Hit by a Drunk Driver in Calabasas: Your Legal Options

Arya Firoozmand, Esq. — Founding Partner

Local Calabasas Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. He grew up in Woodland Hills — minutes from Calabasas — graduated from El Camino Real High School and UCLA Law School, and has spent his career representing injured clients across the West Valley.

Being hit by a drunk driver is different from a standard car accident in ways that work in your favor legally. The other driver's decision to drive impaired significantly affects both the liability picture and potentially the damages available to you. Here's what you need to know about your legal options after a DUI crash in Calabasas.

What Happens After a DUI Crash in Calabasas

LASD Lost Hills Station responds to crashes in Calabasas. On the 101 near Calabasas, CHP has jurisdiction. Either way, if law enforcement arrives and suspects impairment, the driver will be subjected to field sobriety tests and likely a breathalyzer or blood test. A DUI arrest at the scene is significant evidence in your civil case.

The criminal case against the drunk driver runs separately from your civil claim. You don't control the criminal case - the DA's office prosecutes it independently. But the criminal process produces documentation that is useful in your civil claim: the police report, arrest records, blood alcohol content measurements, DUI conviction records if the case is prosecuted. A DUI conviction or guilty plea is often admissible in civil proceedings as evidence of the driver's negligence.

The Civil Claim: Stronger Than a Standard Car Accident

Your civil claim for damages runs independent of the criminal process. You don't have to wait for criminal proceedings to resolve before pursuing civil recovery. And your civil claim has more leverage in a drunk driving case than in a standard negligence case.

Liability is typically clear. A driver with a blood alcohol content above 0.08% (or any impairment below that threshold that affected their driving) has violated California Vehicle Code and is negligent per se. You don't need to prove unreasonable driving behavior through complex evidence - the DUI itself establishes the breach of duty.

Punitive Damages: An Important Possibility

Here's something that doesn't come up in most car accident cases: punitive damages. California allows punitive damages in cases involving malice, oppression, or fraud, and courts have held that driving under the influence can qualify as conduct warranting punitive damages when the driver was aware of the risk and consciously disregarded it.

Punitive damages are designed to punish and deter - they're separate from and in addition to your compensatory damages (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering). In a case where a repeat DUI offender hit you in Calabasas, or where the blood alcohol level was significantly elevated, a punitive damages claim may substantially increase the total recovery available.

Note: California auto insurance policies do not cover punitive damages. If punitive damages are awarded, they must be collected from the defendant directly. This makes the defendant's personal assets relevant to the punitive damages calculation - another reason why a DUI crash case requires attorney analysis of all available recovery.

Dram Shop Liability in California

California's dram shop law is more limited than in many other states. California Business and Professions Code Section 25602 generally limits liability for alcohol vendors for injuries caused by intoxicated patrons they served. There is an exception for service to obviously intoxicated minors. For adults, California largely does not impose commercial establishment liability for third-party injuries from drunk driving.

This is different from other states. Don't assume you have a claim against a bar or restaurant that served the driver - in California, that theory of liability is narrow and the exception for minors is specific.

What Compensation Is Available

Standard compensatory damages apply: medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering. Plus the potential for punitive damages as discussed above. West Hills Hospital and Medical Center is the primary emergency facility serving the Calabasas area, and your medical records there become foundational documentation for the compensatory damages claim.

Cases from Calabasas drunk driving accidents are handled at the Chatsworth Courthouse. Cases involving drunk drivers often produce significant verdicts when the conduct was egregious, because juries take DUI crashes seriously.

If you were hit by a drunk driver in Calabasas, a Calabasas drunk driver accident lawyer can evaluate your claim and advise on whether punitive damages are viable in your specific case. Our Calabasas personal injury attorneys work on contingency. Free consultation - call today.