Were you injured in a drunk driving accident in Sioux Falls, SD?

Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP stands with Sioux Falls victims of impaired drivers, from the first phone call to the final resolution of a claim.

If a drunk driver injured you in Sioux Falls, the first step to take is to talk with a personal injury lawyer before you accept any offers from the insurance company. You have the right to seek full compensation for your medical bills, your lost wages, and the disruption the crash caused. 

The attorneys at Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP have represented injured people throughout South Dakota for more than three decades. If you need trusted legal advice, a Sioux Falls, SD drunk driving lawyer can examine your case and explain what it may be worth, at no cost to you. Contact us to set up a meeting.

Drunk Driving Lawyer Sioux Falls, SD

A drunk driving lawyer works for the injured person. We do not defend the driver who was arrested. When someone is charged with driving impaired, that criminal case belongs to prosecutors, and its purpose is to determine guilt and penalties.

What we handle is the civil claim. It is your path to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and the disruption a crash brings to your life. A drunk driving accident attorney pursues that recovery through negotiation with the insurer or, if needed, a lawsuit. The criminal court can punish the driver, but it cannot reimburse you. Your civil case is built for that, and it can succeed even if the criminal charges are dropped. The two cases also run on separate tracks, so you do not have to wait for the criminal matter to finish before protecting your own rights.

Types of Drunk Driving Cases We Handle in Sioux Falls

Our Sioux Falls drunk driving attorneys represent victims in every kind of crash that grows out of a decision to drink and drive. Here are the cases we handle most often.

• Car accidents. Most drunk driving claims start with a vehicle collision. We dig into how the crash happened, build the proof, and push the at-fault driver’s insurer toward a fair result.

• Truck accidents. When an impaired driver is operating a commercial truck, the injuries can be severe. We pursue the driver and, where the facts support it, the trucking company and the additional insurance coverage that may apply.

• Motorcycle accidents. A rider has almost no protection against a drunk driver. We represent injured motorcyclists and push back on the unfair blame riders so often face.

• Pedestrian accidents. A person on foot is exposed to the full force of a vehicle. Injuries to pedestrians struck by impaired drivers are frequently serious, and we handle them accordingly.

• Bike accidents. Cyclists hit by drunk drivers often suffer head and spinal injuries. We work to hold the responsible driver accountable for everything those injuries cost, both now and in the years that follow.

• Brain injuries. A blow to the head can alter memory, mood, and the ability to work. These claims need careful medical proof and a long-term view of recovery.

• Wrongful death. When an impaired driver takes a life, we help the family seek accountability and the support the law provides during an unimaginable time.

• Catastrophic injuries. Some crashes leave lasting disability that reshapes a person’s life and finances. We prepare these cases for the long term, accounting for future treatment, in-home care, and the income a serious injury can take away over a lifetime. These claims often call for medical and economic opinions, and we build them with that evidence in mind.

Why Choose Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP as my Drunk Driving Lawyer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota?

A Plaintiff-Only Focus

Michael C. Loos has built his practice around personal injury since 1994, standing with individuals hurt in serious accidents instead of the insurers across the table. He is admitted in South Dakota and before the federal district court and the Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He has been selected to Super Lawyers for personal injury every year from 2017 through 2025 and completed his undergraduate degree at Mankato State University. Putting an experienced personal injury lawyer in Sioux Falls, SD on your case signals to an insurer that you are serious about full value.

Experience Insurers Recognize

Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for injured South Dakotans across a range of serious claims. We treat preparation as the heart of the work, building each file as if a jury will see it. That approach tends to move insurers toward fair offers. A claim that is documented thoroughly and ready for court is far harder for an adjuster to dismiss. Your first consultation is free, and you will walk away knowing where you stand.

What Is Important to Understand About a Drunk Driving Case?

A drunk driving case generally comes down to a handful of core issues: what your losses are worth, who is legally at fault, how long the matter will take to resolve, and what evidence you will need to prove it. The answers depend on South Dakota law and on the particular facts of your crash. Each issue is addressed in turn below.

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Drunk Driving Cases

Each category of damages must be documented and supported before an insurer will pay it. A drunk driving claim generally encompasses the following.

• Medical expenses. Emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, rehabilitation, and the treatment you will require later.

• Lost income. Wages lost while you recover, plus any diminished earning capacity if you cannot fully return to work.

• Pain and suffering. The physical pain and the narrowing of daily life that a serious injury brings.

• Emotional harm. The anxiety, depression, and trauma that commonly follow a violent crash.

• Property damage. The cost to repair or replace your vehicle and other damaged property.

• Punitive damages. Where a driver’s conduct is sufficiently reckless, the law may allow damages intended to punish that conduct.

Liability is the question of who is legally at fault, and the answer often shapes the entire claim. The Sioux Falls crash laws and South Dakota’s broader fault rules can change what you ultimately collect. Because the state follows a fault standard unlike any other, even a modest dispute over your share of responsibility deserves careful attention before any settlement is accepted.

What Are Important Aspects of a Drunk Driving Case?

A claim is built on evidence. A few elements carry the most weight.

• The police report and any breath or blood testing of the driver.

• Photos of the scene, the vehicles, and your injuries.

• Medical records that tie your treatment to the crash.

• Witness statements and any available video.

• How South Dakota’s shared-fault rules apply to your circumstances.

What Is The Drunk Driving Case Timeline?

Every claim has its own pace. Most travel through the same stages.

• Getting medical care and documenting your injuries.

• Investigating the crash and preserving evidence.

• Submitting the claim to the responsible driver’s insurer.

• Negotiating, and filing a lawsuit if the insurer will not be fair.

• Settling the case or, when necessary, trying it.

What Should You Bring to Your Drunk Driving Consultation?

Bring whatever you have available. Missing items can be obtained as the case proceeds.

• The crash or police report, if you have it.

• Photographs from the scene and of your injuries.

• Medical bills and records you have collected.

• Insurance information and any adjuster letters.

The consultation costs nothing. We will listen to what happened, answer your questions, and explain how a claim would proceed. You are under no obligation to hire us afterward.

What Are Important South Dakota Legal Resources for Drunk Driving Cases?

These public resources can help you understand the South Dakota laws behind an injury claim. Treat them as background, not as advice built around your case, and bring any questions they raise to your free consultation so we can apply them to what actually happened to you.

• The three-year filing deadline for most injury suits comes from the statute of limitations.

• South Dakota’s comparative negligence statute explains how shared fault affects recovery.

• The duty to use ordinary care is set out in South Dakota negligence law.

• The deadline for fatal-crash claims appears in the wrongful death statute.

• National impaired-driving data is published as NHTSA drunk-driving data.

• Statewide safety information comes from the Office of Highway Safety.

Reach Out to Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP to Schedule a Consultation

Every case we take begins with a free consultation. We will listen to what happened, review the strength of your claim, and explain the path forward so you can make an informed decision. There is no cost to meet and no commitment required. To get started, contact us to arrange a convenient time to talk.

Drunk Driving Accident Statistics in Sioux Falls

Minnehaha County reports more alcohol-involved collisions than any other county in South Dakota, a distribution that follows population but also reflects the concentration of late-night traffic around Sioux Falls. For an injured claimant the relevance is practical: these files are common enough here that adjusters process them on established assumptions, and overcoming from those assumptions requires documentation.

Impaired driving also accounts for a disproportionate share of the most severe outcomes statewide. Alcohol-involved collisions represent roughly five percent of all reported crashes but a far larger share of deaths. That disparity is what shapes how these claims are valued and litigated. The figures below are drawn from 2024 alcohol crash data compiled by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

• Minnehaha County recorded 295 alcohol-involved crashes in 2024, including 5 fatal collisions and 94 injury collisions. Seven people were killed and 139 were injured.

• Fifty-eight people died in alcohol-related crashes statewide in 2024, representing 39.7 percent of all South Dakota traffic deaths that year.

• A quarter of drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking, 25.5 percent in 2024, up sharply from 17.2 percent in 2023.

• The state recorded 458 alcohol-related fatal and injury crashes in 2024, alongside 984 alcohol-involved collisions of all severities.

• South Dakota law enforcement made 11,612 DWI arrests in fiscal year 2024, resulting in 7,697 convictions.

What Should I Do Immediately After a Drunk Driving Accident?

The hours and days following a collision with an impaired driver determine what evidence survives and how an insurer will later characterize the claim. The sequence below reflects what we advise clients to do, in order of priority.

1. Accept medical evaluation at the scene. Adrenaline masks injury, and declining transport creates a documentary gap that adjusters treat as evidence you were not seriously hurt. Concussions, internal injuries, and spinal damage frequently present hours later.

2. Have law enforcement respond and document impairment. An officer’s observations, any field testing, and the results of breath or blood analysis become the backbone of the liability case. Obtain the report number before leaving the scene.

3. Photograph what will not exist tomorrow. Vehicle positions, debris fields, skid evidence, roadway conditions, and lighting all change within hours. Photograph visible injuries as well, and repeat that documentation as bruising develops.

4. Identify witnesses independently. Not every witness is captured in the report, and those who are may be listed with incomplete information. Names, numbers, and a brief note of what each person saw are worth more than a recollection assembled months later.

5. Follow the treatment plan without interruption. Continuity of care is the single most persuasive element of an injury claim. Gaps of even a few weeks invite the argument that the condition resolved on its own or arose from something unrelated. Some of the mistakes to avoid after an injury include missed appointments.

6. Notify your own insurer, and say only what the policy requires. Your policy obligates cooperation with your own carrier. It obligates nothing toward the at-fault driver’s insurer, whose questions are constructed with the eventual valuation in mind.

7. Decline to give a recorded statement to the other carrier. There is no version of that conversation that improves your position. A polite referral to counsel is sufficient and entirely proper.

8. Preserve the vehicle before it is repaired or salvaged. Crush patterns and any onboard event data support reconstruction, and both are lost once the vehicle is released. This matters most where determining liability may become contested.

9. Track the losses that receipts do not capture. Missed shifts, cancelled obligations, assistance you now require at home, and activities you have given up all impact compensation. A contemporaneous record is more credible than reconstruction at deposition.

10. Attend to the psychological consequences. Anxiety while driving, disrupted sleep, and intrusive recollection are common after a collision caused by an impaired driver, and mental health treatment is both appropriate and compensable when documented.

11. Consult counsel before responding to any offer. Early offers are made before the medical picture is complete, and a release closes the claim permanently. The steps to take after a crash are considerably easier to execute with guidance.

Sioux Falls Drunk Driving Lawyer FAQs

Do I have to wait for the criminal case to conclude?

No. The civil claim proceeds independently and on its own schedule. Waiting for a criminal disposition can consume months of the filing period without corresponding benefit.

Does a criminal conviction guarantee my recovery?

It does not, though it is persuasive. Civil liability still requires proof that the driver’s conduct caused your injuries and evidence of what they cost.

What if the driver was not charged or was acquitted?

Your claim survives. The civil standard of proof is lower, and prosecutors decline cases for reasons unrelated to whether a driver was impaired or negligent.

Can I bring a claim against the bar that served the driver?

South Dakota limits claims against establishments far more narrowly than most states. Whether any avenue exists depends entirely on the specific facts, and it is worth raising at the consultation rather than assuming either way.

Are punitive damages available?

Sometimes. Conduct rising above ordinary negligence may support them, and impaired driving is among the circumstances in which the question is properly raised.

What if the driver had minimal insurance?

Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may respond. Impaired drivers are disproportionately represented among those carrying low limits or none. That claim proceeds against your own carrier.

How long do I have to file?

Most South Dakota injury suits carry a three-year deadline from the date of the collision, with different periods applying to certain claims. The practical constraint arrives much earlier, because evidence degrades long before the deadline does.

Will my own conduct reduce my recovery?

Possibly. South Dakota reduces an award in proportion to a claimant’s own share of fault, and insurers routinely advance that argument even where the other driver was impaired. It is one reason recorded statements are consequential.

What is my claim worth?

Value depends on severity and permanence of injury, treatment required, income lost, and coverage available to pay. Any figure quoted before treatment concludes rests on incomplete information.

Who pays my medical bills in the meantime?

Health insurance, medical payments coverage under your own policy, or a treatment lien. The at-fault carrier pays nothing until resolution, and health insurers frequently assert reimbursement rights against the eventual recovery.

Where would my case be filed?

In the Second Judicial Circuit, covering Minnehaha and Lincoln counties. Civil filings go through the Clerk of Courts at the Minnehaha County Courthouse on North Dakota Avenue.

What if a family member was killed?

South Dakota permits a wrongful death claim on behalf of the surviving family, with its own filing period measured from the date of death. These matters warrant early consultation because the evidence questions match any other crash claim.

Important Resources for Sioux Falls Drunk Driving Cases

Most Dangerous Locations for Drunk Driving Accidents in Sioux Falls, SD

Impaired driving risk concentrates by hour as much as by location. Saturday accounts for the highest share of fatal crashes statewide, and the corridors carrying late-night traffic away from the city’s entertainment districts see the greatest exposure.

Streets and districts:

• The downtown district along Phillips Avenue. The densest concentration of bars and restaurants in the city, with the surrounding grid carrying departing traffic.

• 8th Street and Main Avenue. Downtown arterials feeding vehicles from the entertainment core toward residential neighborhoods.

• 12th Street. A primary east-west route connecting downtown to the western side of the city.

• 41st Street. Retail and restaurant density plus the heaviest overall traffic volume in the city.

• Minnesota Avenue. The north-south spine, carrying late-night traffic through closely spaced signals.

Highways:

• Interstate 229. The southeast loop, where short ramp spacing punishes delayed reaction.

• Interstate 29. High-speed travel along the western edge, with severe outcomes when lane departure occurs.

• Interstate 90. The northern route, mixing regional freight with local traffic.

What Are Important Local Resources for Sioux Falls Drunk Driving Cases?

• Sioux Falls Police Department. Non-emergency 605-367-7000. Investigates collisions within city limits and maintains the resulting reports.

• MADD South Dakota. Victim Advocate helpline 1-877-623-3435. Provides victim advocacy and court accompaniment at no charge.

• Crime Victims’ Compensation Program. 605-773-6317. Administered by the Department of Public Safety for expenses arising from injury or death caused by a crime.

• Minnehaha County Clerk of Courts. 605-367-5900. Handles civil filings for the Second Judicial Circuit.

• South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Program. Administered by the Attorney General’s Office as a monitoring program for repeat impaired-driving offenders.

Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP lists these organizations for informational purposes only. We have no affiliation with them, receive no compensation from them, and do not endorse any of them.

About Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP

Michael C. Loos is a founding member of the firm and earned his law degree at the University of South Dakota School of Law. He was raised in this state in a family shaped by the courts, as both his father and his sister served as judges. Among our results is a policy limits settlement of $500,000 for a client who sustained a traumatic brain injury and lasting vision deficits in a motor vehicle collision, where the recovery was constrained by available coverage rather than by the proof.

What Our Clients Say

★★★★★

“I was in a pretty bad car accident in 2024 that required ongoing medical treatment. Michael Loos and his team made this experience so much easier. I gave them the information and they took care of literally everything else. My only regret is not hiring them sooner. They were able to get me the maximum settlement possible. I will be referring them to anyone in need of a competent and compassionate lawyer for their pain and suffering.”

Danielle Bradley

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Additional Resources for Sioux Falls Drunk Driving Cases

• What You’ll Need to Do After Being Injured by a Drunk Driver

• 3 Causes of Car Accident Fatalities

• Working With a Car Accident Attorney

• The Psychological Impact of Car Accidents

• How to Calculate the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim

Contact Loos, Sabers & Smith, LLP

If an impaired driver injured you or someone in your family in Sioux Falls, we will review the collision report, the medical documentation, and the coverage that may apply, then give you a candid assessment of what the claim supports. Contact us to arrange a consultation. There is no fee for the meeting and no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.