Burbank Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer

A drunk driver hit you in Burbank, and the night turned into a blur of sirens, a hospital, and questions you could not answer. The driver may be sitting in a cell. You are sitting with the bills. Those are two separate problems. The state prosecutes the driver for the crime. Nobody prosecutes for you. Your own claim for medical costs, lost income, and pain has to be built by someone on your side, and the clock on it is already running. If you are looking for a Burbank drunk driving accident lawyer, this page explains how the criminal and civil cases differ, what evidence the Burbank Police and CHP create, how punitive damages work, and where insurance and bars fit in. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. handles motor-vehicle injury cases only. Attorney Moe Abdallah takes calls himself, any hour, and the first review is free.

The criminal DUI case belongs to the state, your injury claim belongs to you

After a DUI crash, two cases usually run side by side. In the criminal case, a prosecutor charges the driver with a crime. Driving under the influence is a crime under Vehicle Code 23152, and driving under the influence while causing bodily injury to someone else is a separate offense under 23153. The county lists criminal and traffic intake at the Burbank Courthouse on East Olive Avenue. The prosecutor does not represent you, cannot collect your medical bills, and may offer a plea that has nothing to do with your losses. Your civil claim is the case that pays for treatment, missed work, and pain. It does not wait for the criminal case to end, and the standard of proof is lower: you need to show it is more likely than not that the driver was negligent. A felony conviction can be offered as evidence in your civil case, which helps. A misdemeanor plea of no contest cannot be used against the driver as an admission. Moe builds your case either way.

What the Burbank Police and CHP create in the first hours

The first officers on scene often write the most useful evidence in your case: notes on slurred speech or the smell of alcohol, field sobriety results, breath or blood test results, statements by the driver, and photos of open containers. The Burbank Police Department takes a collision report when someone is hurt or killed, and also for chargeable violations such as DUI or hit-and-run. If the crash happened on the 5 or the 134, the CHP usually handles it. Burbank Police reports can be bought online through LexisNexis at least four days after the crash, or at the Records Bureau at 200 N. Third St. The Records Bureau number is (818) 238-3140 and the Traffic Bureau is (818) 238-3100. Test results often take longer than the first report, so Moe asks for supplemental reports, dispatch recordings, and body camera video. Those records are not kept forever. If you remember the officer's name or badge number, write it down. Do not post about the crash on social media.

Where the rest of the evidence from that night lives

The police report is only part of it. If the driver drank before the crash, a bar or restaurant receipt can show how much, when, and with whom. Credit card records, rideshare logs, and text messages can place the driver at a table before getting behind the wheel. A business camera along Olive Avenue, Glenoaks Boulevard, Buena Vista Street, San Fernando Road, or Magnolia Boulevard may have caught the driver's car weaving earlier. Your own phone matters too: photos of the scene, your injuries, and the other car. Your vehicle may hold crash data as well, so do not let a tow yard or insurer dispose of it before it is inspected. City of Burbank data reported by myBurbank shows heavy crash counts at a few cross streets, such as Victory Place and Burbank Boulevard with 50 accidents from 2015 to 2020, though that data does not say how many involved alcohol. We will not cite a local DUI statistic we cannot support. What matters is your crash, and Moe moves fast on preserving the evidence for it.

Punitive damages against a driver who chose to get behind the wheel drunk

Most injury claims pay for what you lost. Punitive damages are different. They punish conduct and warn others. California allows them when you prove, by clear and convincing evidence, malice, oppression, or fraud, and malice includes despicable conduct carried on with willful and conscious disregard for the safety of others (Civil Code 3294). In Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890, the California Supreme Court held that a drunk driver's conscious disregard of safety can support a punitive damages claim. That does not make punitive damages automatic. Each case turns on the facts, such as the driver's blood alcohol level, prior DUI history, and what the driver did before getting behind the wheel. A punitive award is also only as useful as the defendant's ability to pay it. If the driver was working at the time, an employer can face punitive damages only in narrow situations, such as advance knowledge of the employee's unfitness. Moe tells you early whether your facts point that way, so you are not chasing a claim that will not work.

Policy limits, your own coverage, and the narrow bar and host rule

A drunk driver's insurance is often small. California's minimum liability limits are $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident, and a driver may carry only that. A broken leg and one surgery can blow past that number. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can fill the gap, and Moe has recovered policy limits for clients, including $30,000 limits on several cases and a $100,000 UM recovery. Past results do not promise a similar outcome. California also has a narrow rule on bars and hosts. Under Civil Code 1714 and Business and Professions Code 25602, a bar, store, or social host generally is not liable for injuries caused by an adult it served. There are two exceptions: selling or giving alcohol to an obviously intoxicated minor, and an adult knowingly furnishing alcohol at home to someone under 21. If a minor was involved, a bar or host may be on the hook. Moe looks at every possible source of payment before any settlement talk. Fault still counts, as California reduces an award by the percentage of your own fault.

Providence Saint Joseph, deadlines, and how Moe handles your case

Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, 501 S. Buena Vista St., has a 24/7 emergency department at (818) 843-5111. Head and spine injuries may not show right away, so go in even if you walked away. A deadline clock starts at the crash. You generally have two years to sue (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1). If a felony conviction follows, the law can give you one year after the criminal judgment when that is later (Code of Civil Procedure 340.3), but do not count on it. If a government vehicle or driver was involved, you must present a written claim within six months (Government Code 911.2). If someone died, the family can bring a wrongful death claim, and Moe handles those cases arising from crashes. When you call Moe Abdallah Law, P.C., you reach Moe, any hour. He updates you by call and text, and he does not charge a fee unless he wins. The firm holds 5.0 stars on Google and offers Se Habla Español.

Talk to a Burbank drunk driving accident lawyer

Call (323) 716-1992 for a free, no-obligation case review. You pay nothing unless we win, and we'll handle the insurance companies for you. Learn more about our drunk-driving crashes representation →

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