Intoxication Assault in Texas | Houston Attorney

Intoxication assault is a third-degree felony in Texas — a DWI that causes serious bodily injury. Two elements make or break these cases: intoxication and causation. The State must prove not only that you were intoxicated, but that your driving actually caused the serious injury — and in real crashes, with multiple vehicles and contributing factors, causation is often genuinely in dispute. This is precisely the kind of case our attorneys handled as prosecutors on the Vehicular Crimes Team.

If you or a loved one is facing an intoxication assault charge in Houston, Harris County, or Galveston, Brian Foley and Luis Baez can help.

What the Law Covers

Under Texas Penal Code § 49.07, a person commits intoxication assault by, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, causing serious bodily injury to another by accident or mistake. "Serious bodily injury" means injury creating a substantial risk of death or causing serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of a body part. The State must prove intoxication, causation, and serious injury.

Penalty Range

Circumstance	Offense Level	Punishment
Intoxication assault	Third-Degree Felony	2 – 10 years prison; up to $10,000 fine
Victim is on-duty officer/firefighter/EMS; or vegetative state	Second-Degree Felony	2 – 20 years prison; up to $10,000 fine

A vehicle can be found to be a deadly weapon, which affects parole eligibility. We fight that finding where the facts allow.

How These Cases Are Defended

Challenging intoxication. The stop, the field sobriety testing, and the blood or breath evidence are all subject to attack — calibration, procedure, timing, and chain of custody.
Causation. The State must prove your driving caused the injury. In multi-vehicle crashes and cases with other contributing factors, accident reconstruction frequently undermines that link.
Serious bodily injury. Many injuries do not meet the strict statutory definition; defeating this element can reduce the case to misdemeanor DWI.
Insider knowledge. Because our attorneys built these cases as prosecutors, we know the investigative playbook and its blind spots.
The 15-day license deadline. We protect your license and preserve evidence early.

Collateral Consequences

An intoxication-assault conviction is a felony with prison exposure, a possible deadly-weapon finding, loss of firearm and voting rights, license consequences, and significant civil liability from the injured party. The severity makes an experienced, reconstruction-savvy defense essential.

Related Charges

Why HCDA

Brian Foley is Board Certified in Criminal Law, and both he and Luis Baez are former prosecutors who served on the Vehicular Crimes Team and worked intoxication-assault cases from the scene forward. If you or a loved one is facing this charge in Houston, Harris County, or Galveston, contact Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC for a free, confidential consultation. Call or text (713) 703-1718.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is intoxication assault in Texas?

Under Texas Penal Code § 49.07, a person commits intoxication assault by, while operating a motor vehicle (or boat, aircraft, or amusement ride) in a public place while intoxicated, causing serious bodily injury to another person by accident or mistake. It is essentially a DWI that results in a serious injury, and it is a felony.

What is the punishment for intoxication assault?

Intoxication assault is a third-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. The range increases in certain situations — for example, to a second-degree felony if the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, or EMS on duty, or if the injury causes a persistent vegetative state. A deadly-weapon finding (the vehicle) can also affect parole.

Does the State have to prove I caused the injury?

Yes. Causation is a required element — the State must prove that your intoxicated operation actually caused the serious bodily injury. In a crash with multiple vehicles or contributing factors, causation is frequently disputed, and accident reconstruction becomes central to the defense.

How is intoxication assault defended?

We challenge intoxication (the stop, field sobriety testing, and breath or blood evidence), causation (whether your driving actually caused the injury), and whether the injury meets the 'serious bodily injury' standard. Because our attorneys served on the Vehicular Crimes Team, we know how these investigations are built and where they go wrong.

Why does the attorneys' Vehicular Crimes experience matter here?

Intoxication assault is exactly the kind of case the Vehicular Crimes Team handles. Brian Foley and Luis Baez were dispatched to these scenes as prosecutors and learned crash investigation, accident reconstruction, and blood-testing from the inside. That firsthand knowledge is a significant advantage when defending one of these cases.