Driving under the influence or DUI is a crime. As such, all DUI cases involve plenty of legal matters, even more so when it’s a DUI accident.
In a DUI with no accident, only the drunk driver has to attend to legal matters and prepare a DUI defense after his or her arrest. A DUI accident, on the other hand, will involve several people who will likely take legal action against the drunk driver who caused it. It could be the passenger of the drunk driver, the driver of another car, a pedestrian, or the family of people who sustained serious injuries or lost their lives in the mishap.
Here are some of the legal matters DUI accidents will bring forth once they happen.
Civil liability
The intoxicated at-fault driver who caused an accident will be exposed to civil liability suits from the people who were injured as well as relatives of people who died because of it. When the court hands down a decision in a civil case and it’s against the drunk driver, he or she will likely be compelled to compensate the victims who have filed property damage and personal injury claims.
Before the victims can file a civil case, however, authorities have to determine first that the at-fault driver has a blood alcohol content (BAC) over the legal limit at the time of the mishap. They can perform preliminary breath tests and field sobriety tests. Once they bring the drunk driver in, they will perform blood tests for a more accurate reading of that driver’s BAC.
Criminal liability
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, DUI is a crime, and a conviction brings with it a number of penalties, including possible jail time, heavy fines, suspension of driver’s license, and installation of ignition interlock devices, among other things.
The legal consequences of a DUI accident, however, could be much more severe, especially when there’s property damage involved and people suffered injuries. And if someone dies because of that DUI accident, the at-fault driver will be charged with vehicular manslaughter, which is a felony with heavier penalties such as longer jail time and driver’s license suspension, and much higher fines as well.
DUI accidents and dram shop laws
Another legal matter that a DUI accident can bring about is the enforcement of dram shop laws in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia. These laws may vary in scope from state-to-state, but they all aim to heap liability on business establishments that served drinks to a person who later caused a DUI accident crash that caused injury, property damage, or death.
Under dram shop laws, the host of a party or any social gathering may also face charges if they are found out to have let a drunk guest get into his or her car, drive away, then cause a DUI accident.
If the at-fault driver is a minor, the adults who provided that person alcohol can also be sued. In some versions of dram shop laws, if a minor that caused a drunk-driving accident is found out to have been drinking while at someone’s home right before the crash, the owners of that home will be charged too, regardless of whether or not they know the minor had been drinking under their roof.
When you’re involved in a DUI accident case, don’t hesitate to get the services of an experienced DUI attorney to help you deal with all the legal matters you have to face.