Hit by a Drunk Driver This Labor Day Weekend? 7 Steps to Take Next

Labor Day weekend is meant for barbecues, beach trips, family gatherings, and one final summer getaway before the kids get back to school. But the increased traffic, holiday celebrations, and late-night travel can also create serious dangers. This is especially true when someone chooses to drive after drinking or using another impairing substance.

If a drunk or impaired driver causes a crash, the hours and days afterward can be overwhelming. Your first priority is always safety and medical care. Once immediate dangers are addressed, however, the steps you take can help protect both your health and your ability to pursue an insurance claim or legal case.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (“NHTSA”) current Labor Day enforcement campaign emphasizes a simple message: never drive impaired, plan for a sober ride, and call 911 if you see a suspected impaired driver when it is safe to do so.

1. Get to Safety and Call 911

After a collision, assess yourself and others for injuries. If anyone is hurt, appears disoriented, is trapped, or complains of neck, back, head, or abdominal pain, call 911 immediately. The same is true if the crash has blocked traffic, created a fire risk, involved a pedestrian or cyclist, or left vehicles in an unsafe location.

If you can move safely, get out of active traffic and wait in a protected location. Do not confront a driver you believe is intoxicated. Alcohol impairment can affect judgment, increase aggression, and make an already dangerous situation worse.

When speaking with dispatch or responding officers, be factual. Explain what you observed, such as:

• The driver’s erratic lane changes, speeding, swerving, or failure to stop
• An odor of alcohol or marijuana
• Slurred speech, confusion, unsteadiness, or other observable behavior
• Open containers or statements made by the other driver
• The direction the driver was traveling if they leave the scene

2. Seek Medical Care, Even if You Feel "Okay"

Adrenaline can temporarily conceal injuries after a serious crash. It is common that pain and symptoms from concussions, whiplash, soft-tissue injuries, internal injuries, and spinal trauma may not be fully apparent until later that day or over the next several days.

Seek emergency care promptly if you have any red-flag symptoms, including:

• Loss of consciousness, confusion, memory loss, vomiting, or a worsening headache
• Neck or back pain, numbness, weakness, or tingling
• Chest pain, difficulty breathing, or abdominal pain
• Severe bruising, dizziness, vision changes, or unusual fatigue
• Pain that increases rather than improves after the collision

Even where emergency transport is not necessary, arrange a medical evaluation as soon as possible. Be candid with the provider about every symptom, no matter how minor it seems. Follow the recommended treatment plan, attend follow-up appointments, and keep records of care, prescriptions, diagnostic testing, mileage, and out-of-pocket expenses.

Medical documentation is not just paperwork. It creates a contemporaneous record of the physical effects of the crash and helps ensure injuries are diagnosed before they worsen.

3. Preserve Evidence Before It Disappears

Drunk driving cases can involve evidence that is especially time sensitive. Vehicle positions change, debris gets cleared, witnesses leave, and nearby security video may be overwritten within days.

If it is safe to do so, preserve as much information as you can at the scene:

• Photograph all vehicles, including close-up and wide-angle views of damage
• Take photos of the roadway, intersections, traffic signals, skid marks, debris, weather, lighting, and nearby businesses
• Capture visible injuries and damage to personal property, such as a phone, glasses, helmet, car seat, bicycle, clothing, or laptop
• Photograph license plates, insurance cards, and driver’s-license information when available
• Obtain names and contact information for witnesses
• Note the names and badge numbers of responding officers, if available
• Ask for the traffic-collision report number

If there may be video footage from a dash camera, doorbell camera, traffic camera, parking lot, gas station, restaurant, or nearby business, make a note of it right away. Footage is often automatically deleted on a short retention cycle. An attorney can send preservation letters seeking to prevent relevant evidence from being destroyed.

Do not repair, sell, dispose of, or authorize the destruction of your vehicle until it has been fully documented and, where appropriate, inspected. The damage pattern, vehicle data, airbags, seat belts, event data recorder information, and other physical evidence may help establish how the crash occurred.

4. Be Careful with Insurance Communications

You should report the collision to your own insurer promptly and comply with your policy’s notice requirements. Provide basic, accurate information about the date, location, vehicles, and people involved.

But be cautious when dealing with the other driver’s insurance company. Their adjuster may contact you quickly and request a recorded statement, medical authorization, or early settlement agreement. You are generally not required to give the at-fault driver’s insurer a recorded statement simply because it asks for one.

Before accepting money or signing anything, understand what you may be giving up. A quick settlement can permanently release claims before the full extent of injuries, future treatment needs, lost income, or other damages is known.

A useful rule: do not speculate about fault, minimize symptoms, apologize, or post about the crash on social media. Keep communications factual and preserve all documents, emails, text messages, letters, claim numbers, repair estimates, and receipts.

5. Understand That a DUI Arrest Is Not the Whole Case

If the other driver is arrested or cited for DUI, a criminal case may follow. That process is separate from an injured person’s civil claim for losses arising from the collision.

The prosecutor determines whether to bring criminal charges and what evidence to present. A criminal conviction may be significant evidence, but you do not need to wait for the criminal case to conclude before investigating a civil claim, preserving evidence, notifying insurers, or obtaining medical treatment.

Depending on the circumstances, a civil claim may involve compensation for:

• Medical bills and anticipated future treatment
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Vehicle damage, rental-car costs, and other property losses
• Physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Wrongful-death damages when a loved one is killed
• In some cases, punitive damages based on particularly egregious conduct

The available insurance coverage can also matter. It may be necessary to identify all potentially applicable policies, including the impaired driver’s liability coverage and the injured person’s uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

6. Meet California Reporting Requirements

For California crashes, do not assume that a police report alone completes every reporting obligation. California drivers generally must submit an SR-1 Traffic Accident Report to the DMV within 10 days when a collision causes an injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage. That obligation may apply regardless of fault and even if law enforcement responded.

Because deadlines and reporting obligations can be fact-specific, it is wise to confirm the requirements promptly after a crash. Keep a copy of any report submitted, along with proof of submission.

7. Get Legal Guidance Early When Injuries Are Serious

Early legal advice can be particularly important when alcohol or drug impairment is suspected, injuries are substantial, liability is disputed, multiple vehicles are involved, or the insurance company is pressuring you to settle.

An attorney can help preserve vehicle and video evidence, obtain the collision report, communicate with insurers, identify coverage, track deadlines, coordinate with the criminal case where appropriate, and evaluate the full scope of damages. The sooner evidence is preserved, the less likely it is that key information will be lost.

A Safer Labor Day Weekend

The most important Labor Day safety plan happens before anyone gets behind the wheel. Choose a designated sober driver, use a rideshare or taxi, stay overnight, or make another transportation plan before the celebration begins. NHTSA also advises people who observe a suspected impaired driver to keep a safe distance and call 911 when it can be done safely.

If a drunk driving crash does occur, remember the basic priorities: get safe, call for help, obtain medical care, preserve evidence, report the collision, and avoid rushing into an insurance settlement. Taking those steps can make a meaningful difference during an already difficult time.

Injured Due to an Impaired Driver? We Can Help

You can take every reasonable precaution on the road and still be harmed by another driver’s reckless decision to drive while impaired. If you or a loved one was injured in a crash involving alcohol or drugs, you may have legal options to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, vehicle damage, and other losses.

Our car accident personal injury lawyers at Dolan Law Firm have helped many clients injured in impaired-driving crashes in California. We can evaluate the circumstances of your collision, help preserve important evidence, communicate with insurance companies, and pursue the recovery available under the law.

Contact Dolan Law Firm today to discuss your case and learn how we may be able to help.