Birmingham Drunk Driving Accident
Are Penalties Different if an Accident is Involved?
The Birmingham DUI law firm of Lakeman & Peagler, L.L.C. details the additional penalties that might apply if you’ve been charged with drunk driving in an auto accident.
An Alabama DUI conviction carries severe penalties that include fines, jail time, and driver’s license suspension. The degree of severity depends upon the number of DUI offenses that the driver has committed and if there are other issues that complicate the case. Intoxicated drivers in Alabama who are over 21 and have a child under the age of 14 traveling in the vehicle at the time of a DUI offense, can be charged with double the minimum penalties. DUI penalties are also more severe if there has been an accident associated with Birmingham DUI charges.
When there is an accident associated with a DUI arrest in Birmingham, the driver may be subject to additional civil litigation and criminal prosecution depending upon the severity of the accident and the injuries that resulted. On the civil side, injured victims or the families of an injured or deceased loved one may pursue a personal injury law suit against an intoxicated driver to recover losses associated with the accident.
After a drunk driving accident in Birmingham, a driver could be criminally charged with DUI assault, manslaughter, or murder and face additional criminal penalties over and above those for the DUI charge. If you were intoxicated while in automobile accident in Alabama and another person was injured, you may be charged with first degree assault. If a fatality occurs as a result of your drunk driving accident, then you could be charged with either criminally negligent manslaughter, or homicide depending upon the degree of negligence.
It is important to understand the distinction between the civil and criminal penalties associated with DUI cases. The Alabama Department of Public Safety is responsible for the civil punishments which involve the suspension of your driving privileges. The criminal aspects of your DUI are handled in accordance with the Alabama Criminal Code with penalties that are specific for each offense and decided by the court depending on the circumstances of your case. In other words, the penalties are preset with certain mandatory minimums, but the court has some leeway in deciding the severity of the punishment, within the preset penalty guidelines.
