The personal injury lawyers at Schiller & Hamilton Law Firm in South Carolina educate you on if there will be a criminal case if drunk driving was the cause of a car accident. Watch the video below to get your questions answered.
If Drunk Driving Was the Cause of an Auto Accident Will There be a Criminal Case?
The lawyers of Schiller & Hamilton explain that not all cases involving reckless behavior result in criminal cases. If it does you do not have to wait for the criminal matters to be resolved. Evidence of recklessness is something that can be determined prior to the actual trial. If the other party pleads guilty to an offense that is criminal and that offense contributed to the wreck itself then that is fully admissible.
If they pled not guilty and the trial is pending sometimes it may be better if you are unable to get a fair and reasonable offer from an insurance company to either file suit or allow the criminal case to take its course. However as far as the criminal matter, if the other driver was arrested for not having a driver’s license or having a license under suspension, that by itself did not necessarily contribute to the facts of the accident then it may have little or no impact on case value.
Similarly, if they are caught with marijuana inside the vehicle but were not under the influence of the marijuana at the time then the marijuana itself did not contribute to the accident so it has very little or no bearing on the value of the case. It certainly could be admissible in a courtroom which could have a jury angry at the faulty party and result in a better verdict. However, you do not have to wait but there are some circumstances where it might be better to wait until the criminal case has been resolved.
For a free phone consultation contact Schiller & Hamilton today for more information.