If you were in an accident, you may face harsher penalties in a DUI case in Los Angeles. However, it’s possible to defend yourself against a California DUI even if someone was hurt—and even if someone died. Your DUI charge does not have to ruin your life.
To defend against your DUI, you must understand precisely how the accident changes the proceedings and what penalties you face. A Los Angeles DUI lawyer can provide detailed information about handling a DUI accident.
You can call or fill out our online contact form to learn more.
How an Accident Changes a Los Angeles DUI Case
The courts in Los Angeles take a strict view of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing accidents. In all accident DUIs, the prosecutor will seek heavier penalties. But exactly what the prosecutor can go after depends on the severity of the accident.
To simplify things, we’ll divide accidents into three categories: those without injuries, those with minor injuries, and those with serious injuries. We’ll deal with DUIs involving deaths separately. You can learn more with a criminal defense attorney.
How Does an Accident with No Injuries Affect Your DUI Case?
The police probably won’t charge you with any crime other than a DUI (and any traffic laws you broke) after an accident without any injuries. You face the same minimum and maximum penalties as if there was no accident at all.
However, the prosecutor will seek a sentence toward the high end of those penalties.
As an example, a first-time DUI carries a jail sentence lasting anywhere from two days to six months. If there’s no accident, you might face a minimum sentence of two days. But if there was an accident, the prosecutor may seek six months of jail time—even though no one was hurt.
How Does an Accident with Minor Injuries Affect Your DUI Case?
Your case changes if anyone involved in the accident, including your passengers, reports an injury. With minor injuries, the charge becomes a misdemeanor charge for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, causing injury, which carries a sentence enhancement.
In addition to the standard DUI penalties, it carries a minimum five-day jail sentence and a minimum one-year license suspension. You will also have to pay fines and restitution to the injured parties.
Note that if you have previous DUI charges, you may face even steeper penalties.
What Are Minor Injuries?
What counts as a “minor” injury is subjective. Common examples of minor injuries include things like:
- Whiplash
- Severe bruises
- Small cuts from windshield glass
You can learn more about these injuries and the criminal charges you could face after a drunk driving accident with a DUI lawyer. An attorney can also answer questions like, “What if I was in an accident? How does it affect my DUI case in Los Angeles?”
How Does an Accident with Serious Injuries Affect Your DUI Case?
Accidents resulting in serious bodily injury can result in felony DUI charges. A felony DUI is much more severe than a misdemeanor.
The penalties include a minimum of over $1,000 in fines (usually more) and one to five years in state prison, plus additional years for each person injured or if anyone suffers “great bodily injury.”
If this is your third DUI with an injury conviction, it will automatically be a felony, regardless of how minor the injuries are.
What Are Serious Injuries?
Serious accidents include things like:
- Broken bones
- Concussions
- Spinal cord injuries (SCIs)
Individuals can face severe penalties for motor vehicle accidents resulting in these catastrophic injuries, so it’s essential that you hire a criminal defense lawyer for fast help.
How Does a Deadly Accident Affect Your DUI Case?
If someone dies in the accident, you will most likely be charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. There are several versions of this charge, all of them serious. Even the most lenient version carries up to a year in jail. The felony version carries up to six years in state prison.
You’ll likely face a lengthy license suspension if convicted of causing a deadly accident while operating a motor vehicle and impaired by alcohol.
An experienced attorney can step in to help you face these charges, protecting your future if you were in an accident and want to know how it affects your DUI case in Los Angeles.
Can a Lawyer Help with an Accident DUI Case?
An attorney can help if you end up in an accident and face DUI charges. A lawyer can explore legal defenses to help you face misdemeanor and felony charges head-on.
Remember, even if you were driving under the influence, it does not mean you are the one who caused the accident. For example, if you stopped at a red light and a car rear-ended you, they were the ones at fault. They would have hit you whether you were intoxicated or not.
When you hire a DUI attorney, they will look at all factors in the accident—road conditions, weather, the way the vehicles impacted each other—and see if there’s really any evidence that it was your fault, regardless of your alleged blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
How Can a Lawyer Resolve Your Charges?
It can be challenging for prosecutors to prove you caused an accident. Frequently, lawyers can convince the prosecution to reduce a client’s charges through effective defense strategies. A case that starts out as a DUI Causing Injury could drop to reckless driving once a DUI lawyer intervenes.
The penalties above may be severe but only apply if you are found guilty. With a DUI accident case, the prosecution has to prove two things:
- That you were under the influence (or had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more) AND
- That you caused the accident and the injury
An attorney can fight to block evidence, potentially getting your charges dismissed by the court and helping you avoid prison time. You can also rely on an attorney to represent you in court when necessary.
Seek Legal Help if You Were in a DUI Accident
What if you were in an accident? How does that affect your DUI case in Los Angeles? Individuals in a collision may face harsher charges after a DUI arrest. Don’t face the prosecutor without legal help.
Let us put you in touch with a skilled Los Angeles DUI attorney and get you a FREE consultation. Simply fill out our online contact form and get your free consultation today.
