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DUI causing injury: the fine schedule when someone is hurt
An injury is the fact that moves a DUI out of the standard misdemeanor price range and into felony territory in most states — with higher fine ceilings, prison exposure, and a restitution obligation that no schedule can price in advance. This page compares the three states whose injury-DUI statutes state their figures most clearly, and keeps restitution honestly separate from fines.
California: Vehicle Code 23153, a 'wobbler' with two price tiers
California charges DUI causing injury under Vehicle Code § 23153: driving under the influence (or at 0.08 or above) while committing a forbidden act or neglecting a legal duty, causing bodily injury to another person. It is a wobbler — chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony. As a misdemeanor, published penalties under §§ 23554–23556 run from $390 to $1,000 in fines, five days to one year in county jail, and a one-year license suspension. As a felony, the fine range rises to $390 to $5,000 (some court summaries state the felony floor as $1,015 with assessments) with two, three or four years of imprisonment, and a great-bodily-injury enhancement can add consecutive years where that allegation is proven.
Either way, the court orders restitution to the victim and an alcohol or drug program — up to 30 months on a felony disposition. Restitution is the defining cost difference from a no-injury DUI: it is set by the victim's proven losses in that case, not by § 23153, so it cannot be quoted from a schedule. The fine figures above are the statute's; the restitution figure belongs to the individual case file.
Texas intoxication assault and Florida serious-bodily-injury DUI
Texas names the offense separately: intoxication assault, Penal Code § 49.07 — causing serious bodily injury to another by accident or mistake while operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. It is a third-degree felony, which under § 12.34 carries two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. License suspension on conviction can run up to two years under the Transportation Code provisions summarized with the offense, and restitution to the injured person is commonly ordered.
Florida reaches the same tier inside its DUI statute: under § 316.193(3), a DUI that causes serious bodily injury to another is a third-degree felony (fine up to $5,000 under the general felony fine schedule in § 775.083, up to five years under § 775.082), while DUI causing ordinary injury or property damage is graded lower, and DUI manslaughter — a death — is a second-degree felony with a four-year mandatory minimum, rising to first-degree where the driver knew of the crash and failed to give information and render aid. The three states agree on structure — injury severity sets the tier — while disagreeing on every number, which is why the table keeps them in separate rows.
| Injury DUI tier | Published figure |
|---|---|
| California injury DUI, misdemeanor (§ 23153) | Fine $390–$1,000; 5 days–1 year county jail; 1-year suspension; restitution |
| California injury DUI, felony (§ 23153) | Fine $390–$5,000; 2, 3 or 4 years imprisonment; restitution; program up to 30 months |
| Texas intoxication assault (§§ 49.07, 12.34) | Third-degree felony: 2–10 years prison; fine up to $10,000 |
| Florida DUI, serious bodily injury (§ 316.193(3)) | Third-degree felony: up to 5 years; fine up to $5,000 (per § 775.083) |
| Florida DUI manslaughter (§ 316.193(3)) | Second-degree felony; 4-year mandatory minimum (first-degree if driver fled duties) |
| Victim restitution (all three states) | Case-specific proven loss — no published schedule; not estimated |
Sources: California Vehicle Code § 23153 and §§ 23554–23560 (California Legislative Information; Nolo California DUI summary); Texas Penal Code §§ 49.07, 12.34; Florida Statutes §§ 316.193(3), 775.082, 775.083. Last verified: October 2026.
The fine is one line in a longer stack — court costs, program fees, interlock, supervision and reinstatement all bill separately. Price the layers that apply to your case in the calculator.
Open the DUI cost calculatorThe costs that follow the felony, not the fine
An injury DUI's largest long-run costs are usually not in the table. A felony conviction carries record consequences that narrow employment and licensing; civil liability for the crash runs on a separate track from the criminal case, and any civil judgment is a case-specific figure no criminal statute publishes. Medical-cost and lost-wage claims are therefore deliberately not estimated here. Insurance consequences are likewise discussed on this site only as mechanics (filings such as SR-22), never as a priced premium increase.
Two official-cost layers do still apply and can be priced from their own pages: the ignition interlock terms that follow an injury-DUI conviction in states that require them after reinstatement, and the probation supervision fees on any supervised term. Attorney fees in a felony injury case sit at the top of the published survey ranges on our attorney costs page — a market price, labeled as such, not an official figure.
Common questions
- Does any injury qualify, or only serious injury?
- In California, § 23153 requires bodily injury to another person — it need not be serious, though serious injury supports felony filing and enhancements. Texas intoxication assault and Florida's felony tier both require serious bodily injury as defined in their statutes.
- Is restitution part of the fine?
- No. The fine is paid to the state within the ranges in the table. Restitution is a separate order compensating the victim for proven losses, and its amount is set case by case.
- Can an injury DUI be reduced to a regular DUI or wet reckless?
- Outcomes like that are negotiated or litigated case outcomes, not published entitlements, and this site does not price or predict them. California's wet-reckless structure is explained, on its own terms, at wet reckless costs.
Related cost guides: DUI hit-and-run costs, DUI with a child passenger costs, third-offense & felony DUI costs, and DUI attorney costs.
Sources: California Vehicle Code § 23153; Texas Penal Code §§ 49.07, 12.34; Florida Statutes § 316.193(3). Last verified: October 2026. This page is educational information about costs only — not legal advice. Laws and fees change; confirm current figures with your court and your state's driver-licensing agency.