A crash caused by an impaired driver gives you a claim against the driver, and in Connecticut it frequently gives you a second claim against the bar or restaurant that served them. That second claim has a deadline measured in months, a damages cap, and a notice requirement that ends it if missed. Jacobson Injury Firm represents people hurt by impaired drivers across Fairfield County.
This page is for people injured by a drunk or impaired driver. We do not handle DUI criminal defense. Attorney Adam Jacobson is licensed in Connecticut and handles every case personally. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Connecticut Holds the Bar Responsible Too
Connecticut General Statutes section 30-102, the state’s Dram Shop Act, makes any person or business that sells alcohol to an intoxicated person liable for the injuries that person goes on to cause. It applies to bars, restaurants, clubs, liquor stores, and any other licensed seller.
The liability is strict in an important sense. You do not have to prove that a particular drink was the one that pushed the driver over the line, and you do not have to prove the seller was careless in the ordinary way. What you must show is that alcohol was sold to someone who was visibly or perceivably intoxicated at the time, and that the person then injured you in consequence of that intoxication. Connecticut courts require evidence of visible intoxication, which is why testimony from other patrons, receipts showing the volume and timing of drinks, and venue video matter so much.
Three limits shape every one of these claims.
- Damages are capped at $250,000. That figure covers all injured persons together, and it applies even where the crash was fatal. It is a meaningful second source of recovery, not a substitute for the claim against the driver.
- The intoxicated person cannot recover for their own injuries. The statute protects the people the drinker injures. A sober passenger, another driver, a pedestrian, or a cyclist can bring the claim. The drinker cannot.
- Sales to adults run only through this statute. Connecticut bars an ordinary negligence claim against a seller for serving someone 21 or older, so for an adult drinker the Dram Shop Act and its limits are the route. Where alcohol was served to someone under 21, a common law negligence claim against the seller may also be available and is not subject to the same cap.
The Deadlines Are Far Shorter Than Two Years
This is where valid claims against bars are lost most often. Connecticut’s general negligence deadline is two years. The Dram Shop Act runs on a much shorter clock, and it has a notice requirement in front of it.
- Written notice within 120 days. The injured person must give the seller written notice of the intention to bring a claim within 120 days of the injury. Where the injured person has died or is incapacitated, the period is 180 days. The notice must specify the time and date of the sale, the person to whom alcohol was sold, the name and address of the injured person, and the time, date, and place of the injury. A notice missing those details can be challenged.
- Suit within one year. The lawsuit itself must be filed within one year of the sale of the alcohol, not two years from the crash.
A person still in treatment four months after a crash, reasonably focused on recovery and assuming they have two years, can already have lost the claim against the establishment without anyone telling them it existed. The notice also requires identifying who served whom and when, which depends on evidence that has to be gathered quickly: receipts, card transactions, and venue camera footage that is routinely overwritten within days.
The Criminal Case and Your Civil Claim Run Separately
An impaired driver is prosecuted under section 14-227a, which sets the legal limit at 0.08 for adult drivers. That prosecution can produce jail, license suspension, and probation. It does not compensate you, and your civil claim has to be brought separately.
A few points about how the two interact matter in practice. A conviction or guilty plea is generally usable in the civil claim and removes most of the argument about what happened. You do not need to wait for the criminal case to finish, and you should not, because evidence degrades while a prosecution moves through continuances. An acquittal does not end your claim, since criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt and a civil claim requires only that your version be more likely than not.
As a crime victim you have rights in the criminal proceeding, including notification and the opportunity to be heard at plea and sentencing. The Connecticut Office of Victim Services assists with that process and administers compensation programs for certain losses. We coordinate with the prosecution so nothing in one case undermines the other.
Multiplied Damages, and What They Are Worth in Practice
Connecticut General Statutes section 14-295 permits a judge or jury to award double or treble damages where the injured party has specifically pleaded that the driver deliberately or with reckless disregard violated a listed statute, and driving under the influence is on that list. A claim may also be brought for common law recklessness.
Two practical points determine what that is actually worth. The multiplied damages claim must be specifically pleaded in the complaint and the demand for relief, because Connecticut construes the statute strictly and it cannot be added later. And the multiplied portion is treated as penal, which means it comes from the driver personally rather than from an insurance policy. Against a driver with assets that changes the value of a case considerably. Against a driver with none, the claim still creates settlement pressure, but the collectible recovery depends on insurance and on the dram shop claim.
Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Your Stamford DUI Claim?
Licensed in Connecticut, With the Attorney Handling Your Case
Adam Jacobson holds an active Connecticut license and practices in Connecticut, New York, Florida, and Illinois. These claims turn on preserving evidence of intoxication, meeting the dram shop notice deadline, and finding coverage where the driver frequently has little. Claims in Stamford proceed through the Connecticut Judicial Branch in the Stamford-Norwalk judicial district.
Demonstrated Results for Injured Clients
The firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients, including a $300,000 car accident recovery. Our client reviews describe how the firm communicates through cases that run alongside a criminal prosecution.
No Attorney Fees Unless You Recover
DUI injury claims run on a contingency fee. Nothing is owed at the outset, we advance case costs, and no recovery means no fee.
Key Components of a Stamford DUI Accident Claim
Finding Coverage the Driver Often Does Not Have
Impaired drivers are disproportionately uninsured or carrying Connecticut’s minimum limits of $25,000 per person. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under section 38a-336 is frequently the real source of recovery, and Connecticut requires it at limits equal to your liability coverage unless you rejected it in writing. Where the driver borrowed the vehicle, section 52-182 presumes the driver was acting as the owner’s agent, which brings a second policy into the claim. The dram shop claim adds a third source, up to its cap.
Connecticut’s 51 Percent Bar
Section 52-572h reduces recovery by your percentage of responsibility and bars it entirely beyond 50 percent. A driver well over the limit rarely succeeds in shifting meaningful blame, but the argument is made, particularly where a passenger knew the driver had been drinking.
The General Deadline and the Collateral Source Reduction
Against the driver, section 52-584 requires suit within two years of when the injury was sustained or reasonably discovered, and never more than three years from the act or omission. The criminal case does not pause that clock. Separately, under section 52-225a, a court reduces an award of economic damages by amounts received from collateral sources, less premiums paid. Non-economic damages are not reduced.
Preserving the Evidence of Intoxication
Breath and blood results, field sobriety observations, bodycam footage, and dispatch recordings sit with law enforcement and are generated in the first hours. Bar and restaurant receipts, card records, and venue video have a much shorter life and are not preserved unless someone asks. Liquor permit records are held by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Federal data on impaired driving shows how heavily these crashes cluster late at night and on weekends.
“Excellent service and results. Attorney Jacobson was professional, responsive, and truly cared about my case. They explained everything clearly and delivered great results.”
Isaac M.
Where Impaired Driving Crashes Happen in Stamford
The pattern follows the nightlife and the routes leading out of it. The downtown bar and restaurant district around Bedford Street, Atlantic Street, Summer Street, and Harbor Point generates late-night departures concentrated between 11pm and 3am. Drivers leaving downtown reach I-95 within minutes, and the ramps at Exits 7 and 8 turn an impaired driver into a highway-speed hazard. The Merritt Parkway’s curves and short ramps leave impaired drivers almost no margin, and wrong-way entries onto divided highways produce the most severe crashes of all. Route 1 and Washington Boulevard carry late traffic past residential neighborhoods. Crash data is published through the Connecticut Crash Data Repository, the Connecticut Department of Transportation maintains the state highways, and incidents in the city are handled by the Stamford Police Department.
DUI Accident Claims We Handle in Stamford
Wrong-Way and Head-On Collisions
Impaired drivers entering a highway in the wrong direction cause some of the most severe crashes on the road. Closing speeds leave no reaction time, and driving the wrong way on a divided highway is itself a listed violation supporting multiplied damages.
Rear-End and Red-Light Crashes
Delayed reaction and misjudged stopping distance produce high-speed impacts with little or no braking, often visible in the physical evidence. These overlap with ordinary car accident claims but carry the dram shop and multiplied damages dimensions.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Strikes
Impaired drivers strike pedestrians and cyclists at a disproportionate rate, particularly downtown late at night where both are present in numbers.
Motorcycle Collisions
A rider hit by an impaired driver absorbs the full impact. See our motorcycle accident page for the Connecticut rules that apply specifically to riders.
Commercial Driver Impairment
A commercial driver operating impaired brings federal testing regulations, employer liability, and substantially higher policy limits. See our truck accident page.
Drug-Impaired Driving
Impairment by prescription medication, cannabis, or controlled substances is treated the same way under Connecticut law. Proof differs, since there is no breath test equivalent, so blood testing and drug recognition evaluations become central. Browse all practice areas and the communities we cover on our areas we serve page.
What to Do After Being Hit by an Impaired Driver
- Get medical attention promptly, and make sure the record reflects how the injury happened.
- Tell responding officers what you observed about the driver: speech, balance, odor, and anything said at the scene. Your observations become part of the report.
- Note where the driver said they had been drinking, and tell your lawyer the same week. The dram shop notice has to identify the sale, and venue receipts and video are the shortest-lived evidence in the case.
- Photograph the scene and your injuries and collect witness details. The Connecticut DMV handles crash reporting requirements, and a road defect claim against the City of Stamford has its own 90-day notice rule.
- Ask the prosecutor’s office to keep you informed. You have a right to notice and to be heard, and participating does not interfere with the civil claim.
- Decline a recorded statement to any insurer, and do not settle with the driver’s carrier before your own has been notified, because settling first can forfeit an underinsured claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue the bar that served the drunk driver?
Often yes. Connecticut’s Dram Shop Act makes a seller liable for injuries caused by someone it served while that person was visibly intoxicated. You do not need to prove which drink caused the intoxication. Damages are capped at $250,000 for all injured persons combined, and the claim runs alongside the claim against the driver rather than replacing it.
How long do I have to bring a claim against the bar?
Much less time than people expect. Written notice must be given to the seller within 120 days of the injury, or 180 days where the injured person died or is incapacitated, and suit must be filed within one year of the sale. That is far shorter than the two years that applies to the claim against the driver.
What does the dram shop notice have to say?
It must identify the time and date of the sale, the person to whom alcohol was sold, the name and address of the injured person, and the time, date, and place of the injury. Gathering that information depends on receipts, card records, and venue video, all of which disappear quickly.
The bar served a minor. Does that change anything?
Potentially yes. For drinkers 21 and older, Connecticut limits the claim against a seller to the Dram Shop Act and its cap. Where alcohol was served to someone under 21, a common law negligence claim against the seller may also be available and is not subject to the same cap.
Can I sue the drunk driver even though they are being prosecuted?
Yes, and you should not wait. The criminal case punishes the driver but does not compensate you. The two proceed independently, the civil deadline runs regardless, and evidence degrades while a prosecution moves through continuances.
Can I recover double or treble damages?
Driving under the influence is among the violations that support multiplied damages in Connecticut, provided the claim is specifically pleaded at the outset. The multiplied portion comes from the driver personally rather than an insurer, so its practical value depends heavily on whether the driver has assets.
What if the driver was acquitted or the charges were dropped?
Your civil claim survives. Criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, while a civil claim requires only that your version be more likely than not. Charges are dropped for reasons that have nothing to do with whether the driver caused your injuries.
What if the drunk driver had no insurance?
This is common. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage becomes the primary source of recovery, and Connecticut requires it at limits equal to your liability coverage unless you rejected it in writing. If the driver borrowed the vehicle, the owner may also be liable, and the dram shop claim may add a further source.
I was a passenger and knew the driver had been drinking. Can I still recover?
Possibly. The Dram Shop Act does not allow the intoxicated person to recover, but a sober passenger can bring the claim. Knowledge of the driver’s drinking may be raised as comparative fault, which reduces recovery by your percentage and bars it only beyond 50 percent.
How long do I have to sue the driver?
Two years from when the injury was sustained or reasonably discovered, and never more than three years from the act or omission that caused it. The criminal case does not pause that clock, and the claim against any bar runs on the much shorter deadlines described above.
Speak With a Stamford DUI Accident Lawyer
The claim against the establishment that served the driver requires written notice within 120 days and suit within a year, and the receipts and video it depends on disappear within days. Reaching out early is what keeps that claim alive. Consultations are free and you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Call (561) 567-7163 or send us a message. Further reading is available on the firm blog.
