St. Louis Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

When someone decides to drink and then drive, they put everyone on St. Louis roads in danger. If that choice leads to a wreck, the victims often face serious injuries, huge medical bills, and emotional pain. Laws in Missouri and Illinois allow for intoxicated drivers to be held responsible through both criminal charges and civil lawsuits.

DM Injury Law represents people hurt in drunk driving accidents. Our drunk driving accident lawyers fight to get you full payment for your injuries, including extra damages to punish the driver when appropriate. With more than $900 million recovered, 70 lawyers, and about 250 support staff, we have the resources to investigate everyone who might be at fault—from the drunk driver to the bars that served them too much alcohol.

Key Takeaways for St. Louis Drunk Driving Accident Claims

• If the driver was legally impaired (broke DUI/DWI laws), this is strong evidence of negligence in both Missouri and Illinois, though you must still prove their actions caused your specific injuries and costs.
• Both states allow you to seek extra money (punitive damages) for the driver’s extremely bad conduct, like drunk driving. Missouri generally limits this to the larger of $500,000 or five times the injury award. Illinois has different rules.
• You may sue establishments that knowingly served a clearly intoxicated person who later caused a crash (allowed under Missouri’s §537.053 and Illinois’s Dramshop Act).
• Your civil lawsuit for compensation is completely separate from the criminal case against the drunk driver, and proving fault is generally easier in the civil case.
• For personal injury, you have five years to file your claim in Missouri and two years in Illinois. For wrongful death, the limit is three years in Missouri and two years in Illinois.

Client Results

Our experience representing drunk driving accident victims includes significant recoveries:

• $300,000: Our client’s wife died after being hit by a drunk driver while she stopped to help someone who had been in an accident.
• $250,000: Our client sustained a broken neck, herniated disk, broken rib, and concussion, and she broke both of her elbows after being hit by a drunk driver while riding with her daughter.
• $250,000: A drunk driver crossed into our clients’ lane and hit them head-on. Our clients received a broken left femur in two places, four broken ribs, back pain, whiplash, concussion, and PTSD.

Understanding Negligence Per Se in Drunk Driving Cases

When a driver breaks a law meant to keep people safe—like the laws against drunk driving in Missouri (DWI or Excessive BAC) or Illinois (DUI)—and that violation causes an injury, it can often be treated as “negligence per se.”

Normally, to win a personal injury case, you have to prove the driver acted carelessly or unreasonably. Negligence per se simplifies things. It means that the driver’s illegal act (the DUI/DWI) is automatically proof of their carelessness.

You still need to prove two things: that the drunk driving caused your injury and what your losses (damages) are. But this rule removes the argument about whether the driver’s conduct was reasonable.

Evidence from the criminal DUI/DWI case strongly helps your civil injury claim. Police reports, BAC results, officer notes on the driver’s condition, and arrest videos can all be used in your lawsuit. If the driver pleads guilty or is convicted, that’s very powerful evidence, though you don’t have to wait for the criminal case to finish before filing your civil claim.

Punitive Damages: Holding Drunk Drivers Financially Accountable

Money for compensatory damages covers things like medical bills, lost pay, and the physical and emotional distress you’ve suffered. Punitive damages are different; they are meant to punish truly reckless behavior and discourage others from doing the same. Drunk driving is considered a willful, reckless act that can lead to these punitive damage awards in both Missouri and Illinois.

In Missouri, you can seek punitive damages when a driver shows a complete disregard or conscious indifference to the safety of others. Driving drunk meets this standard. Having a very high blood alcohol content (BAC), previous DUI arrests, speeding, or other bad factors like leaving the scene of the accident make a punitive damage claim stronger.

Illinois also allows for punitive damages in drunk driving cases if the driver’s actions show a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others. Illinois courts decide the amount of punitive damages based on the defendant’s financial situation and how bad their conduct was.

Because the driver’s insurance may not cover punitive awards, the drunk driver might have to pay out of their own pocket, which gives you more leverage in settlement negotiations.

Dram Shop Laws in Missouri and Illinois

If a bar or restaurant in Missouri or Illinois serves too much alcohol to someone who is already drunk, and that person later causes a car crash, the establishment can be held responsible. Knowing how these laws work in both states is important for accident cases in the Metro East area.

Missouri’s Dram Shop Law

In Missouri, a law called the “dram shop statute” says that bars, restaurants, and other places can be held responsible if they knowingly serve alcohol to someone who is clearly drunk, and that drunk person later causes an injury.

This state law (Missouri Revised Statutes §537.053) allows you to file a lawsuit if a business knew they were serving someone who was intoxicated and that service directly led to an injury. To win, you have to prove the business either knew, or should have known, that the customer was visibly drunk.

Illinois Dramshop Act

Illinois has a law called the Dramshop Act (235 ILCS 5/6-21) that holds businesses responsible if they serve alcohol to someone who is clearly drunk, and that person later causes an injury. This law lets people file claims against bars, taverns, and restaurants that sell or give alcohol to intoxicated people when that service helps cause the intoxication that leads to injuries.

Visible Signs of Intoxication

You can tell someone is drunk if they slur their words, walk unevenly, have bloodshot eyes, smell strongly of alcohol, act aggressively, or can’t coordinate their movements. If a bar or restaurant keeps serving someone who is clearly drunk, that establishment can be held legally responsible in both states.

Why Dram Shop Claims Matter

Dram shop claims mean we can add more defendants—like bars or restaurants—who usually have better insurance than the drunk driver. Bars and restaurants carry business insurance policies with much higher coverage limits than a person’s car insurance. Our drunk driving accident attorneys look into all possible dram shop claims by getting establishment records, talking to witnesses, and getting security camera footage.

Criminal DUI Case vs. Civil Injury Claim

DUI criminal cases deal with breaking state laws in Missouri or Illinois about driving while impaired. The state seeks punishments like fines, jail time, and taking away the driver’s license. The main goal of these criminal cases is to punish the driver and keep the public safe, not to pay the victim back.

Different Goals and Burdens

When someone is hurt, they can file a civil injury claim to ask for money to cover things like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. This civil case is for the victim and is separate from any criminal charges. Both Missouri and Illinois courts know that civil cases require less proof than criminal cases, so a victim’s claim can move forward even if the criminal case turns out differently.

You Don’t Have to Wait to File

You do not have to wait for the criminal case to end before you can file a civil lawsuit. Criminal trials can take many months or even years. Accident victims often need money right away to pay for medical bills and lost income. While a criminal conviction makes your civil case much stronger, you don’t need one to hold the drunk driver financially responsible. 

The standard of proof is lower in a civil case (“preponderance of evidence” instead of “beyond a reasonable doubt”), which means your civil claim might succeed even if the criminal case does not result in a conviction.

Compensation Available in Drunk Driving Accident Cases

If you are a victim of drunk driving, you can be paid for your injuries under both Missouri and Illinois law. These damages can include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Economic Damages

You may be able to receive money for your financial losses, often called economic damages. This can include:

• Medical Bills: Costs for emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, physical therapy, long-term care, and mental health counseling.
• Lost Wages: Income you’ve lost and money you won’t be able to earn in the future.
• Property Damage: The cost to repair or replace your vehicle and other personal items, along with the cost of a rental car.

Noneconomic Damages

Drunk driving wrecks can cause very serious injuries, such as brain damage, spine injuries, broken bones, and damage to internal organs. These injuries lead to pain, suffering, emotional trouble, and a lower quality of life. The emotional shock is often intense, causing problems like PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), fear of driving, and anger. Money to compensate you for these non-physical losses is called non-economic damages. 

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are meant to punish very careless behavior. How much is awarded can depend on the driver’s blood alcohol level, if they have driven drunk before, and other serious factors.

Solutions for Uninsured and Underinsured Drunk Drivers

Many drunk drivers have only the minimum car insurance, or sometimes none at all. Both Missouri and Illinois require drivers to have liability insurance, but some drivers break the law and drive without it.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

In Missouri, every car insurance policy must include Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage, which is the minimum amount required by law. It’s mandatory and cannot be simply refused in writing under Missouri law. Illinois also requires UM coverage. UM coverage protects you if the driver who caused the accident doesn’t have insurance. This coverage is also used in hit-and-run drunk driving accidents where the intoxicated driver leaves the scene before anyone can identify them.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage helps pay for your injuries and damages if the driver who caused the accident doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your costs. “Stacking” means you can add up the coverage from all the vehicles on your policy unless you sign a paper saying you don’t want to.

Comparative Fault in Missouri and Illinois

Understanding how each state handles shared fault matters for crashes near the Missouri-Illinois border.

Missouri’s Pure Comparative Fault

Missouri uses a rule called pure comparative fault. This rule means that if an accident was partly your fault, the amount of money you get will be lowered by your percentage of fault, but it won’t stop you from getting compensation altogether. Even if you are partly to blame, you can still recover damages, minus your fault percentage.

Illinois Modified Comparative Fault

In Illinois, if you were in a drunk driving accident, you can only receive compensation if the accident was 50% or less your fault. This rule, called modified comparative fault, is set by 735 ILCS 5/2-1116. Because of this, it’s very important in Illinois cases to clearly prove that the drunk driver was mostly to blame for the crash.

Wrongful Death Claims After Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents

Losing a loved one because of a drunk driver is heartbreaking, especially since it could have been stopped. Laws in both Missouri and Illinois allow families to file “wrongful death” claims.

Missouri law (§537.080) lets spouses, children, parents, and siblings file these claims. Illinois law (740 ILCS 180/1) allows similar family members to take legal action for wrongful death.

These lawsuits ask for money to cover funeral costs, lost financial support, loss of companionship and guidance, and the pain and suffering the person experienced before death. In both states, the court may also award extra money (punitive damages) in drunk driving wrongful death cases to punish the wrongdoer. You must file a wrongful death claim within three years in Missouri (§537.100) and within two years in Illinois.

Steps to Take After Being Hit by a Drunk Driver

After a drunk driving accident, what you do right away helps protect your health, your legal rights, and important proof.

After You’re Home: First Steps

• Write down the driver’s condition and any statements you remember
• Request the police crash report number and DUI arrest documents when available
• Save medical visit summaries, bills, and discharge instructions
• Organize photos, note nearby cameras, and record exact time windows
• Notify your insurer about the crash and preserve claim numbers

Avoiding Insurance Company Mistakes

Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company of the person who caused the accident until you have talked to a lawyer. Do not take a fast settlement offer before you know how much all your injuries and losses are really worth. Early offers are usually too low, especially when there might be extra penalties against the driver (punitive damages) or claims against the bar or restaurant that served them too much alcohol (dram shop claims).

FAQ for St. Louis Drunk Driving Accident Claims

Can I sue a drunk driver even if they’re going to jail?

Yes. In Missouri and Illinois, a drunk driving accident can lead to two separate legal cases: a criminal case and a civil lawsuit. The criminal case aims to punish the driver with things like jail time or fines. The civil lawsuit aims to get you money for your injuries, like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. You don’t have to wait for the criminal case to finish before starting your civil claim. While a guilty verdict in the criminal case helps your civil claim, you don’t need it to prove the driver is responsible for your injuries.

How do punitive damages work in Missouri and Illinois drunk driving cases?

Punitive damages are a way to punish drunk drivers for intentionally harmful or reckless actions, going beyond just paying for the injuries they caused. Juries in both Missouri and Illinois decide the amount of punitive damages based on how bad the driver’s behavior was and the driver’s ability to pay. Factors like very high blood alcohol content (BAC), previous drunk driving arrests, and other serious issues (like running away from the scene) make punitive damage claims much stronger.

What if the drunk driver has no insurance or fled the scene?

If the drunk driver doesn’t have insurance or drives away before they can be identified, your own auto insurance policy’s uninsured motorist (UM) coverage can provide compensation. Both Missouri and Illinois require auto insurance policies to include UM coverage. Our lawyers also look into whether a claim against the bar or restaurant that served the driver (called a “dram shop claim”) could bring in other insured parties, or if there are other insurance options available.

Get Aggressive Advocacy for Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim

If a drunk driver injured you or killed a loved one in St. Louis, St. Louis County, or Metro East Illinois, don’t accept that criminal prosecution is enough. Contact DM Injury Law at (314) 300-0314 for a free consultation or contact us online. We’re available 24/7 and don’t get paid unless we win.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own facts.