Experienced Lawyers In Louisiana
Drunk Driving Car Accident Lawyer in New Orleans
Injured? Get Gordon!
No Fee Unless We Win
I’ll win your case, or you don’t owe me a dime. No costs, no expenses, no fee. Nothing.
Injured? Get a FREE Consult Now!
Best New Orleans DUI Accident Lawyers Near Me
Free Consultation With a Drunk Driving Accident Attorney Near Metairie
A drunk driver made a choice. You are living with the consequences.
If an impaired driver hit you in New Orleans, you may be facing surgery, weeks away from work, and calls from an insurance company that may evaluate your claim differently than you do. If another driver’s actions contributed to your crash, you may have legal options to pursue compensation for your injuries.
At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, our New Orleans DUI accident lawyers have recovered approximately $3 Billion for injured people and their families across Louisiana. We understand the factors that can affect the value of these claims, including liability, insurance coverage, and the extent of injuries.
Louisiana also treats drunk driving differently from an ordinary crash. Two important rules changed recently, and both can affect what you recover. We explain them below in plain language.
Call 888.501.7888 for a free consultation.
Types of DUI Accident Injuries Our New Orleans Lawyers Handle
Some injuries send you straight to the emergency room. Others surface days later, once the adrenaline wears off and the stiffness sets in.
We have represented clients through broken bones, spinal damage, brain injuries, and internal bleeding. Because the delayed injuries are often the expensive ones, we push for a complete medical workup early rather than letting an adjuster define how hurt you are.
- Second Degree Burn
- Third Degree Burn
- Muscle Strain
- Electrical Burn Injury
- Contusion Injury
- Chemical Burn
- Sprain
- Skull Fracture
- Shoulder Injury
- Collapsed Lung
- Organ Damage
- Lacerations and Abrasions
- Concussion
- Knee Injury
- Internal Bleeding
- Hip Fracture
- Herniated Disc
- Catastrophic Injury
- Wrongful Death
- Chronic Pain
- Internal Injuries
- CTE Brain Injury
- Brain Injury
- Neck injury
- Soft Tissue Injury
- Paralysis Injury
- Whiplash
- Pain & Suffering
- Back Injury
- Broken Bones
- Burn Injury
- And More ...
New Orleans Drunk Driving Accident Statistics
Impaired driving remains one of the deadliest problems on Louisiana roads, and it drives many of the fatal DUI crashes our team handles in Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Here are the latest confirmed figures, from federal crash data released in June 2026:
192
people died in Louisiana crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver.
25%
of every traffic death in the state involved a driver at or above the legal limit.
125
of those deaths involved a driver whose blood alcohol level was nearly twice the limit.
What Counts as Impaired Driving Under Louisiana Law
Louisiana calls this offense operating a vehicle while impaired, and it reaches further than most people expect. Under La. R.S. 14:98, a driver violates the law when any one of these is true:
- Alcohol has impaired them
- Their blood alcohol concentration is 0.08% or higher
- Any other drug, or a mix of drugs and alcohol, has impaired them
Prescription medication counts. So does marijuana. A driver never has to fail a breath test for you to have a claim.
Some drivers face stricter limits. A driver under 21 commits a separate offense at 0.02% under La. R.S. 14:98.6, and commercial drivers may be subject to additional federal and state requirements depending on the vehicle and circumstances that often matters in cases our New Orleans truck accident lawyers handle. Wondering whether an impaired driving injury attorney in New Orleans can help before charges are filed? You do not have to wait for a conviction. Our Louisiana drunk driving accident lawyers move on your civil claim right away.
Compensation You Can Recover After a New Orleans DUI Crash
Louisiana law lets you recover for what you have already lost and for what this crash will cost you going forward. Our team builds claims for:
- Emergency care, surgery, and follow-up treatment
- Future medical needs and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Property damage
Drunk driver accident lawyers in New Orleans have one more tool. Louisiana Civil Code article 2315.4 allows exemplary damages against an intoxicated driver, though only if you prove two things: that the driver showed wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of others, and that the driver’s intoxication was a cause in fact of your injuries. That is a higher bar than ordinary negligence, and clearing it depends on evidence collected in the first weeks.
If a drunk driver killed someone you love, your family may also bring a wrongful death claim. Our New Orleans personal injury lawyers can walk you through both paths in a single conversation.
How Louisiana’s New Fault Rule Affects Your DUI Crash Claim
This is the change most people have not heard about, and it can decide your case.
For decades Louisiana used pure comparative fault, meaning even a mostly at-fault driver could recover something. Louisiana’s modified comparative fault rules determine how responsibility is allocated and may reduce recovery depending on each party’s percentage of fault. The applicable rule depends on the date of the crash and current Louisiana law.:
- At 51% or more of the fault, you recover nothing at all
- Below 51%, your damages are reduced by your share of the fault
The date of your crash determines which version applies, so tell us exactly when it happened.
Here is why this should worry you. Insurers now have a powerful reason to argue you were mostly to blame, because at 51% their obligation vanishes. Expect questions about your speed, your phone, and whether you had a drink yourself.
Never guess at fault percentages on a recorded call. A DUI crash lawyer in New Orleans can push back using the police report, the driver’s BAC, scene evidence, and witnesses. If your case reaches a jury, article 2323 requires the court to instruct jurors on precisely how this rule works.
What Happens If You Did Not Have Insurance?
Louisiana law places limits on recovery for certain uninsured motorists, but exceptions may apply depending on the circumstances of the crash, including situations involving an impaired driver.
Now the part that matters to you. That bar does not apply if the driver who hit you was cited under La. R.S. 14:98 for the crash and is later convicted or pleads no contest. The statute lists other exceptions as well, including a driver who fled the scene, caused the crash intentionally, or was committing a felony.
So if a drunk driver hit you while you were uninsured, do not assume your claim is worth nothing. The criminal case against that driver may be the very reason you can recover in full. Tracking that is a core job for any attorney for DUI accident claims in New Orleans.
If you did carry coverage, check it for uninsured and underinsured motorist protection. La. R.S. 22:1295 requires insurers to include it unless you reject it on a form prescribed by the state insurance commissioner. When the drunk driver’s policy cannot cover your losses, your own UM coverage often can, and our New Orleans car accident lawyers find every policy that applies.
Can You Hold a New Orleans Bar Responsible?
In a city built on hospitality, this is one of the first questions we hear. The honest answer is that Louisiana makes it hard.
La. R.S. 9:2800.1 declares that consuming alcohol, rather than selling or serving it, causes the injuries an intoxicated person inflicts. Because of that, a licensed bar or restaurant that served an adult of legal drinking age is generally shielded from liability for a crash off its premises. Social hosts who serve adults get the same shield.
The shield has edges. It is written for service to a person over the legal purchase age, so service to someone underage falls outside it. The statute also strips the protection from anyone who forces drinks on a person or falsely claims a drink contains no alcohol. And the law states plainly that the intoxicated person’s own insurer is primarily liable for injuries to others.
An alcohol-related accident lawyer in New Orleans can tell you quickly whether a third party belongs in your case. Usually the strongest claim runs against the driver and every policy covering them.
Contact a DUI Accident Attorney Near Kenner Today
Injured in an Accident? Find Legal Help Near You
You did not cause this. You should not have to fight an insurance company while you heal.
At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, we handle DUI crash claims throughout New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, and the rest of Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Our New Orleans office sits on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, and we come to you when travel is difficult. Our record includes 230+ Million dollar verdicts and settlements.
Louisiana’s fault and insurance rules changed in 2025 and 2026. The insurance company already knows that. Let us make sure it works for you instead of against you.
Call 888.501.7888 today for your free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win, and that is the G Guarantee.
When you need results, Get Gordon, Get It Done.
How Long You Have to File in Louisiana
Louisiana gives you two years. Civil Code article 3493.1 sets a two-year prescriptive period for injury claims, and the clock starts the day you are injured, not the day you finish treatment or the day the criminal case wraps up. That rule took effect July 1, 2024.
Older crashes may still fall under Louisiana’s previous one-year deadline, which makes the date on your police report important.
Claims brought by a family after a death run on their own timetable, and the legislature revised those rules recently too. If you lost someone, please do not rely on a general deadline you found online. Call us and we will confirm your exact date.
Two years sounds generous. It is not. Security video gets overwritten, witnesses move away, and memories fade. Reach a DUI collision attorney in New Orleans while the evidence still exists.
How Our New Orleans DUI Accident Lawyers Build Your Case
Alcohol cases contain evidence ordinary crash cases do not, and much of it disappears quickly. We move immediately.
After your free consultation, our team begins:
- Securing the crash report and any DWI arrest records
- Obtaining breath, blood, and field sobriety test results
- Tracking the criminal case, since a conviction can change what you recover
- Requesting receipts, tabs, and video from wherever the driver was drinking
- Interviewing witnesses and first responders
- Identifying every applicable policy, including your own UM coverage
- Working with treating doctors and crash reconstruction experts
- Handling the adjusters so you can stop taking their calls
With 679+ years of combined legal experience and over 180 employees, including 130+ staff and 47 attorneys, we have the people to do all of this at once while you focus on healing.
Mistakes to Avoid After a DUI Crash in New Orleans
The first two weeks shape your case more than anything that comes later.
- Do not tell an adjuster you feel fine
- Do not accept a quick settlement before you have a diagnosis
- Do not give a recorded statement without a lawyer
- Do not guess about fault, speed, or how much anyone drank
- Do not post about the crash or your recovery
- Do not let your medical treatment lapse
If you have already done one of these, call anyway. A drunk driving injury lawyer in New Orleans can usually limit the damage, and we would much rather hear it now than after the insurer builds a file around it.
Don’t Wait — Talk to a New Orleans Drunk Driving Lawyer Today
At Gordon Mckernan Injury Attorneys, we understand that emotional and physical recovery come hand and hand after an injury or accident. We also know that you may not have the energy or time to fight with an insurance company and the complexities of your personal injury claim.
How It Works
Filing a claim with Gordon Mckernan Injury Attorneys is easy!
Simply follow the steps below.
Get Your Free Consultation
Fill out our quick and easy form to find out if your case qualifies. Our consultations are free and confidential, and we are here to help whether you hire us or not!
Hear From An Attorney
Our team will evaluate your case and decide on the best course of action. One of our lawyers will get back to you promptly and begin the process of winning your case!
Get Gordon!
Get It Done!
Once your case has been evaluated and deemed a good fit for our firm, our team will go to work immediately on gathering evidence, building your case, and getting you the compensation that you deserve.
Excellent
Settlements & Verdicts
Frequent Answered
Questions
- Can You Get Compensation If An Accident Was Your Fault?
- How Can Expert Witnesses Help Your Car Accident Case in Louisiana?
- Which Insurance Policies Apply To My Case?
- What To Do If You’re In An Atchafalaya Basin Bridge Accident?
- Where Should I Get My Accident Report in Alexandria, LA?
- How to Get A Louisiana Accident Report?
- Where to Get Accident Reports Lafayette, LA?
- Geico Denied My Claim, What Now?
- Where Should I Get My Accident Report in Baton Rouge?
- Should I Go To The Doctor After A Car Accident?
- State Farm Denied My Auto Claim, What Next?
- What is the Average PTSD Car Accident Settlement Amount?
DUI Car Accident Lawyer in New Orleans Blog Posts
Injured? Get a FREE Consult Now!
Let Our Team Fight For You!
If you or a loved one has been injured, don't wait— contact Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation. Our team is ready to fight for you and secure the compensation you deserve.
With over 30 years of experience, a proven track record of success, and a commitment to client care, we are the best personal injury attorneys in Louisiana to handle your case.
Call us now or fill out our online form. No Fee Unless We Win!
Your Case Matters—Let's Get It Done!
Office Locations
Denham Springs Office
163 Del Orleans Ave., Denham Springs, LA 70726
Gonzales Office
220 S. Burnside Ave. Gonzales, LA 70737
New Orleans Office
3900 Veterans Memorial Blvd. STE 300 Metairie, LA 70002
Zachary Office
4361 Main St. Zachary, LA 70791
© 2026 Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys.
