Texas Intoxication Assault Lawyer

What the Statute Requires: §49.07

Texas Penal Code §49.07 defines intoxication assault as operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated and by reason of that intoxication causing serious bodily injury to another person. It is a third-degree felony carrying 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Serious bodily injury. Texas Penal Code §1.07(a)(46) defines serious bodily injury as bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes death, causes permanent disfigurement, or causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. The definition turns on the nature and duration of the injury: a fracture that fully heals may not qualify; a spinal injury causing long-term impairment almost certainly does. Because the definition depends on medical evidence, the defense must independently evaluate the treating medical records and the prosecution’s characterization of the injury.

Causation. The prosecution must prove that the defendant’s intoxication (not merely their presence at the scene) caused the serious bodily injury. The same concurrent causation analysis that applies in intoxication manslaughter cases applies here: if another driver’s negligence, a road defect, a mechanical failure, or other independent factors caused or contributed to the collision, the causal link between the defendant’s BAC and the injury is directly contested.

Delayed charges. Intoxication assault charges may be filed at a later date if an injury worsens, or if the accident victim is diagnosed with a serious injury that was not initially apparent. When the charge is filed months after the collision, the defense must still evaluate the original blood evidence, the crash scene, and the medical progression of the alleged injury.

Civil Liability and the Criminal Case

Individuals injured in a collision with an intoxicated driver may pursue civil claims for compensation. While the criminal case and the civil lawsuit are separate proceedings, a criminal conviction can be used as evidence in the civil case. This means that the plea decision in a criminal intoxication assault case has implications that extend beyond the criminal sentence. A guilty plea that resolves the criminal matter quickly may create substantial civil liability exposure that a contested defense would not.

What the Defense Examines

The Blood Evidence

The blood draw in an intoxication assault case is warrant-authorized and typically analyzed by a forensic toxicology laboratory. In Dallas County, that is SWIFS or DPS. In Tarrant County, the TCME laboratory or the Fort Worth Crime Lab. In other jurisdictions, typically a DPS crime lab. Evaluating whether the blood result accurately reflects the defendant’s BAC at the time of driving (rather than at the time of the draw, which may be hours later) requires pharmacokinetic analysis. If alcohol was still being absorbed at the time of the stop, the BAC at the time of the test may be higher than it was at the time of driving. The rising BAC defense requires exactly the kind of analysis a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science provides.

The chain of custody, sodium fluoride preservative adequacy, in vitro fermentation risk, and laboratory methodology are all subject to challenge. Learn more about blood test defense.

The Crash Reconstruction

The prosecution will present a crash reconstruction from law enforcement investigators. The defense retains an independent expert to evaluate the methodology, the physical evidence, and the conclusions. Speed calculations, skid mark analysis, point of impact determination, and fault attribution are all technical judgments that can be challenged when the data does not support the conclusions. Event data recorder evidence (the vehicle’s own record of speed, braking, and steering in the seconds before impact) is often more reliable than post-hoc reconstruction.

The Injury Evidence

Whether the alleged injury meets the legal definition of serious bodily injury is a medical question that the defense evaluates independently through the treating records, imaging, and, where appropriate, an independent medical expert. Injuries that were initially characterized as serious may resolve without the permanent impairment or protracted loss of function that the statute requires.

The Constitutional Foundation

Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.23, evidence obtained through a constitutionally defective warrant or an unlawful stop is suppressible. Texas has no good faith exception. The validity of the blood draw warrant and the legality of the initial interaction are the first questions in every intoxication assault defense.

Speak With Deandra Grant Law

Intoxication assault cases require defense on multiple simultaneous fronts: the blood evidence, the crash reconstruction, the injury characterization, and the causation theory. Deandra Grant Law has offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Denton, Waco, and Rockwall. We have appeared in North and Central Texas courts for more than 30 years, across more than 500 trials to verdict.

Call (214) 225-7117 for a confidential consultation.