DUI Accident Lawyer Hollywood, FL
If you or someone you love was struck by a drunk driver in Hollywood, justice isn’t limited to what the criminal courts address. Criminal prosecution punishes the impaired driver, but it rarely compensates the victim for medical bills, lost wages, lasting disability, or the upheaval of a life that was working fine before someone chose to drive while intoxicated.
Our Hollywood, FL DUI accident lawyer represents people injured or killed by impaired drivers throughout Broward County. With more than 13 years of personal injury experience, our firm knows how to build a civil case that runs alongside the criminal prosecution, pursue Florida’s DUI-specific punitive damages framework, and identify every source of insurance coverage available to fund a meaningful recovery. Loshak Law PLLC offers free, confidential consultations. Schedule yours today.
Why Choose Loshak Law PLLC for DUI Accident Cases in Hollywood, FL?
DUI cases are a distinctive category of personal injury work. The intersection of criminal and civil proceedings, the availability of punitive damages without the usual statutory caps, and the need to identify multiple insurance sources all require a firm that has worked these cases before.
Trial Experience in Drunk Driving Claims
Brandon F. Loshak founded our firm and handles personal injury claims personally. He holds an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest mark for legal ability and ethical standards. He is admitted to the bar in Florida and Texas, earned his J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law, and holds a finance degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Aron Gibson has tried more than 60 jury trials in Florida courts. He was named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, received the Broward County Bar Association Executive Director Award, and currently serves as President of the Broward County Trial Lawyers Association. Trial readiness matters in DUI cases because juries hold impaired drivers to a particularly high standard, and meaningful verdicts require a firm that prepares accordingly.
A Record of Motor Vehicle Recoveries
Our personal injury lawyers in Hollywood, FL have recovered millions of dollars for clients hurt in South Florida motor vehicle matters, including a $2 million policy limits settlement after a catastrophic collision requiring five surgeries, a $1.75 million auto accident result, a $1 million Uber auto accident recovery, and a $300,000 auto accident outcome. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but they reflect the resources our firm commits to serious cases involving impaired and reckless drivers.
Contingency Representation From Day One
Our firm works on a pure contingency basis for every DUI accident claim. There are no hourly bills, no upfront costs, and no retainer. We advance the expense of accident reconstruction, toxicology analysis, medical record review, and retained witnesses. If we do not recover compensation, you owe no attorney fee.
Local Knowledge of Broward County DUI Patterns
Our firm maintains offices in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale. Our attorneys are familiar with the corridors along US-1, Hollywood Boulevard, and A1A where DUI crashes cluster, particularly around the nightlife districts and during late-night weekend hours. Both attorneys hold active memberships with the Broward County Bar Association and regularly appear before the local judges who preside over these matters.
“Brandon was phenomenal and quick to answer any and all of my questions. Would most certainly recommend for anyone in need of his services!”
Angelo Carretta ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of DUI Accident Cases We Handle in Hollywood
DUI-related crashes in Hollywood take many forms, and the investigation and legal strategy shift depending on the specific factual pattern. Our firm represents clients across the full range of drunk-driving-related motor vehicle matters that occur throughout South Florida.
- Rear-end DUI crashes. Impaired drivers routinely fail to perceive slowing or stopped traffic, producing violent rear-end collisions at speed. A DUI arrest at the scene often provides immediate evidence of impairment and negligence per se.
- Wrong-way and head-on DUI collisions. Intoxicated drivers entering highways against traffic cause some of the most catastrophic injury and fatality crashes in Florida. These cases frequently involve serious injuries to multiple occupants and may reach umbrella policies beyond the driver’s base coverage.
- DUI hit-and-run incidents. Impaired drivers often flee the scene. Our firm coordinates with law enforcement, pursues video canvassing of nearby businesses, and uses uninsured motorist coverage when the driver cannot be identified or carries insufficient insurance.
- Car accidents. Passenger-vehicle collisions caused by intoxicated drivers form the largest category of DUI injury cases. These matters often benefit from BAC evidence developed in the criminal prosecution, which is admissible in the civil case.
- Truck accidents. Impaired drivers operating delivery trucks, ride-for-hire vehicles, or commercial fleet vehicles trigger federal regulations, employer liability, and commercial insurance that substantially raise available coverage.
- Motorcycle accidents. Riders have no structural protection from an impaired driver’s mistakes. These cases regularly produce catastrophic and fatal outcomes, and the punitive damages framework in Florida DUI law matters heavily to recovery.
Florida Legal Requirements for DUI Accident Claims
Florida law treats DUI crashes differently from ordinary negligence in several important respects. Understanding the framework is essential to preserving a strong claim.
The criminal case and the civil case are separate. Under Florida Statute § 316.193, driving under the influence is a criminal offense with its own penalties and proof requirements. A separate civil action allows the injured party to pursue compensation regardless of whether the criminal case results in a conviction, plea, or dismissal. Evidence from the criminal case, including breathalyzer and blood-alcohol results, is generally admissible in the civil proceeding.
Punitive damages caps do not apply to DUI defendants. This is one of the most significant features of Florida DUI civil law. Under Florida Statute § 768.736, the standard punitive damages limitations in §§ 768.725 and 768.73 do not apply to any defendant who, at the time of the act, was under the influence to the extent that normal faculties were impaired or had a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08% or higher. The greater-of-3x-compensatory-or-$500,000 cap that would ordinarily limit punitive damages is set aside in DUI cases. The burden of proof for seeking punitive damages in these cases is also the “greater weight of the evidence” standard rather than the more stringent “clear and convincing” standard applied to other punitive claims.
Florida’s dram shop statute is narrow. Under Florida Statute § 768.125, commercial establishments generally are not liable simply for serving a visibly intoxicated adult. Liability attaches when a vendor willfully and unlawfully serves alcohol to a minor, or knowingly serves a person habitually addicted to alcohol. Identifying these limited paths to third-party liability can meaningfully expand the pool of available coverage.
Two-year filing deadline. Under Florida Statute § 95.11, as amended by House Bill 837 in 2023, negligence claims must be filed within two years of the injury. Missing this deadline ordinarily bars the case regardless of the strength of the underlying facts.
Modified comparative negligence. Under Florida Statute § 768.81, a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. Comparative fault arguments rarely succeed against the victim of a clearly intoxicated driver, but insurers still attempt them. Early documentation of the facts protects against those arguments.
Crash reporting obligations apply as well. The Florida Department of Highway Safety maintains the state’s official crash records.
What Damages Are Recoverable in Hollywood DUI Accident Cases?
Florida law allows DUI accident victims to recover the same three categories of damages available in other personal injury cases, with a significant enhancement in the punitive damages analysis.
Economic damages cover the verifiable financial losses tied to the crash. That includes emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, imaging, prescription medications, long-term follow-up treatment, and future medical care. On the income side, lost wages for time missed from work and diminished earning capacity when injuries affect a return to prior employment both fall within this category. When injuries are permanent or catastrophic, our firm retains life care planners and vocational specialists to project the full scope of future costs.
Non-economic damages compensate for physical pain, emotional suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and the cognitive or physical changes that follow a serious crash. DUI collisions frequently produce traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, and burn injuries, and the lifetime impact of those conditions is part of the case value.
Punitive damages carry particular weight in DUI matters for the reasons discussed above. Florida courts have long held that the voluntary choice to drive while impaired demonstrates the reckless disregard required to support punitive damages, and the statutory caps that would normally limit the award do not apply. Punitive damages are intended to punish and to deter, and in DUI cases, they can substantially exceed compensatory damages.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 10,000 people are killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States each year, and Florida consistently ranks among the states with the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic fatalities.
When a DUI crash produces fatal injuries, surviving family members may bring a claim under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, which addresses funeral expenses, loss of support and services, loss of companionship, and other statutorily defined losses. Crime Victims’ Compensation may also provide limited support separate from a civil claim.
Contact Loshak Law PLLC
If you or someone you love was hurt by an impaired driver in Hollywood or the surrounding area, the earliest hours of the case matter. Witnesses leave the scene, surveillance and dashcam footage can be overwritten, and the criminal process moves on a parallel track that affects what evidence becomes available and when.
When you reach out, we will listen to what happened, review any police reports and medical records, coordinate with the criminal prosecution where appropriate, send preservation letters to relevant parties, identify all applicable insurance coverages, including uninsured and underinsured motorist policies, and walk through Florida’s two-year filing window.
At Loshak Law PLLC, consultations are free, and our firm works on contingency. No attorney fee is owed unless we recover compensation for you. Contact our office to schedule your free case review.
