Can I sue both the drunk driver and the bar?

Yes, if the driver caused your injuries and the licensed alcohol seller’s unlawful service contributed to those injuries. A dram shop lawsuit generally must name and retain the allegedly intoxicated driver as a defendant.

Does a high blood alcohol result prove the bar served someone visibly intoxicated?

No. A high result after the crash does not, by itself, establish visible intoxication when the alcohol was served.

Is a bar liable just because a drunk driver drank there before the crash?

No. A bar, restaurant, store, or other licensed seller is not automatically liable just because the driver drank there. A Michigan dram shop claim requires evidence tied to unlawful alcohol service under MCL 436.1801 .

Can I sue the drunk driver even if there is a criminal case?

Yes, if the facts and injuries support a civil claim. The criminal OWI or DUI case is separate from your civil injury claim. The statutes of limitations do not stop running simply because a criminal case exists, so the civil case should not wait on the assumption that the criminal process will protect your compensation claim.

Does No-Fault mean I cannot sue the drunk driver?

No. No-Fault PIP benefits and a civil claim against the intoxicated driver are separate legal tracks. PIP may help with certain medical and economic losses, while the civil claim may address losses that No-Fault usually does not fully cover, depending on the facts and Michigan law.

How quickly should I contact an attorney after a Michigan drunk driving crash?

As soon as you can after medical care and immediate safety are handled. Dram shop evidence can disappear quickly, and notice, insurance, PIP, wrongful death, and lawsuit timing issues need early legal review.

Michigan Drunk Driving Crash Claims | Michigan Legal Center

If a Drunk Driver Hit Me in Michigan, Can I Sue the Driver, the Bar, or Both?

Yes. Bartenders have a legal responsibility not to overserve patrons, if they serve someone till they are too drunk to drive and allow them to drive anyways, they might be held liable for injuries that person causes in a crash.

An injured person might be able to sue both the driver and a licensed alcohol seller if they overserved or served to someone under the legal drinking age.

Can you sue the drunk driver after a Michigan DUI crash?

Yes. You may be able to sue a drunk driver in Michigan if that driver caused the crash and your injuries support a civil claim.

The civil injury case is separate from the criminal drunk driving case. The criminal case is handled by the prosecutor and may punish the driver. The civil case is about compensation for the injured person or their family.

A civil claim involves proving the intoxicated driver caused the crash and could be used for things personal injury protection (PIP) doesn’t usually cover like pain and suffering, excess medical expenses, excess wage loss and other crash-related harm. The exact claim depends on the injuries, available insurance, deadlines and Michigan auto negligence rules.

Negligence claims for pain-and-suffering damages require proving that death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement resulted from the crash. A serious impairment must be observable by someone other than the injured person, affect an important body function and affect the person’s general ability to lead their normal life. Excess medical expense and wage-loss claims have separate requirements.

What no-fault benefits may cover first

Michigan no-fault PIP may cover medical bills and certain economic losses regardless of who caused the crash.

PIP benefits are separate from the claim against the drunk driver or a bar. Under MCL 500.3107, PIP may include allowable medical expenses, work loss and replacement services, subject to the policy and Michigan’s No-Fault Act.

In many Michigan drunk driving crash cases, the first practical question is which insurer may be responsible for PIP benefits. That can depend on the injured person’s policy, household coverage, vehicle status, priority rules, exclusions and other facts.

For more about which insurer may pay your medical bills, see Michigan Legal Center’s Who Pays Medical Bills After a Michigan Car Accident? PIP Priority.

When can a bar, restaurant or store be sued?

A bar, restaurant, liquor store or other licensed alcohol seller may be sued only if the facts support a Michigan dram shop claim.

Michigan’s Dram Shop Act, MCL 436.1801, prohibits licensed alcohol sellers from selling, giving or furnishing alcohol to:

a minor, meaning someone under 21
a person who is visibly intoxicated

The unlawful alcohol service must also be connected to the injury or death. The evidence has to show more than “the driver had drinks somewhere.” A Michigan dram shop claim usually turns on whether the person was underage or visibly intoxicated when alcohol was served, and whether that service caused or contributed to the crash.

Visible intoxication matters because it is about what could be seen at the time of service. Evidence may include slurred speech, stumbling, falling asleep, aggressive behavior, glassy eyes, poor coordination or other observable signs. Blood alcohol content evidence can matter too, but a high result after the crash does not automatically prove the driver was visibly intoxicated when a bar served the drink.

A dram shop lawsuit generally must name the allegedly intoxicated driver as a defendant and keep that person in the case until it ends by trial or settlement. A release involving the driver can affect the bar claim, so get legal advice before signing one.

That is why these cases need investigation, not guesswork.

What evidence matters in a Michigan dram shop claim?

The best evidence often comes from the hours before the crash. Useful evidence may include:

receipts and credit card records
bar tabs
surveillance video
witnesses who saw the driver drinking or acting intoxicated
police reports
toxicology or blood alcohol evidence
social media posts or photos
rideshare or taxi records
911 calls
crash scene evidence
names of bars, restaurants, stores or event locations visited before the crash

You do not need to collect all of this yourself. Save any evidence, photos, videos, documents, messages, witness names and insurance papers you already have. Michigan Legal Center can send preservation letters, request records, identify witnesses and build the evidence trail.

Why do these cases need fast investigation?

These cases need fast investigation because the most important evidence can disappear quickly.

Surveillance video may be overwritten. Receipts and bar tabs can become harder to obtain. Witnesses may forget details or become difficult to locate. Social media posts can be deleted. Vehicles may be repaired or destroyed. Police and toxicology records may take time to obtain.

Dram shop cases have a deadline of two years from the injury or death and notices need to be sent out within 120 of hiring an attorney. A statutory exception concerns information about a seller’s possible liability that was not known and could not reasonably have been known during those 120 days.

For many Michigan injury and death claims, MCL 600.5805 provides a general three-year limitations period after injury or death, except as otherwise provided. That general rule is not a reason to wait. Compliance with the general personal injury limitations period under MCL 600.5805 also does not preserve a no-fault PIP claim.

A PIP benefits lawsuit generally must be filed within one year after the crash unless the insurer received written notice of the injury within that year or previously paid PIP benefits for the injury. Additional filing and recovery limits can still apply.

The statutes of limitations don’t stop running just because a criminal case exists.

Don’t try to calculate these rules on your own. Notice and deadline analysis should be verified by an attorney based on the exact facts, defendants, injury date, death date if applicable, insurance issues and when counsel was retained for the dram shop claim.

Can you sue a social host or private party?

Yes, a negligence claim may be possible if a private host unlawfully furnished alcohol to someone under 21 and that unlawful service helped cause your injuries.

Michigan dram shop claims under MCL 436.1801 focus on retail licensees and unlawful alcohol service by licensed sellers. A private party, house gathering or social host does not create the same claim just because an adult drank there before driving.

Serving alcohol to someone 21 or older, by itself, generally doesn’t make a private host liable for that person’s later crash.

What if the drunk driving crash caused a death?

If a Michigan drunk driving crash caused a death, the family may have a wrongful death claim, and the case needs fast legal review.

A fatal crash may involve no-fault issues, a wrongful death claim against the intoxicated driver and a dram shop claim if a licensed alcohol seller unlawfully served a minor or visibly intoxicated person. The personal representative, probate issues, insurance coverage, evidence preservation and all deadlines need to be reviewed early.

For more about wrongful death filing periods, see Michigan Legal Center’s Michigan Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations: Filing Deadlines Explained.

What should you do after a Michigan drunk driving crash?

After a Michigan drunk driving crash, take these steps as soon as you can:

Get medical care.
Save insurance and crash documents.
Write down where the driver may have been drinking.
Save evidence, photos, videos, documents, witness names, messages and any other records you already have.
Do not sign releases before legal review.
Contact Michigan Legal Center quickly.

You do not have to prove the entire case yourself. The important thing is to preserve the starting information before it disappears.

Talk to Michigan Legal Center about a drunk driving crash

If a drunk driver hit you or killed someone in your family, you may have more than one legal claim. You may be able to pursue no-fault/PIP benefits, sue the intoxicated driver and investigate whether a licensed alcohol seller is responsible under Michigan’s Dram Shop Act.

Michigan Legal Center: the Law Offices of Christopher J. Trainor & Associates has decades of experience handling cases involving drunk drivers. Michigan Legal Center can review the crash, identify available insurance, investigate bar or restaurant liability, preserve evidence and help protect your claim from missed deadlines.

Michigan Legal Center has office locations in White Lake, Southfield, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Bay City, Gaylord and Marquette, and Michigan Legal Center reviews accident claims statewide. These issues can arise across Metro Detroit, West Michigan, Mid-Michigan, Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Contact Michigan Legal Center for a free consultation.

Talk to Michigan Legal Center About a Drunk Driving Crash

If a drunk driver hit you or killed someone in your family, you may have more than one legal claim. You may be able to pursue No-Fault/PIP benefits, sue the intoxicated driver, and investigate whether a licensed alcohol seller is responsible under Michigan's Dram Shop Act.

Michigan Legal Center is the Law Offices of Christopher J. Trainor & Associates. Our attorneys have decades of experience handling cases involving drunk drivers. Our attorneys can review the crash, identify available insurance, investigate bar or restaurant liability, preserve evidence, and protect the deadlines that apply.

Michigan Legal Center has office locations in White Lake, Southfield, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Flint, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Bay City, Gaylord, and Marquette, and the firm reviews accident claims statewide. These issues can arise across Metro Detroit, West Michigan, Mid-Michigan, Northern Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula.

Contact Michigan Legal Center for a free consultation.