Criminal Charges vs. Civil Suit for a Drunk Driving Accident

For the year 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available, over 3,434 people lost their lives in the State of California due to alcohol related crashes. Thousands more were injured in alcohol related crashes. If you have been the victim of an alcohol related collision, you may be angry, hurt and confused. If the driver of the other car was arrested for driving under the influence, you may have mixed emotions about the arrest. Many people are under the impression that if someone was arrested on criminal charges, then they are prevented from filing a civil suit or that they must wait until the criminal case has been resolved to do anything in civil court. Neither of those beliefs is accurate.

Car accidents cases are civil cases that are governed by the laws of negligence. Unlike criminal cases, a civil car accident case can be filed at any time within the statute of limitations by the person that was injured.

In a civil case, the level of proof required to win is lower than that of a criminal case. In a criminal case, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant committed the crime – in this case driving under the influence. In a civil case, you must simply prove beyond a preponderance of the evidence that the person was driving negligently. In a criminal case, there are a number of reasons that the driver may not end up getting convicted. Sometimes that state doesn’t have enough evidence to convict the Defendant because of fault equipment or a law enforcement officer that is unavailable for the trial.

Sometimes the State offers the Defendant a plea bargain to a lesser charge. Regardless of the reason, there is always a chance that the driver of the car that hit you may not actually be convicted of driving under the influence even if they were initially arrested. This does not hurt your chances in a civil lawsuit. While a conviction may actually help your civil lawsuit, the Defendant NOT getting convicted does not hurt your case.

Whether the Defendant is convicted or not, you may file a civil car accident case at any point in time. Sometimes it is better to wait and see what happens in the criminal case, but don’t wait so long that the statute of limitations runs out! Timing is something you should discuss with your attorney. The important thing to remember is that while the driver’s arrest and pending criminal charges may be one aspect of your car accident, you are still entitled to recover monetary damages for the injuries that the driver caused you by driving under the influence in a separate civil action.

Remember that even if the Defendant is convicted in the criminal case, he will receive a criminal penalty – not a monetary penalty. If you were injured and have outstanding medical bills or other monetary damages, then you should consult with an attorney about your legal options.

For a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your potential car accident case, contact me through this website or at my toll-free number 1-800-300-0001.