DUI Causing Injury in California: When Does a DUI Become a Felony?
A standard first-time DUI in California is typically prosecuted as a misdemeanor. But when an impaired driver is involved in an accident that causes injury to another person, the potential consequences can become substantially more serious. A DUI causing injury can be charged as a felony in California, exposing the accused to possible jail or prison time, increased fines, license consequences, and other penalties.
For drivers facing a DUI causing injury charge in Chico, Butte County, or elsewhere in Northern California, it is important to understand that an accident and an injury do not automatically establish felony DUI liability. The prosecution still has to prove each element of the offense.
What Is DUI Causing Injury in California?
California law generally addresses DUI causing injury under Vehicle Code sections 23153(a) and 23153(b). These statutes apply when a person drives under the influence or with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration and, while driving, commits an additional unlawful act or neglects a legal duty that causes bodily injury to another person.
This means the prosecution ordinarily must establish more than simply:
DUI + accident + injury.
The prosecution must establish the required connection between the defendant's unlawful conduct or neglect of duty and the other person's injury.
That distinction can become an important issue in defending a DUI injury case.
Is DUI Causing Injury a Felony or a Misdemeanor?
California DUI causing injury is generally a "wobbler," meaning it may be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances and the defendant's record.
Factors that may affect the charging decision include the seriousness of the injuries, the circumstances of the collision, the defendant's prior DUI history, the alleged blood alcohol concentration, and other aggravating or mitigating facts.
Because felony consequences are significantly more severe, one objective of the defense may be to seek dismissal of the felony charge or reduction to a misdemeanor when the facts support it.
The Prosecution Must Prove Causation
Causation can be one of the most important issues in a DUI causing injury prosecution.
Suppose a driver has a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit but another vehicle runs a red light and causes the collision. The fact that the first driver may have been legally impaired does not necessarily mean that impairment or unlawful driving caused the other person's injuries.
The defense should therefore examine how the accident actually happened, rather than assuming that the driver accused of DUI caused it.
Relevant evidence can include:
Body-worn camera and dash-camera footage
Surveillance or traffic-camera footage
Witness statements
Vehicle damage
Accident-scene photographs
Skid marks and roadway evidence
Cellphone or GPS data
Accident reconstruction evidence
Statements made by the other driver
In some cases, establishing that another person's actions caused the collision can substantially change the prosecution.
What if Both Drivers Were Partially at Fault?
Accidents are not always caused entirely by one person. Multiple drivers may have made mistakes leading up to a collision.
For example, a person accused of DUI may have been speeding while another driver made an unsafe turn. Determining whether the prosecution can establish the necessary causal connection requires careful examination of the particular facts.
This is one reason a felony DUI defense attorney may investigate the collision separately from the government's evidence concerning alcohol or drug impairment.
Serious Injuries Can Increase the Consequences
The severity of an alleged victim's injuries can significantly affect a DUI prosecution.
A case involving relatively minor injuries may be treated differently from one involving broken bones, significant hospitalization, permanent impairment, or other serious injuries. Depending on the circumstances, prosecutors may also seek additional sentencing allegations based on the injuries suffered.
When multiple people are injured, the potential sentencing consequences can become even more significant.
Can a DUI Causing Injury Charge Be Reduced?
Depending on the facts, a defense attorney may seek to have a felony DUI causing injury charge reduced to a misdemeanor or negotiate for another lesser offense.
Factors supporting a reduction can include limited injuries, weaknesses in proving causation, a low or disputed BAC, lack of prior DUI convictions, favorable accident evidence, and other mitigating circumstances.
Every case is different, however, and the available resolution depends heavily on the evidence.
Defenses to Felony DUI Causing Injury
A DUI injury case may involve defenses to both the DUI allegation and the accident-causation allegation.
Potential defense issues may include challenging whether the traffic stop or detention was lawful, questioning the accuracy of breath or blood testing, presenting a rising-blood-alcohol defense, challenging the prosecution's evidence of impairment, disputing who caused the accident, questioning whether an alleged injury resulted from the collision, and identifying intervening or contributing causes.
The defense may also challenge the government's reconstruction of the accident or its assumptions about what happened immediately before the collision.
Why Early Investigation Matters
DUI accident cases can involve evidence that disappears quickly. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, vehicles may be repaired or destroyed, roadway conditions may change, and witnesses' memories can fade.
Early investigation can therefore be particularly important in a DUI causing injury case. Obtaining photographs, video, witness information, medical evidence, and accident reconstruction materials may reveal facts that were not apparent during the initial police investigation.
Charged With DUI Causing Injury in Northern California?
A felony DUI causing injury charge is substantially more serious than an ordinary first-time DUI. But an injury occurring after a driver has consumed alcohol does not by itself establish that the driver committed felony DUI causing injury.
The prosecution must prove the required elements, including the connection between the defendant's conduct and the injury.
If you have been charged with DUI causing injury in Chico, Butte County, Glenn County, Tehama County, Yuba County, Sutter County, Colusa County, or elsewhere in Northern California, speaking with an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you understand the evidence, possible defenses, and options for resolving the case.
SEO Keywords
California felony DUI attorney, DUI causing injury California, felony DUI California, DUI injury lawyer, Chico DUI attorney, Chico felony DUI lawyer, Butte County DUI attorney, Butte County felony DUI lawyer, Glenn County DUI attorney, Tehama County DUI lawyer, Yuba County DUI defense attorney, Sutter County DUI lawyer, Northern California DUI attorney, Northern California criminal defense attorney, Vehicle Code 23153, VC 23153 DUI causing injury, DUI accident attorney California, DUI with injury defense, felony DUI defense lawyer, California DUI defense attorney, DUI attorney near me
