorded statement. Anything you say about fault, your pain level, or your prior health can be used to reduce your claim, and an early settlement closes the door on future medical needs. Mississippi follows pure comparative negligence, meaning your recovery is reduced by your share of fault rather than eliminated, so even a disputed point about fault does not end a claim.
Deadlines matter. Most Mississippi negligence claims fall under a three-year period that begins when the cause of action accrues, but claims against a county or other governmental agency carry a one-year limit with a notice requirement under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. If the crash happened while you were working, workers’ compensation runs on a different clock: you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days, and a claim with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission generally must be filed within two years of the injury. If the crash happened in Louisiana, a different two-year tort period applies to injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and fault rules differ as well, so confirm which state’s law governs before assuming anything.
Cases in Mississippi are filed in the circuit court of the county where the claim arises or where the defendant can be sued, and federal court becomes an option in some multi-party or cross-state situations. A Hinds County case, for example, goes to the Hinds County Circuit Court, while the Southern District of Mississippi hears federal matters from Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, and Natchez. The right forum is a strategic choice made early, not an afterthought.
How Civil Claims and DUI Prosecutions Interact
The criminal case and your injury claim are separate, with different standards of proof and different goals. The prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while a civil plaintiff needs only to show negligence is more likely than not. A driver can be acquitted or have charges reduced and still be held civilly responsible, and a guilty plea can be powerful evidence in your favor even though it does not set your damages.
Practical friction does arise. The defendant may invoke the Fifth Amendment during the criminal case and decline to answer questions in the civil one, which can slow discovery. Timing of depositions and settlement talks sometimes depends on where the criminal case stands. A lawyer tracking both dockets can use the criminal file, including the arrest report, test results, and recorded statements, as building blocks for the civil claim.
Damages in these cases cover medical expenses, future care, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Because an impaired driver’s conduct is conscious and reckless in a way an ordinary mistake is not, punitive damages may also be on the table in appropriate cases, though they require a separate showing and insurance policies do not always reach them. Where a worker is hurt, the comp insurer may hold a lien on part of a third-party recovery, which is why the two claims must be coordinated rather than pursued blindly.
Questions People Ask About Mississippi Drunk Driving Accident Claims
Do I have to wait for the DUI case to end before filing my claim?
No. A civil claim can move forward whether or not the criminal case is finished. Evidence preservation and the filing deadline do not pause for the criminal process, so waiting can hurt you.
What if the drunk driver has no insurance?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage may apply, and the driver can still be sued personally. Collecting from an individual is harder, which is why identifying other responsible parties, such as an employer or an alcohol seller, matters.
How long do I have to file in Mississippi?
Most negligence claims fall under a three-year period that starts when the claim accrues. Claims against a county or other government agency carry a one-year limit and a notice requirement, so check this early instead of assuming three years.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault?
Yes. Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence, so your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault instead of being barred. An insurer will often exaggerate your share, which is something a lawyer can contest with evidence.
Is there a cap on what I can recover?
Mississippi caps noneconomic damages in most wrongful death cases at $1,000,000, and the caps do not apply to economic damages. For ordinary injury cases, the caps that matter most are the insurance policy limits available to pay a judgment.
Can I sue the bar that served the driver?
Possibly, depending on the facts, including whether the driver was visibly intoxicated when served. These claims depend on evidence a business may not keep, such as video and receipts, so telling your lawyer about the bar early helps.
The driver pleaded guilty. Does that decide my case?
It helps but does not decide it. The plea can be strong evidence of fault, but you still must prove your damages, and the insurer may still dispute the extent of your injuries.
I was hit while driving for work. Can I do both a comp claim and an injury claim?
Often yes. Workers’ compensation covers medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault, and you may also pursue the impaired driver, who is a third party. The comp carrier may seek reimbursement from the third-party recovery, so the claims have to be coordinated.
What if the crash happened in Louisiana but I live in Mississippi?
The law of the place where the crash happened generally matters. Louisiana has a two-year period for injuries on or after July 1, 2024, and a rule that bars recovery for a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault for causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026. Those rules differ from Mississippi’s, so the location of the crash is important.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Usually yes, and using it avoids gaps in care. Your health insurer may claim reimbursement from a later settlement, so keep records of what it pays and tell your lawyer about it.
Does the lawyer cost anything up front?
Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and the firm is paid only if it recovers benefits or a settlement for you.
Serving Drunk Driving Accident Clients Across Mississippi
Our team represents injured people throughout Mississippi, starting in Jackson and Hinds County and reaching across the Jackson metro into Madison, Ridgeland, Clinton, Byram, and Terry. We also serve clients in Rankin County communities and in Raymond and Bolton. Moving south, we represent crash victims in Hattiesburg and the surrounding Pine Belt, and along the Gulf Coast from Gulfport and Biloxi through Ocean Springs and Pascagoula. In north Mississippi, our clients include families in Southaven, Olive Branch, and the DeSoto County corridor, as well as communities along the interstates that carry heavy commuter and commercial traffic. We also serve people across the Delta, including Greenville, Cleveland, and Clarksdale, and we handle claims in other parts of the state, with Louisiana injury work available when a crash crosses the state line.
Speak With a Mississippi Drunk Driving Accident Attorney Today
If an impaired driver injured you or took someone you love, the criminal case will not recover what you have lost, and the insurance company is already working to limit what it pays. Talking with a Mississippi drunk driving accident attorney early preserves evidence, protects your deadlines, and puts someone between you and the adjuster. Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC any hour for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.
