Virginia Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers
A drunk driver hit you, the Commonwealth charged him, and nobody has explained what that does for you. The criminal case punishes him. It can order restitution and it gives you rights in the process, but the full measure of what the crash cost you comes from a separate civil claim, which in Virginia can reach damages no criminal court can order.
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Gray Broughton Injury Law represents the people who were hit, not the drivers who were charged. Request a free consultation today to protect your rights before evidence disappears.
Virginia drunk driving numbers that matter
6,767
Alcohol-related crashes in Virginia in 2024, 5.2 percent of all crashes.
318
People killed, 34.6 percent of all Virginia traffic deaths.
975
Seriously injured, 13.5 percent of the state’s serious injuries.
8.5%
Rise in alcohol-related deaths over 2023.
Source: Virginia DMV, 2024 Virginia Traffic Crash Facts, 2024 data.
The criminal case is not your claim
| The criminal case | Your civil claim |
|---|---|
| The Commonwealth prosecutes to punish the driver. | You bring it to be paid for what the crash cost you. |
| Proof beyond a reasonable doubt. | A lower standard, so an acquittal does not by itself decide it. |
| Restitution covers property loss, medical bills and funeral expenses. | Damages can also reach future care, lost earning capacity and non-economic loss. |
| A guilty or nolo contendere plea, a finding of guilt in absentia or a forfeiture from the same crash is admissible here. | How a contested conviction gets used is a separate question. |
Punitive damages against a drunk driver
Section 8.01-44.5 is written for this. Ordinary negligence doesn’t typically support punitive damages in Virginia, but drunk driving can. The statute lets the finder of fact, a jury or a judge, award them where a driver acted with malice or so willful or wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others.
Proof of three things deems that standard met:
- Blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or higher at the crash
- The driver knew or should have known he would be impaired, and
- That their intoxication was a proximate cause of the accident and subsequent injuries.
Two rules help the court. First, the paper certificate is proof of what it says unless shown to be false. Second, the driver is assumed to have an alcohol level at least as high at the time of the crash.
Virginia caps punitive damages at $350,000 against all defendants combined, not per defendant, and the jury isn;t explicitly reminded of the cap. State law permits insurance to cover them for willful and wanton negligence, which may affect how much is collectible.
Can you sue the bar, the owner or the employer?
Usually not the bar. Virginia has not recognized dram shop liability. In Williamson v. Old Brogue, Inc., 232 Va. 350 (1986), the Supreme Court of Virginia held that drinking the alcohol, rather than furnishing it, is the proximate cause, and it applied that rule to a patron under 21 in Robinson v. Matt Mary Moran, Inc., 259 Va. 412 (2000).
Responsibility can still reach past the driver, though not from ownership alone. An owner who let an unfit driver use the vehicle may face a negligent entrustment claim, which turns on whether he knew or should have known the driver was unfit.
An employer is liable only for a driver acting within the scope of his employment, which a personal errand generally is not.
Your rights while the criminal case runs
Virginia gives crime victims defined rights in the criminal process, including help seeking restitution. But the prosecutor isn’t your lawyer. Sharif Gray prosecuted before he represented the people harmed by crime, and knowing how a criminal file gets built changes what the civil claim can use.
When the drunk driver cannot pay
Many drunk drivers carry minimum limits or nothing. The recovery usually comes from elsewhere.
- Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which Virginia policies must carry at least at minimum limits, though a named insured can reject more for everyone on the policy
- A household member’s policy, where you are covered as a resident relative
- The Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund, which excludes most crash injuries but names drunk driving as an exception. It reaches lost earnings and unreimbursed medical costs up to a ceiling, not pain and suffering
Evidence in a drunk driving claim
The testing record
The breath or blood certificate, the analysis behind it, or the court’s refusal finding.
The scene and the driver
Body camera footage, field sobriety observations and the crash report.
The hours before
Bar and store receipts, surveillance and card records, plus available event data recorder output, which may include speed and brake status.
Injuries, losses and the deadline
A claim can include the bills already paid, the care still ahead, lost income, lost earning capacity and non-economic loss. These crashes commonly cause traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and wrongful death. An injured adult generally has two years from accrual to file, with different rules for a child or an incapacitated person. A wrongful death action runs from the date of death.
Recent Case Results
Track record across catastrophic injury cases. Outcomes that reflect the firm’s
investigative depth and trial readiness.
$10,000,000
Gray Broughton represented a seven-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his right leg above the knee after his family’s car was rear-ended by a pick-up truck hauling a utility trailer. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $10,000,000 shortly after filing suit. The client’s net proceeds were structured to ensure that he can be compensated for life. He is a tremendous young man who has overcome daunting odds. We wish him all the best for his future.
$1,250,000
Gray Broughton represented an attorney who suffered a traumatic brain injury after his car was struck by a commercial vehicle. After missing a year of work and undergoing intensive therapy, he was able to make a full recovery and return to work. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $1,250,000 shortly before depositions.
$750,000.
Gray Broughton represented an 83-year-old woman who slipped and fell on a restaurant floor. The fall broke her right shoulder in three places; it also broke her right hip. Through his investigation, Gray Broughton was able to prove that the restaurant had not been mopping its floors properly and knew that its floors were abnormally slick. Gray Broughton settled her case two months before trial for $750,000.
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Important: This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes vary based on the specific facts of each case.
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Questions people ask before they call
Yes. The conviction punishes him. Restitution is limited to property loss, medical bills and funeral expenses, so future care, lost earning capacity and non-economic loss are left to the civil claim.
Possibly. The statute has a route for refusal cases: proof that he was intoxicated, which his conduct and condition can show, that he knew or should have known, and that the intoxication caused the injury. A certified copy of the court’s refusal finding is prima facie evidence of it.