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DUI Accident Lawyers in North Miami Beach, Florida

If a drunk driver hit you on 163rd Street, at a red light on West Dixie Highway, or pulling out of one of the strip retail lots near NE 6th Avenue, you may be able to recover money for your medical bills, lost income, and pain even before any criminal DUI case against the driver is finished. The criminal case and your injury claim run on separate tracks, and you do not have to wait on the state attorney’s office to start yours. This page explains how these claims work in North Miami Beach and what to do next.

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DUI Accident in North Miami Beach

North Miami Beach is a working city, not a resort strip, and the crash pattern here reflects that. The 163rd Street corridor carries heavy commercial traffic all day and into the night, lined with strip retail plazas, fast food drive-throughs, discount stores, and older apartment buildings set back from the road behind narrow driveways. Drivers turn left across two and three lanes of oncoming traffic to reach these plazas constantly, and that left-turn conflict point is where a lot of the serious crashes we see happen. Add an impaired driver into that mix and the results are often worse than a typical fender bender, because a drunk driver reacts late, brakes late, or does not brake at all.

Late nights on 163rd Street, West Dixie Highway, and NE 125th Street bring a different traffic mix than daytime: people leaving bars and restaurants, shift workers heading home, and drivers cutting through residential side streets to avoid the main corridor. Florida Highway Patrol and North Miami Beach Police both work DUI crashes in this area, and the older apartment stock along the corridor means a fair number of these collisions involve pedestrians or cyclists crossing mid-block rather than at a signal, since crosswalks are spaced further apart than in newer developments.

Because so much of this corridor is zoned for commercial use, many crashes also happen in or near parking lots and shared driveways rather than on the open road, which raises separate questions about lighting, sightlines, and whether a property owner or shopping center bears any responsibility alongside the impaired driver. We look at all of that when we evaluate a North Miami Beach DUI crash claim.

What we look at in these claims

Every DUI crash claim in North Miami Beach starts with the same basic questions, but the answers depend heavily on where the crash happened and what evidence exists.

The police report and DUI investigation

North Miami Beach Police or FHP reports usually include field sobriety notes, breath or blood test results if taken, and witness statements. These documents often carry real weight in a civil injury claim even though the criminal case is separate.

Location and road conditions

Whether the crash happened at a signalized intersection on 163rd Street, in a plaza driveway, or on a darker side street changes what evidence is available, including nearby business surveillance video that may capture the moments before impact.

Insurance coverage layers

Florida requires PIP coverage, but a DUI crash often triggers additional coverage through the at-fault driver’s bodily injury policy and, when that is not enough, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.

Your medical treatment and losses

Consistent, documented treatment ties your injuries to the crash and supports the value of lost wages, medical costs, and pain connected to the collision.

What We Look At in These Claims

  • The criminal case record
    Police reports, field sobriety results, and breath or blood test evidence from the DUI arrest often support the civil claim, even though the two cases proceed separately.
  • Whether a business over-served the driver
    If a bar or restaurant kept serving someone who was visibly intoxicated, that business may share responsibility alongside the driver.
  • What insurance is available
    The driver's own coverage, and your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage if theirs falls short, both factor into how a claim gets resolved.
  • The full extent of your injuries
    DUI crashes are often high-speed or high-impact, and documenting the full scope of medical treatment matters for what the claim needs to account for.

What a Claim May Cover

A DUI accident claim in Florida may address several categories of loss, depending on the facts of your case. These typically include medical expenses already incurred and reasonably expected in the future, lost wages if your injuries kept you from working, out-of-pocket costs tied to your recovery, and compensation for pain and the disruption the crash caused to your daily life. Because a drunk driver’s conduct can be treated differently than an ordinary at-fault driver’s under Florida law, some cases may also raise the question of punitive damages, which are meant to punish especially reckless conduct rather than simply compensate you. Whether that applies depends on the specific facts, including the driver’s blood alcohol level and criminal case outcome. We do not promise any particular category or amount applies to your situation until we have reviewed the details.

Car Accident

Slip and Fall

Truck Accident

Motorcycle Accident

Pedestrian Accident

Bicycle Accident

Rideshare Accident

Bus Accident

FAQ

Do I have to wait for the criminal DUI case to finish before filing an injury claim?

No. The criminal case against the driver and your civil injury claim are separate. You can start your injury claim while the criminal case is still pending, and in many cases starting early helps preserve evidence.

Florida requires drivers to carry PIP coverage, but that alone often is not enough after a serious DUI crash. If the at-fault driver was uninsured or underinsured, your own policy's uninsured motorist coverage, if you have it, may apply.

The location matters for evidence. Crashes near commercial plazas along 163rd Street sometimes have nearby business surveillance footage, while crashes in apartment driveways or on side streets may rely more on police reports and witness statements.

Yes. A civil injury claim does not require a criminal conviction. The evidence gathered during the DUI investigation, including field sobriety results, can still support your claim regardless of the criminal case outcome.

Florida sets filing deadlines that vary by the type of claim and can be shorter if a government vehicle or entity was involved. Rather than guess, call us for a free case review and we will explain the deadlines that apply to your situation.

Other Injury Claims We Handle in North Miami Beach

DUI crashes are one part of the injury work we handle for North Miami Beach residents and visitors. We also represent people hurt in:

  • Car accidents on 163rd Street, West Dixie Highway, and the surrounding grid
  • Slip and fall incidents at apartment complexes, plazas, and stores along the corridor
  • Truck accidents involving delivery vehicles serving the commercial strip
  • Motorcycle accidents at busy intersections and left-turn lanes
  • Pedestrian accidents near mid-block crossings and bus stops
  • Bicycle accidents on streets without dedicated bike lanes
  • Rideshare accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers picking up or dropping off along 163rd Street
  • Bus accidents involving Miami-Dade Transit routes that run the corridor

If your situation does not fit neatly into one category, that is fine. Tell us what happened and we will sort out which type of claim applies.

Start My Claim

Free case review

North Miami Beach families deal with enough after a crash caused by a drunk driver, from insurance calls to missed work to medical appointments stacked on top of each other. Sorting out who pays for what should not be one more thing you have to figure out alone while you are still recovering.

Contact Us

Free Case Review

We offer a free case review for anyone hurt in a DUI accident in North Miami Beach. There is no cost to talk with us, and our fee arrangement means you owe nothing in attorney’s fees unless we recover money for you. Call to talk through what happened and find out where things stand.

Helping Those Injured in Accidents Across Florida

While this page focuses on North Miami Beach, we handle injury claims across South Florida and throughout the state. Florida law sets deadlines for filing an injury claim, and those deadlines vary depending on the type of claim involved and can be significantly shorter when a government vehicle or entity is involved. Rather than guess at how much time you have left, call us so we can look at your specific situation and let you know where things stand.

  • Lakeland
  • North Miami
  • Plantation
  • North Miami Beach
  • Sunny Isles
  • Hallandale
  • Pembroke Pines
  • Hollywood
  • Dania Beach
  • Miami Beach
  • Miami Lakes
  • Opa Locka
  • Miami
  • Hialeah
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Miami Gardens

Every DUI crash claim moves at its own pace, shaped by the criminal case status, the insurance companies involved, and how your treatment progresses. We keep clients updated as things move, and we do not pressure anyone into a settlement before we understand the full scope of what they are dealing with.