Texas Drunk Drivers Using Hospitals to Avoid DWI

Texas emergency rooms are not required to test for intoxication during treatment.

The emergency rooms of Texas hospitals routinely treat those involved in automobile accidents. By some estimates, half of the patients brought to ER were driving while intoxicated, yet the police are not notified and no DWI arrest is made.

Trauma doctors are not required by law to report drunk drivers. Even if the case is reported, there typically is no evidence for the prosecutor to work with as doctors are also not required to test for blood alcohol content.

There is a financial reason for not testing for alcohol, as insurance providers routinely use a 60-year old federal statute to deny coverage for injuries caused by intoxication. Instead of running the risk of not being reimbursed for services, hospitals limit their actions to their primary function of treating the injured. Doctors have also said that it is not their role to act as law enforcement.

Six states do require hospitals to report drunk drivers and eleven states have laws requiring insurance companies to pay claims for alcohol related injuries. While such measures have been proposed in the Texas State Legislature during the past three sessions, currently the state has neither provision. In the interim, motorists who have been involved with alcohol related accidents are not being charged with Texas DWI.

Were you arrested for DWI in Texas?