Serious Injury Accident After Atlanta DUI
If you are involved in a car accident that results in injury to another person, you may expect your insurance to go up, and possibly be liable for civil lawsuit damages. However, in some cases, you may be subject to criminal charges, with the possibility of up to 15 years in prison.
Under Georgia Code 40-6-394, causing serious injury by use of a motor vehicle can be a crime. Under the law, whoever, without malice, shall cause bodily harm to another by depriving him of a member of his body, by rendering a member of his body useless, by seriously disfiguring his body or a member thereof, or by causing organic brain damage which renders the body or any member thereof useless through reckless driving or DUI, shall be guilty of the crime of serious injury by vehicle.
This may sound like the injury has to be very major to fall under this provision, like losing a leg, or permanent brain damage. However, some temporary injuries may fall under serious injury by vehicle. Whether an injury by vehicle is significant enough to be “serious” may be a question of fact for a jury to determine. In the past, a broken nose, scar on the forehead, and blurry vision have been considered serious injuries under this statute. The penalties include one to 15 years behind bars.
Reckless driving and driving under the influence are the lesser included offenses to the crime of serious injury by vehicle. In order for a person to be convicted of serious injury by vehicle, they have to first be found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or driving recklessly. Along those same lines, if you can counter the DUI charges, the greater crime of serious injury by vehicle through DUI should be dropped. This is why it is so important to have an experienced Atlanta DUI lawyer on your side, to make sure you don't get convicted of drunk driving.
If you were involved in a car accident, and were under the influence of alcohol at the time, the police may not believe it was the other driver who was responsible for the accident. Even friends and family may be hesitant to take your side after hearing you were in an accident and arrested for a DUI. You should not have to go to jail when the other driver was responsible for the car accident.
If you have been charged with driving under the influence and were involved in an accident where someone was injured, you should talk to an Atlanta DUI attorney immediately. Your lawyer will be able to investigate your case, develop a defense strategy, and present all available defenses. Just because you were arrested for a DUI after an accident does not mean you have to go to jail. Before you decide how to plead to DUI charges, seek the advice of a knowledgeable and courtroom experienced of an Atlanta DUI lawyer. We have successfully represented our clients charged with DUIs and other alcohol-related charges for years, and we will defend your rights. So call us today.