Louisiana Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC represents injured workers and accident victims across Louisiana and Mississippi, from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Shreveport to the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Southaven, and the Delta. When the person who hit you was drunk, the case carries its own set of pressures, and a Louisiana drunk driving accident lawyer has to handle the injury claim, the insurers, and the criminal case running alongside it.
A crash with an impaired driver almost never involves just one defendant or one policy. There may be the driver’s auto insurer, an employer if the driver was on the clock, a bar or restaurant that kept serving a visibly intoxicated customer, and your own uninsured motorist coverage. If you were working when it happened, a workers’ compensation claim may sit beside the injury claim. Each of these has its own rules and deadlines, and they interact in ways that can cost you money if they are handled separately.
The criminal case against the other driver does not decide your civil claim, and it does not pay your bills. A guilty plea can help, but a dismissed or reduced charge does not end your right to recover. Your claim turns on what you can prove about fault and your damages.
Why Choose Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe for a Drunk Driving Crash Claim
Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC is a Louisiana and Mississippi firm that has made injured people its focus. The firm has recovered more than $100 million in settlements for clients, and it handles personal injury matters including car and truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death. Consultations are free, the firm advances the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. Phones are answered 24 hours a day, and Spanish-speaking clients can work with the team in their own language.
Rob Lunsford, Founding Partner, has spent his entire legal career representing injured workers. Brad Baskin and Jennifer Priebe, both Partners, have been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers, and the firm was ranked by Best Law Firms in 2026 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 cases before state appellate courts. Keaton Belk and Erin Heimlicher round out the attorney team.
That background matters in a drunk driving case because many of these crashes involve people hurt while driving for work: delivery drivers, truck drivers, and project managers. The firm has recovered $385,000 for a project manager injured after being struck in his work vehicle and $190,000 for a truck driver who hurt his lower back in a wreck on the job. Results like these depend on coordinating the comp claim and the injury claim so one does not undercut the other. Clients regularly describe the team as easy to work with, professional, and willing to listen and fight the insurance company at every step.
Who May Owe You Compensation After an Impaired Driver Hits You
- The Drunk Driver: The driver is the obvious defendant, and impairment is strong evidence of negligence. The problem is often collectability, since many impaired drivers carry minimum coverage or none at all.
- Your Own Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: When the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, your own policy may fill the gap. Notifying your carrier promptly and understanding how that claim is handled matters.
- An Employer Whose Driver Was on the Clock: If the drunk driver was making deliveries, driving to a job site, or otherwise working, the employer’s commercial policy may be in play. Companies with larger policies change the value of a case.
- Bars, Restaurants, and Other Alcohol Sellers: Louisiana’s dram shop protections are narrow, and liability for serving an intoxicated patron is far more limited than many people expect. Whether a seller can be held responsible depends on the specific facts, so this needs a careful legal review before anyone assumes a claim exists.
- Workers’ Compensation Carriers: If you were hurt in a work vehicle or on a work errand, you may receive comp medical care and wage benefits regardless of who caused the crash. The comp insurer can then assert a right to be repaid from your third-party recovery, which is why the two claims must be coordinated.
- Wrongful Death Claims: When a drunk driver kills someone, surviving family members can pursue wrongful death and survival claims against the responsible parties.
- Trucking and Commercial Fleets: Impaired commercial drivers raise questions about the carrier’s hiring, supervision, and testing practices, which can open the door to additional defendants.
What to Do After a Crash Caused by a Drunk Driver in Louisiana
Call 911 and stay at the scene. Ask that police respond and document signs of impairment. The investigating officer’s report, any field sobriety observations, and chemical test results become central evidence. Get the officer’s name and the report number, and ask which law enforcement agency responded, whether that is a city police department, a parish sheriff’s office, or state police.
Get medical care immediately, even if you feel mostly fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and gaps between the crash and your first treatment give insurers room to argue the crash did not cause your condition. Follow your doctor’s instructions and keep every record, bill, and prescription receipt.
Photograph the vehicles, the road, skid marks, and your injuries. Collect names and contact details for witnesses, especially anyone who saw the other driver before the crash, such as bar patrons or employees if the driver was leaving an establishment. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and be careful about what you post online.
Deadlines are the part people get wrong. Louisiana’s liberative prescription period for most injury claims is two years from the day the injury is sustained, for injuries on or after July 1, 2024. Earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. For wrongful death, the claim must be brought within one year of the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer. If you were hurt on the job, tell your employer within 30 days, and a formal comp claim generally must be filed within one year of the accident.
These cases are filed in the Louisiana district court for the parish where the crash occurred or where the defendant lives, and some can be brought in federal court in the Eastern, Middle, or Western District of Louisiana when the legal requirements are met. Workers’ compensation disputes are heard separately by workers’ compensation judges at the Office of Workers’ Compensation, with the Louisiana courts of appeal reviewing their decisions.
How Fault Rules Can Reduce or Eliminate Your Recovery
Louisiana changed its comparative fault rule. For causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2026, a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and a lower share of fault reduces the award proportionally. Earlier claims remain under pure comparative fault. In a jury trial, jurors are told about the bar.
That makes fault allocation a central fight, even when the other driver was drunk. Defense lawyers look for anything to shift blame: speed, a lane change, a missed turn signal, not wearing a seatbelt, or being on your phone. Preserving evidence early, including dashcam footage, vehicle data, and witness accounts, lets your attorney answer those arguments before they take root.
What an Attorney Actually Does in a Drunk Driving Injury Case
The first job is evidence. That means sending preservation letters so footage, vehicle event data, and records are not lost, obtaining the police report and any chemical test results, and identifying every policy that could respond, including commercial and umbrella coverage that does not show up in an initial call with the adjuster.
Next comes valuation. A lawyer works with your doctors to document the injury, the treatment still ahead, and how the injury affects your ability to work. Lost earning capacity and long-term care costs are easy to underestimate when you settle early. Insurers know this and tend to make early offers before the full picture is clear.
The attorney also coordinates parallel proceedings. If the driver faces criminal charges, the attorney tracks the case, understands how testimony and plea outcomes can affect the civil claim, and, when appropriate, seeks to have the driver’s impairment properly documented in the civil record. If a workers’ compensation claim is involved, the attorney manages the comp carrier’s reimbursement interest so it does not swallow your recovery.
Where punitive damages may be available under Louisiana law for intoxicated driving, an attorney evaluates whether the facts support that theory. Whether they are available and how they are measured turns on the specific circumstances, so that analysis belongs in a consultation, not a guess.
Frequently Asked Questions About Louisiana Drunk Driving Accident Claims
Do I need a lawyer if the other driver was clearly drunk?
Clear fault does not make the claim simple. The hard parts are identifying all available insurance, valuing future medical needs, and dealing with fault arguments under Louisiana’s comparative fault rules. A lawyer also helps coordinate your claim with any criminal case and any workers’ compensation benefits.
How much does it cost to hire Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm advances case costs, and fees are collected only if we recover for you.
How long do I have to file a drunk driving injury lawsuit in Louisiana?
For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, delictual actions generally carry a two-year prescriptive period running from the day the injury is sustained. Earlier injuries remain under the former one-year period. Wrongful death follows a one-year-from-death or two-years-from-injury rule, whichever is longer.
Does the other driver’s criminal conviction guarantee I win my civil case?
No. The criminal case and civil case are separate and use different standards. A conviction can strengthen your claim, but an acquittal or reduced charge does not prevent you from proving negligence in civil court.
What if the drunk driver has no insurance?
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may apply. We can also look at whether an employer, a commercial policy, or another responsible party is involved. Review your policy and report the crash to your carrier promptly.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the crash?
It depends on when the cause of action arose and how much fault is assigned to you. For claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, being found 51 percent or more at fault bars recovery, and lower percentages reduce the award. Earlier claims fall under pure comparative fault.
Can a bar or restaurant be held responsible for serving the drunk driver?
Louisiana’s protections for alcohol sellers are narrow, and these claims are difficult. Whether one exists depends on the facts, so it should be reviewed by an attorney rather than assumed.
I was driving for work when I was hit. Can I get comp and file an injury claim?
Often yes. Workers’ compensation can provide medical care and wage benefits regardless of fault, and you may also pursue the drunk driver. The comp insurer may seek reimbursement from your third-party recovery, so the claims need to be handled together.
Should I give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement?
You are generally better off speaking with an attorney first. Adjusters use recorded statements to find inconsistencies and shift blame, and you are not obligated to give one to the at-fault driver’s carrier.
What if a family member was killed by a drunk driver?
Surviving family members may bring wrongful death and survival claims. The wrongful death deadline is one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer, so contacting a lawyer early protects the claim.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the case is pending?
Often it will, but your insurer may later seek reimbursement from a settlement. Keep treating, keep your records, and let your attorney address liens and reimbursement claims as the case resolves.
Serving Drunk Driving Accident Victims Across Louisiana
Our work for impaired-driver crash victims in Louisiana begins in New Orleans and reaches across South Louisiana and the rest of the state. We represent clients hurt on the roads of New Orleans and in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, as well as in Shreveport and north Louisiana. We serve people throughout the Gulf Coast corridor and the communities in between, and our work extends across the state line into Mississippi, including Jackson, Madison, Hattiesburg, Southaven, the Delta, north Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast. Whether the crash happened on an interstate, a parish road, or outside a bar on a weekend night, the same questions apply: who was at fault, who is insured, and what you will need to recover.
Talk With a Louisiana Drunk Driving Accident Attorney Today
If an impaired driver injured you or took someone you love, speaking with a Louisiana drunk driving accident attorney early protects evidence and deadlines that do not wait. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we recover for you. Call Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe PLLC to talk through what happened and what your options are.
