Who Is Liable When a Drunk Driver Hits You in Pacoima?

Arya Firoozmand, Esq.

Local Pacoima Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. A San Fernando Valley native, he graduated from El Camino Real High School and UCLA Law School. He represents injured clients from every corner of the Valley, from Woodland Hills to Pacoima.

Someone drank, got behind the wheel, and hit you in Pacoima. Maybe it happened on Van Nuys Blvd late at night, on the I-5 during a late commute, or on Foothill Blvd on a weekend evening. You are hurt. You are angry. And you want to know who is legally responsible.

The driver who was intoxicated is the most obvious answer. But they are not necessarily the only one. Depending on the facts, liability can extend to the bar or restaurant that served them, their employer, a social host, or other parties. This article explains how liability works in drunk driver accident cases in Pacoima.

The Drunk Driver: Primary Liability

The driver who caused the crash while intoxicated bears primary liability under California negligence law. Driving under the influence is both a crime and a civil wrong. The criminal case, prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney, results in penalties like jail time, fines, and license suspension. Your civil case is separate. It results in financial compensation for your injuries.

In the civil case, the driver's intoxication establishes negligence per se. This means the violation of law (driving with a BAC of .08 or higher) is treated as automatic evidence of negligence. You do not have to prove the driver was careless in some abstract way. The BAC reading, recorded in the LAPD Foothill Division arrest report or the CHP report if the crash occurred on the I-5 or 118, proves the driver was impaired.

Beyond standard negligence, California law allows punitive damages against drunk drivers. Punitive damages are additional compensation designed to punish conduct that shows a conscious disregard for others' safety. Choosing to drive while intoxicated meets that standard. Punitive damages can significantly increase the total value of your case above what compensatory damages alone would produce.

Do Not Wait for the Criminal Case

A common misconception is that you need to wait for the criminal case to finish before pursuing your civil claim. You do not. Your civil lawsuit operates entirely independently of the criminal prosecution. You can file a civil case the day after the crash if you choose.

In fact, waiting is often harmful. Evidence deteriorates over time. Surveillance footage from businesses on Van Nuys Blvd and Foothill Blvd is overwritten. Witnesses forget details. Bar receipts and credit card records become harder to obtain. Starting your civil case early means your attorney preserves evidence and builds your case while the facts are fresh.

If the criminal case results in a guilty plea or conviction, that outcome can be used as evidence in your civil case. But it is not required. The standard of proof in civil court is lower (preponderance of the evidence versus beyond a reasonable doubt), so you can win your civil case even if the criminal case does not result in a conviction.

Dram Shop Liability: Can You Sue the Bar?

California's dram shop law, under Business and Professions Code Section 25602.1, allows you to hold a licensed alcohol seller liable if they served someone who was obviously intoxicated and the intoxicated person then caused injury to a third party.

The key legal question is whether the person was "obviously intoxicated" at the time they were served. This is a fact-intensive inquiry. Evidence that supports a dram shop claim includes:

• Surveillance footage inside the bar or restaurant showing the driver's visible intoxication
• Bar receipts or credit card records showing the volume of alcohol consumed
• Witness testimony from bartenders, servers, or other patrons about the driver's condition
• The time gap between the last drink served and the crash
• The driver's BAC at the time of the crash, which can be used to estimate their BAC when they were being served

Pacoima and the surrounding San Fernando Valley have bars, restaurants, and nightlife establishments along Van Nuys Blvd and in neighboring communities. If the driver who hit you was drinking at one of these establishments before the crash, dram shop liability may apply. Your attorney investigates the driver's pre-crash activities to determine whether a dram shop claim is viable.

Adding a dram shop defendant is strategically important because it adds another insurance policy to the case. The bar's or restaurant's commercial liability insurance provides a separate source of recovery beyond the driver's personal auto insurance.

Social Host Liability

What if the drunk driver was drinking at a private party, not at a bar? California's social host liability law is more limited. Under Business and Professions Code Section 25602, a social host who provides alcohol to an adult guest is generally not liable for injuries the intoxicated guest later causes to third parties.

There is a significant exception: if the guest was a minor (under 21). Under Business and Professions Code Section 25658, providing alcohol to a minor creates liability. If an underage driver was served alcohol at a private party in Pacoima and then hit you while driving drunk, the person who provided the alcohol may share liability for your injuries.

Employer Liability

If the drunk driver was driving in the course of their employment at the time of the crash, their employer may be liable under respondeat superior. This is less common in drunk driving cases because employers do not authorize drinking on the job, but it applies in specific circumstances:

• The driver was at a work event where alcohol was provided
• The driver was driving a company vehicle after a client dinner or work function
• The employer knew the driver had an alcohol problem and still allowed them to drive a company vehicle

Employer liability brings commercial insurance policies into the case, which typically carry much higher limits than personal auto policies. This can significantly increase the available compensation.

Vehicle Owner Liability

If the drunk driver was driving someone else's car, the vehicle owner may share liability under California's permissive use doctrine. The owner's auto insurance policy can be accessed for your claim, providing an additional source of recovery. This applies whether the owner is a private individual or a company that allowed the driver to use a fleet vehicle.

What to Do Right Now

The steps you take today affect what liability theories you can pursue and how much compensation you can recover:

• Get medical treatment at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center immediately
• Obtain the LAPD Foothill Division or CHP report, including the driver's BAC and arrest information
• Document your injuries and the crash scene
• Do not speak to the drunk driver's insurance company
• Contact a drunk driver accident attorney to begin preserving evidence, including bar surveillance footage and credit card records

What Compensation Is Available?

Drunk driver accident victims in Pacoima can recover medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, and punitive damages. Cases with strong BAC evidence, documented dram shop liability, and serious injuries have produced recoveries significantly above what standard negligence cases yield.

Cases are filed at the Van Nuys Courthouse West. L&F Brown represents drunk driver accident victims throughout Pacoima on contingency. Speak with a Pacoima drunk driver accident lawyer today, or visit our Pacoima personal injury page for a free consultation.