Trusted Advocates for New Yorkers Injured by Impaired Drivers
A drunk driving crash is not an accident in the ordinary sense. Someone made a choice, and your family is living with what followed. Bornstein & Emanuel, P.C. has handled nothing but personal injury since 1992, and we know how to hold an impaired driver and the business that served that driver accountable. Our New York car accident attorneys represent drunk driving victims across Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan from our Garden City office. A drunk driving case is a car accident claim with an added layer of proof and more defendants, so it rewards a firm that moves early to preserve toxicology, receipts, and video.
Why Injured New Yorkers Trust Bornstein & Emanuel, P.C.
Drunk driving cases move quickly, and insurers and bar owners start protecting themselves right away. We have devoted our practice to personal injury for over 30 years and have secured some of New York County’s and Westchester County’s highest reported verdicts. Our lawyers know how to build strong claims against impaired drivers and the businesses that enabled them.
- Personal injury law has been our only focus since 1992
- Kenneth Bornstein was featured in the New York Law Journal for one of the highest verdicts in New York County
- Anthony J. Emanuel is a Super Lawyers honoree, and Kenneth Bornstein is recognized by Lawyers of Distinction
- The firm won the highest verdict in Westchester County in 2018, a premises liability case
- Spanish-speaking staff is available to assist our community, Se Habla Español
- Free consultations, contingency fee representation, and a team reachable 24/7
Meet the attorneys on our attorney and staff page, and please remember that past verdicts and settlements do not guarantee similar results in your case. Every outcome depends on its specific facts, evidence, and applicable law.
What New York Law Says About Drinking Drivers
New York makes it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or more, and .18 percent is aggravated driving while intoxicated. A driver can also be charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, or with impairment by drugs or by alcohol and drugs combined. In your civil case, that investigation can supply a good deal of proof, such as the chemical test, the arrest paperwork, and witness accounts. Federal researchers report that a driver at .08 is roughly four times as likely to crash as a sober driver. Those crash risk figures show juries what impairment does.
How New York’s 2026 Changes Affect Your Claim
A package of changes took effect May 26, 2026 and applies to actions commenced on or after that date. Older guidance describes rules that no longer exist. Changes victims need to know about include:
- Serious Injury Definition: The serious injury definition no longer includes the former 90 of 180 days category. What remains includes death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, and significant limitation of use.
- Fault Must Be Decided First: The trier of fact must decide fault first, and only then whether an injury is a serious injury.
- Fault Bar Added: In cases governed by the no-fault article, a claimant whose fault is greater than the defendant’s, or greater than the combined fault of the defendants, is barred from recovering rather than having the award reduced.
A new $100,000 limit on pain and suffering also reaches certain at-fault drivers, including one convicted of operating while impaired in the same crash. It does not apply in a death case or to a sober person struck by a drunk driver. Proving a serious injury and defending your share of fault now decide what a case is worth, so we build the medical record from day one in brain injury, spinal cord injury, and other injury claims.
Who Else May Owe You Compensation
The driver may not be the only source of recovery, which matters when the driver carries minimum coverage. New York’s dram shop law gives a person injured by an intoxicated person a right of action against anyone who unlawfully sold or assisted in procuring the liquor that caused or contributed to that intoxication, and it allows actual and exemplary damages. Depending on the facts, we look at:
- The bar, restaurant, or tavern whose unlawful sale caused or contributed to the driver’s intoxication
- A venue, caterer, or other seller that unlawfully assisted in procuring that liquor
- Anyone who furnished alcohol to a driver under twenty-one with knowledge or reasonable cause to believe the driver was underage
- Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, if the at-fault policy cannot cover your losses
Bar tabs, point-of-sale records, and video are often overwritten within days or weeks of an accident. It is critical to save this evidence. Therefore, we send preservation demands immediately.
Deadlines That Can End Your Claim
No-fault benefits come first, on a short fuse. Written notice of the accident must reach the insurer as soon as reasonably practicable and in no event more than 30 days after the crash, absent written proof of clear and reasonable justification for a late notice. Most personal injury lawsuits in New York must be commenced within three years of the injury.
A wrongful death action must be filed within two years of death, though when a criminal action has been commenced against the same defendant, the estate has at least one year from the end of that case. One rule surprises people. An insurer may exclude from no-fault benefits a person injured while driving intoxicated or drug-impaired, with a carve-out for emergency hospital care.
Contact Our Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys Today
If an impaired driver injured you or took someone you love, you should not sort out the insurance and the deadlines alone. Contact our Garden City office for a free consultation. We work on contingency, and our Spanish-speaking staff is ready to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the drunk driver had little insurance?
A full recovery may still be available. We look past the driver’s policy to your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and to a dram shop claim against the establishment that sold the liquor.
Must I wait for a conviction before I sue?
No. The prosecution and your civil claim proceed separately, so you do not have to wait for the criminal case to end. In a fatal crash, when a criminal action has been commenced against the same defendant, the estate has at least one year from the end of that case to bring a wrongful death claim, even if the two year period has already run.
Can I recover more than my medical bills?
Yes. Your no-fault coverage pays basic economic loss, which you cannot recover again from another covered driver. If your injury meets the serious injury threshold, you can seek pain and suffering damages and economic losses beyond no-fault coverage. The dram shop statute also allows exemplary damages against an establishment that unlawfully sold the liquor.
