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Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
An arrest after a drunk driving crash does not pay your hospital bills or replace your paycheck. Your injury claim needs its own investigation—even while police and prosecutors are handling the driver’s case. The important question is how to connect the unsafe driving, your injuries and every legally responsible party before evidence disappears.
The Epstein Law Firm represents people injured in New Jersey drunk driving accidents. Our work includes examining the driver’s conduct and whether an alcohol seller may share responsibility. That second inquiry can matter when serious injuries exceed the driver’s available insurance, but it requires proof about alcohol service, not simply proof that the driver had been drinking.
This page explains those decisions. For the broader insurance process, visit our Car Accidents page. Here, the focus is the investigation and recovery after an alcohol-impaired driver injures you.
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Police investigate possible driving offenses; a civil injury claim seeks compensation for the harm the crash caused. New Jersey’s civil proof standard generally asks whether an allegation is more likely true than not. A citation or arrest can identify useful evidence, but it does not resolve every question about responsibility or damages.
You still need to show how the driver caused the collision. A wrong-way movement, failure to stop or unsafe turn may establish careless driving even when a chemical test is unavailable. The Motor Vehicle Commission explains that impairment can be proved through observations as well as alcohol testing; a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or greater is the statutory alcohol threshold for operating a motor vehicle.
Give your lawyer the investigating agency’s name and case number, together with any hearing information you receive. Do not assume that a prosecutor is gathering everything needed for your medical-expense, income-loss or insurance claim. The Epstein Law Firm can discuss how the available investigation fits your separate civil case.
What happened on the road and what happened before the driver left a bar are different parts of the investigation. A witness may have seen the crash but know nothing about the driver’s drinking. A server may know about the drinking but never have seen the collision. Connecting those accounts requires a careful timeline.
Preserve the records you already have, including:
Keep original files rather than relying only on cropped screenshots. Record what you personally observed separately from what someone later told you. If you noticed slurred speech or difficulty standing, describe the observation instead of assigning a medical diagnosis or guessing an alcohol reading.
Tell counsel promptly about nearby cameras or a possible alcohol seller. Records may need preservation requests or formal legal process. The state crash-report portal’s help page explains report retrieval; obtaining that report is a starting point, not a substitute for preserving other evidence.
Medical care should not depend on waiting for the driver’s hearing. For a person covered by an applicable automobile policy, personal injury protection, or PIP, can pay covered treatment regardless of who caused the crash. Your policy choices determine limits, deductibles and whether health insurance was selected to pay first.
Give providers accurate insurance information and keep each claim number. A passenger’s coverage arrangements may differ from the vehicle owner’s, so bring household and vehicle policies for review rather than assuming one carrier pays everything. Save denial letters and requests for additional medical information; a benefit dispute needs attention even if the liability investigation is progressing.
PIP and a claim against a responsible driver serve different purposes. New Jersey’s Standard Policy guidance also explains lawsuit options affecting pain-and-suffering claims. Your injuries, policy and applicable legal rules must be assessed together. Do not assume an allegation of drunk driving eliminates every insurance restriction.
An alcohol seller is not automatically responsible whenever a customer later crashes. Under the state’s licensed-server jury instructions, the claim concerns service to a visibly intoxicated person, or to a minor whom the server knew or reasonably should have known was underage. The negligent service must also be a proximate cause of the injury—a meaningful legal connection—and the harm must be foreseeable.
That changes what the investigation needs. A later alcohol test alone does not tell you what the customer looked like when served. Witness observations, the timing of purchases and available recordings may help establish that part of the case. Your lawyer must connect those facts to the driver’s condition and the resulting crash.
The Epstein Law Firm’s published results include drunk driving matters involving claims against alcohol sellers. Those outcomes illustrate why looking beyond the driver’s policy can matter; they do not establish that a seller is liable in your case. Our separate Dram Shop Accidents resource appears in the related-topic list below.
Private-party hosts fall under a different framework. The adult social-host statute has specific requirements concerning knowing provision of alcohol, visible intoxication, foreseeable risk and a resulting vehicle accident, including special alcohol-test presumptions. The guest’s age matters. Tell your lawyer whether the alcohol came from a licensed business or a private gathering.
The claim should reflect your actual losses, including how injuries affect working, caring for family and ordinary activities. Keep bills alongside records of what insurance paid. For work losses, preserve pay records, missed shifts and medical restrictions. The court’s loss-of-earnings instructions connect compensation to income lost because of the injury; returning to work does not necessarily answer whether your earning ability has changed.
The driver’s intoxication also does not settle every fault dispute. Under New Jersey’s comparative negligence statute, an injured person’s negligence can reduce recovery and can bar it when it exceeds the applicable opposing negligence. Preserve the collision evidence even if an adjuster says the driver’s arrest makes further investigation unnecessary.
Punitive damages require a separate assessment. The court’s punitive-damages instructions require heightened proof of especially wrongful conduct. They are not an automatic addition to every drunk driving claim, and a potential punitive claim should not replace documenting treatment and everyday losses.
New Jersey generally requires an injury lawsuit within two years after the claim accrues. Exceptions and different claims need individual review; an ongoing driver prosecution is not a reason to leave the civil deadline unchecked.
Before signing a release, have these possible sources reviewed:
Identify all policies before signing a release. Underinsured motorist coverage may help when the responsible driver’s coverage is insufficient, subject to the policy and New Jersey rules. Bring the proposed release to counsel with your own coverage documents: resolving one claim can affect the remaining recovery options.
For a State Police-investigated crash, begin with the official crash-report request service. Have the report number and identifying crash information ready. Its help page distinguishes report routes and agencies; for a municipal investigation, ask the department that responded how to obtain its report. Restricted investigative materials may require a different request process.
For an insurer problem, the Department of Banking and Insurance consumer-assistance page explains how to request help or submit a complaint. Assemble the policy, claim number, disputed letters and a short chronology. A regulatory complaint does not itself decide your injury lawsuit or replace a required appeal or court filing.
Michael J. Epstein is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. Our published drunk driving results include matters involving both drivers and alcohol sellers. That experience is relevant when a case requires assembling evidence from several sources and evaluating more than one route to recovery.
You can contact our team for a free case review. Tell us what happened, what treatment you have received and which insurers have contacted you. Bring available records; you do not need to reconstruct the entire case before discussing it with us. We can examine the documents and explain which questions need further investigation.
Tell our team what you remember about the driver, the collision and any possible alcohol seller. Bring the records you have so we can discuss the investigation, insurance questions and how your injuries have affected your work and daily life.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case depends on its own facts, evidence, and applicable law.
These excerpts describe experiences with the firm. They are not identified as cases in this practice area and do not predict another outcome.
“They took the time to explain everything clearly, making sure I understood my options and felt comfortable with each step of the process.”
— R. S. · Read the full Google review
“Michael and his team were incredibly responsive, always keeping us informed and addressing any questions or concerns promptly.”
— s. v. · Read the full Google review
These answers provide general information. The facts, policy terms and available evidence can change the analysis of a particular claim.
Yes. A civil injury claim can proceed without a drunk driving conviction if the evidence establishes the driver’s responsibility for the crash and your resulting injuries. Civil claims ordinarily use the more-likely-than-not proof standard. A missing alcohol test does not erase other evidence of unsafe driving, and the Motor Vehicle Commission recognizes observational evidence of impairment.
Give counsel the police report information and any known court outcome. An arrest is not itself a verdict about civil responsibility, and the meaning of a dismissal or plea needs review. The investigation may still include witnesses, recordings and vehicle damage. Preserve those materials rather than waiting for a conviction before discussing compensation.
Sources: NJ Courts—Preponderance of the Evidence; NJ Motor Vehicle Commission—DUI: What the Law Says.
Evidence of both the driver’s condition and the collision matters. Your observations, witness accounts, scene photographs and available video can help explain what happened. Avoid guessing a blood alcohol reading or repeating someone else’s account as something you personally saw. Preserve original files and record when and where each observation occurred.
The crash report is useful, but it may not contain every relevant recording or witness statement. Request it through the investigating agency’s process and give counsel information about additional evidence. If an alcohol seller may be involved, what the driver looked like when served is a separate question from how the driver appeared after the crash. Explain both sets of facts when available.
Sources: NJDOBI—Auto Comparative Negligence Settlement FAQs; NJ State Police Crash Report Requests—Help; NJ Courts—Tavern Keepers Serving Minors and Intoxicated Persons.
Applicable PIP coverage can pay covered medical expenses without waiting for a fault determination. If you selected health insurance as primary for auto injuries, that insurer may pay first and PIP may provide secondary coverage. Deductibles, coverage limits and policy terms still matter, so provide your treating providers with accurate coverage information.
Ask for the claim number and keep bills, explanations of benefits and denial letters together. A passenger should not assume that the driver’s automobile insurer is necessarily the first payer. Have your own, household and vehicle coverage reviewed. The question of paying current treatment is distinct from recovering other losses from a responsible driver; settling that liability claim is not a prerequisite to opening an applicable medical-benefits claim.
Sources: NJDOBI—Selecting Your Health Insurer for PIP; NJ Motor Vehicle Commission—Insurance Requirements.
Possibly, if the evidence meets New Jersey’s licensed alcohol-server requirements. For an adult patron, the inquiry includes whether the establishment served alcohol while the person was visibly intoxicated. Service to a minor has a different trigger involving what the server knew or reasonably should have known about age. The service must also be causally connected to a foreseeable injury.
A receipt showing that the driver bought a drink does not answer all those questions. Tell your lawyer about the establishment, timing, companions and any witnesses or recordings. A court’s discussion of the statute emphasizes observable signs of intoxication at service. Evidence linking the sale to the later crash is necessary; the driver’s arrest alone does not establish the bar’s liability.
Sources: NJ Courts—Licensed Alcohol-Server Jury Instructions; NJ Appellate Division—Alcohol-Service Requirements Discussed in A-2010-21.
Sometimes, but private-host responsibility is different from a bar’s liability. For an adult guest, New Jersey’s social-host statute requires particular proof about knowing provision of alcohol, visible intoxication, foreseeable danger and a resulting vehicle accident. Its alcohol-test presumptions can also affect the analysis. Hosting the gathering does not alone establish liability.
Give counsel the ages of the host and guest, what witnesses observed and how the guest obtained alcohol. Underage gatherings require separate review; the New Jersey Supreme Court has addressed duties in that setting. Do not apply the adult statute mechanically to every party. Save relevant messages and identify witnesses without pressuring anyone to adopt a particular account of the evening.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.6—Adult Social-Host Civil Remedy; NJ Supreme Court—Estate of Narleski v. Gomes.
You may recover when your negligence does not exceed the applicable opposing negligence, but your damages are reduced by your share of fault. In a two-driver case, an equal fault allocation can still allow recovery. The other driver’s intoxication does not eliminate the need to assess how the collision occurred and whether your conduct contributed.
An insurer’s initial allocation should be compared with the evidence. Ask what facts support it and preserve photographs, witnesses and records of the roadway conditions. Do not treat a percentage written in a letter as an unchangeable court finding. Cases involving several responsible parties require analysis of their respective conduct, so tell counsel about every vehicle and any possible alcohol seller.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1—Comparative Negligence; NJDOBI—Auto Comparative Negligence Settlement FAQs.
The general New Jersey personal-injury filing period is two years after the claim accrues. For an ordinary crash injury, that usually means measuring from the crash, but exceptions and other types of claims require review. An insurer conversation or an unresolved prosecution should not be assumed to preserve the right to file a civil lawsuit.
Give counsel the crash date at the first discussion and disclose any government vehicle or public entity that may be involved. A formal public-entity notice requirement may be much shorter than the ordinary lawsuit period. Preserve copies of documents already submitted and when they were sent. Have each deadline assessed separately instead of relying on one date for every potential claim.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2—Personal-Injury Limitations Period; NJ Treasury—Notice of Tort Claim.
Available uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may provide another recovery route, depending on your policy and the circumstances. Underinsured coverage is not simply extra money whenever injuries are serious: the relationship between the other driver’s liability limits and your UIM limits matters. Basic and Standard Policies offer different protection.
Bring the declarations pages, policy documents and any proposed settlement release to counsel. Ask which coverages were in effect on the crash date and what steps are needed before settling with another party. An alcohol seller may also warrant investigation when the facts support that claim, but a coverage shortage does not itself make the seller responsible. Coverage and legal liability must each be established.
Sources: NJDOBI—2026 Auto Insurance Buyer’s Guide; NJDOBI—Standard Auto Insurance Policy.
No. Punitive damages require separate, heightened proof of malicious conduct or wanton and willful disregard for foreseeable harm. They are intended to punish particularly wrongful behavior rather than reimburse ordinary losses, and New Jersey’s jury instructions explain that they are exceptional rather than routine. A serious injury or arrest does not itself complete that analysis.
Your lawyer can evaluate the evidence concerning the driver’s conduct while also documenting the losses needed for the compensatory claim. Medical records and employment information remain important even when punitive damages are considered. Compensation for lost earnings depends on the injury’s effect on work and income. Do not use a possible punitive award as a substitute for assessing available coverage or the evidence of actual loss.
Sources: NJ Courts—Punitive Damages Actions; NJ Courts—Loss of Earnings.
Bring the records you have, including the crash report or number, insurance documents, medical bills, photographs and correspondence from adjusters. Explain whether you were driving, riding as a passenger or outside the vehicle, and whether you know where the driver obtained alcohol. Missing records need not prevent an initial discussion about what happened.
The Epstein Law Firm offers a free case review for drunk driving injuries. Use the contact page or the telephone action on this page to describe your situation and ask about next steps. Its published results include drunk driving matters involving alcohol sellers, but those outcomes are not a prediction for your case. An initial review should identify factual questions, documents to obtain and applicable deadlines.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm—Drunk Driving Accident Representation; The Epstein Law Firm—Contact; The Epstein Law Firm—Verdicts and Settlements; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2—Personal-Injury Filing Period.
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The Epstein Law Firm
The Epstein Law Firm