Hit by a Drunk Driver in California: Your Injury Claim

The driver who hit you was arrested for DUI, or the officer at the scene smelled alcohol and ran a breath test. Now there is a criminal case with a prosecutor, a court date you did not choose, and an insurance claim that still has to pay your medical bills. This post explains how those pieces fit together in California, what a drunk driver's intoxication changes about your claim, and what it does not change.

The short version: the criminal case and your injury claim are separate. Intoxication can open the door to punitive damages, but insurance will not pay them, and the bar that served the driver is usually off the hook.

Why this comes up every fall

Late October is one of the busiest nights of the year for impaired-driving enforcement. On Halloween night in 2025, the California Highway Patrol ran a 12-hour maximum enforcement period. According to ABC30's report on that operation, during the same window the year before, officers investigated about 500 crashes statewide, roughly 90 of them involving impaired drivers, with two people killed and more than 120 people arrested on suspicion of DUI.

Most of those crashes produced two cases at once. The rest of this post is about the one you control.

The criminal case is not your injury claim

When a driver is charged with DUI, the case is brought by the district attorney on behalf of the state. You are a witness and a victim, not a party. The prosecutor decides whether to charge, what to charge, and whether to accept a plea. None of that requires your agreement.

The criminal case can still put money in your pocket. Under Penal Code § 1202.4, when a victim suffers economic loss from the defendant's conduct, the court "shall require that the defendant make restitution to the victim." The statute lists items like medical expenses and wages lost because of the injury.

Restitution has limits, though. It only follows a conviction, it is focused on economic losses, and collecting it depends on the defendant's ability to pay. Your civil claim is where you go after the full picture: medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. You do not need to wait for the criminal case to end before starting it, and usually you should not.

Punitive damages: what intoxication adds

In most car crash cases, the claim is about negligence. The other driver was careless, and you are compensated for your losses. Drunk driving can move a case past that.

California Civil Code § 3294 allows damages "for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant" when the plaintiff proves "oppression, fraud, or malice" by clear and convincing evidence. Malice includes "despicable conduct which is carried on by the defendant with a willful and conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others."

In Taylor v. Superior Court (1979), the California Supreme Court held that "the act of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated may constitute an act of 'malice' under section 3294 if performed under circumstances which disclose a conscious disregard of the probable dangerous consequences." The driver in that case was alleged to be an alcoholic with a history of drunk driving and a prior serious crash.

Note the word "may." A DUI arrest does not automatically mean punitive damages. Clear and convincing evidence is a higher bar than an ordinary injury claim, and the facts matter: how impaired the driver was, what they knew about their own drinking, and whether they had been caught before.

Insurance will not pay the punishment

This is the part adjusters rarely explain. In PPG Industries v. Transamerica (1999), the California Supreme Court put it plainly: "Our public policy prohibits indemnification for punitive damages." The drunk driver's auto policy may cover your actual losses, but a punitive award is the driver's own debt.

Two practical consequences follow.

• The policy limit is still the main pot. California's minimum liability limits are now $30,000 for injury to one person and $60,000 per accident. Existing policies with lower limits renew at the new minimums on or after January 1, 2025. A driver carrying only the minimum can be outrun by a serious injury quickly.
• A punitive claim is only worth what the driver can pay. Against a driver with real assets, it can matter a great deal. Against a driver with none, it may be a judgment on paper.

When the at-fault driver's policy is too small, your own underinsured motorist coverage is often what fills the gap. We walked through how that math works in hit by an uninsured driver.

Can you sue the bar or the party host?

People are often surprised by the answer: usually not.

California made a deliberate choice here. Civil Code § 1714 states that "the consumption of alcoholic beverages is the proximate cause" of injuries resulting from intoxication, not the furnishing of alcohol. It says that no social host who furnishes alcohol "may be held legally accountable" for injuries to a third person. Business and Professions Code § 25602 gives the same protection to anyone who sells or serves alcohol.

There are two narrow exceptions worth checking:

• Obviously intoxicated minors. Under § 25602.1, a licensed seller, or anyone who sells alcohol, can be liable for selling or furnishing alcohol to an "obviously intoxicated minor" when that is the proximate cause of the injury.
• Adults who serve minors at home. Under Civil Code § 1714(d), the host immunity does not apply when an adult knowingly furnishes alcohol at their residence to someone they knew, or should have known, was under 21. A person injured by that minor can bring the claim.

If the driver who hit you was under 21, ask early where they were drinking. That question can change who is responsible.

Evidence to lock down now

The police and the prosecutor will build their own file, but their goal is a conviction, not your claim. Some of what matters to you will not be in it unless you ask.

• The police report and arrest report, including any breath or blood test results noted.
• Court records from the criminal case. A plea or conviction can be powerful evidence, and the case number lets you track it.
• Receipts, bar tabs, and witness names if the driver was a minor or you think one of the exceptions above may apply.
• Medical records from the start, without gaps. Insurers look for breaks in treatment no matter how clear liability looks.

Expect the driver's insurer to call quickly and to sound sympathetic. Liability may look obvious, but the fight moves to how much your injuries are worth. The same recorded statement traps apply, and so does the reason the first offer is almost always a lowball.

What this means in California

Your deadline to sue the driver is generally two years from the date of the injury under CCP § 335.1. The criminal case does not pause that clock. Plea negotiations and continuances can easily use up months of it.

If a public entity shares responsibility, for example a city vehicle or a dangerous road condition, a government claim is usually due within six months.

California's pure comparative negligence rule also applies. Even when the other driver was drunk, an insurer may argue that you were speeding, distracted, or unbelted. If any of that sticks, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, not eliminated.

Practical next steps

Get the police report and the criminal case number. Keep every medical bill and work note. Tell the prosecutor's office or victim witness program that you want restitution, so it is part of the record. Check your own policy for underinsured motorist coverage and MedPay. Mark the two-year date on your calendar now, separate from anything happening in criminal court. If you want help working out which of these apply to you, a free consultation costs nothing and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.