Coral Springs Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

Coral Springs drunk driving accident lawyers at Cindy Goldstein Law compassionately and zealously represent people injured by impaired drivers through personal injury claims, not criminal defense.

The firm pursues compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering on behalf of crash victims and their families, and offers free consultations with no upfront cost.

A drunk driving crash is different from a typical car accident in one fundamental way: the at-fault driver made a conscious decision to get behind the wheel while impaired.

That choice may support additional forms of compensation that are not available in standard negligence cases, including punitive damages. Punitive damages in Florida are damages a court awards to punish extreme misconduct, not just to compensate the victim.

If an impaired driver injured you or someone in your family on roads in the Coral Springs area, a DUI accident lawyer at Cindy Goldstein Law offers a free case review to explain your legal options. Call (954) 346-5420 today.

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How Does Cindy Goldstein Law Handle DUI Accident Injury Cases in Coral Springs?

Cindy Goldstein Law represents people in a civil context, who were hurt by impaired drivers in Coral Springs and throughout Florida. Criminal penalties against the impaired driver are pursued by the State of Florida. The firm pursues compensation on behalf of crash victims for the impaired driver's negligence or recklessness.

Direct Attorney Involvement From Your First Call

When you reach out, Cindy Goldstein wants to speak with you directly during a free consultation. That conversation covers the details of your crash, whether the impaired driver faced criminal charges, and how the civil injury claim process works separately from any criminal case.

Personal injury firms may vary in their case handling procedures, and some firms have minimal attorney involvement until an initial settlement offer arrives. Attorney Cindy Goldstein strives to speak to all potential clients from inception and stays actively involved in your case along with the firm's attorneys while you are still obtaining medical care.

Property Damage and Practical Support

The firm also assists with vehicle repairs, rental car coordination, and insurance communication, even though there is no legal fee tied to helping you get your vehicle repaired or totalled out. Getting your transportation situation resolved means you make it to medical appointments and maintain your daily routine while the injury claim moves forward.

Contingency Fee Representation

You pay no attorney fees or costs unless and until the firm recovers personal injury compensation for you. The initial consultation is always free.

Multilingual Team

In addition to English, staff members speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. Translated forms, bilingual emails, and in-person translation during meetings make the process accessible to the diverse communities across Coral Springs and the Parkland area.

Real Results for Clients in Coral Springs

How Is a Civil DUI Injury Claim Different From the Criminal Case?

The criminal case and the civil injury claim are two separate legal proceedings with different goals. The state of Florida prosecutes the criminal DUI case under Florida Statute § 316.193 to punish the impaired driver. Your civil claim seeks financial compensation for the harm the driver caused you. These two cases run on independent tracks.

Why the Criminal Outcome Does Not Control Your Claim

A criminal DUI conviction is not required for you to pursue a personal injury claim. The civil case for negligence uses a lower standard of proof, called preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. The criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That difference means even if the criminal charges are reduced, dismissed, or result in an acquittal, your civil claim may still move forward.

Evidence That May Strengthen a Drunk Driving Injury Claim

DUI accident cases often produce stronger evidence than a typical negligence claim because law enforcement collects specific evidence tied to the driver's impairment:

• Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test results from the scene or the hospital
• Field sobriety test results documented in the police report
• The arresting officer's observations about the driver's behavior, speech, and coordination
• Toxicology reports showing the presence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination
• Surveillance footage from bars, restaurants, or gas stations showing the driver consuming alcohol before the crash

This type of evidence goes beyond what a standard car accident case typically produces and may support both your compensatory damage claim and a request for punitive damages. The criminal case file, including police reports, witness statements, and BAC records, may be available for use in your civil proceeding.

Who May Be Liable After a Drunk Driving Accident in Florida?

Liability in a DUI accident case may extend beyond the impaired driver. Florida law allows injured parties to pursue claims against multiple parties depending on the facts.

Possible Defendants in a DUI Crash Claim

A drunk driving injury claim in Coral Springs or across Broward County may involve one or more of the following:

• The impaired driver, who is the primary defendant in most cases
• The driver's auto insurance carrier, which provides bodily injury liability coverage up to the policy limits
• A bar, restaurant, or other establishment that served alcohol to the driver, but only under Florida's limited dram shop law, Florida Statute § 768.125, which restricts liability to situations where the establishment knowingly served a person who was habitually addicted to alcohol or knowingly served a minor
• An employer, if the impaired driver was operating a company vehicle or acting within the scope of employment at the time of the crash
• A social host, though Florida law generally does not impose liability on social hosts who serve alcohol to adult guests

Florida's dram shop law is significantly more limited than the laws in many other states. Bars and restaurants are generally not liable for serving alcohol to an adult who then causes a crash, unless the establishment knew the person was habitually addicted to alcohol. That narrow exception means most DUI injury claims focus primarily on the impaired driver and the driver's insurance coverage.

What Compensation May You Pursue After a DUI Accident in Coral Springs?

Drunk driving accident injuries tend to be more severe than injuries from other types of crashes because impaired drivers often travel at higher speeds, fail to brake, and hit other vehicles or pedestrians with full force. The compensation available in a DUI injury claim reflects the full scope of those losses.

Compensatory Damages

A drunk driving crash claim in the Coral Springs area may include compensation for:

• Medical expenses for emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medication, and projected future treatment
• Lost wages from missed work during recovery, along with reduced earning capacity if the injury limits your ability to perform your job going forward
• Pain and suffering for the physical discomfort and emotional distress tied to the accident and recovery
• Property damage to your vehicle and personal belongings

When Punitive Damages May Apply in Florida DUI Cases

Unlike standard negligence cases, drunk driving injury claims may also support a request for punitive damages. Under Florida Statute § 768.72, a court may award punitive damages if the trier of fact finds, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant acted with intentional misconduct or gross negligence.

Gross negligence under Florida law means conduct so reckless that it amounts to a conscious disregard for the safety of others. Driving while intoxicated may meet that standard depending on the specific facts, particularly when the driver's BAC was well above the legal limit or the driver had prior DUI convictions.

Punitive damages are not awarded automatically and are not available in every DUI case. They require a separate motion to amend the complaint, and the court must find a reasonable basis for the claim before allowing it to proceed. These damages go beyond compensating you for your losses and function as a penalty against the defendant for extreme misconduct.

How Does Florida's Comparative Negligence Rule Apply to DUI Crash Claims?

Even in cases involving an intoxicated driver, Florida's modified comparative negligence system under Florida Statute § 768.81 still applies. If the insurance company argues that you share some percentage of fault, your compensation is reduced by that amount. If your share of fault exceeds 50%, you recover nothing under HB 837.

How Insurers Try to Shift Blame in Impaired Driving Cases

Even when the other driver was clearly intoxicated, the insurance company may argue that you contributed to the crash:

• You were speeding or failed to yield at the time of the collision
• You were distracted by your phone or another activity
• You did not take evasive action that a reasonable driver might have taken
• You were not wearing a seatbelt, which the insurer argues worsened your injuries

A DUI accident attorney in Coral Springs who has handled these defenses builds the factual record needed to counter them with physical evidence, witness testimony, and the impaired driver's own BAC and toxicology results.

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Take Action After a Drunk Driving Accident in Coral Springs

The impaired driver who caused your crash may face criminal penalties, but those penalties do not pay your medical bills, replace your lost income, or address the pain the accident brought into your life. A civil injury claim is the path to financial recovery, and the two-year filing deadline under Florida law means the window to act is already running.

Cindy Goldstein Law has spent more than two decades representing injured clients in Coral Springs and the surrounding Parkland community. The firm handles DUI accident injury claims from the first consultation through resolution, pursues every available source of compensation including punitive damages where the facts support it, and works on a contingency fee basis so there is no upfront cost to you.

If an impaired driver injured you or someone in your family, call Cindy Goldstein Law at (954) 346-5420 for a free consultation.