You can face harsh penalties if the police charge you under CA Vehicle Code 23153 – Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs Causing Injury. Drivers convicted of a VC 23153 violation can face fines, years of jail time, and the loss of their license.
Fortunately, you have legal options if you’ve been charged with DUI causing injury. A lawyer can help you build a defense, striving to get your charges reduced or dismissed. You can also rely on a Los Angeles DUI lawyer to represent you in court.
When Does the Court Use DUI Causing Injury Charges?
In California, if your DUI caused an injury to anyone other than yourself, police officers could arrest you under CA Vehicle Code 23153 – Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs Causing Injury. You can face this criminal charge if the police believe you drove while impaired.
Therefore, the court can charge and convict you under VC 23153 even if your blood alcohol content (BAC) was under the legal limit of 0.08%.
This criminal offense qualifies as a wobbler in California. Therefore, you may face either misdemeanor or felony charges. Felony DUI charges carry much higher penalties, so it’s essential that you contact a criminal defense attorney for help quickly after an arrest.
When is DUI Causing Injury a Felony?
There are several circumstances where the court treats VC 23153 charges as a felony if you have been charged with DUI causing injury. You may face felony charges if:
- You have three previous DUI charges on your criminal record that involve an injury to others
- You have four previous DUI charges on your record, regardless of whether they included an injury
- The accident resulted in a severe bodily injury
This last point means that you could be charged with a felony, even if it’s your first DUI. The prosecution makes this decision based entirely on how serious the injuries are.
“Serious” bodily injuries from a legal perspective include broken bones, internal damage, and disabilities, as well as severe conditions like brain injury or loss of a limb.
What Are the Penalties for DUI Causing Injury?
The penalties for a VC 23153 violation depend on whether it’s charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. Penalties for misdemeanor DUI Causing Injury include:
- Up to one year in county jail
- Fines of up to $2000
- A license suspension for up to three years
- Up to 30 months in DUI school
- Up to five years probation
- Victim restitution payments
Penalties for felony DUI Causing Injury are much more severe and include:
- Up to three years in state prison
- An extra year of jail time per victim for each victim who suffered any injury
- Up to six extra years of jail time per victim for each victim who suffered a severe injury (“great bodily injury”)
- Fines of up to $5,000 plus thousands in other costs
- Loss of your driving privileges for five years
- Up to 30 months in DUI school
- Entry into an alcohol or drug addiction treatment program
- Restitution payments to any injured parties
A conviction may result in years of consideration as a habitual traffic offender Additionally, a felony conviction will mean you carry the status of a felon, which can affect your rights, ability to apply for jobs, housing, and other aspects of your life.
You can discuss these repercussions in more detail when you contact a lawyer if you’ve been charged with DUI causing injury.
What Is Restitution?
Restitution for DUIs can include money paid to the victim(s) to compensate for their injuries. Legally, these funds help an injured party “make whole” their losses so they walk away without losing a cent from the accident.
However, lawyers can negotiate restitution. Many victims will inflate the actual expenses or include expenses that are not directly related to the injury. Your defense lawyer can review the costs they claim they have and dispute the excessive ones.
Having a good lawyer at this stage can make the difference between going bankrupt and having your insurance pay for everything. Even if the court convicts you under VC 23153, you could walk away without debt.
Can Lawyers Get Felony Charges Reduced to a Misdemeanor?
Your criminal defense attorney may push the prosecution to offer a plea bargain that reduces felony charges to misdemeanor offenses in some cases.
If the prosecutor has a choice in which charge to use, there is room to potentially strike a deal and lower it to a misdemeanor.
However, in some cases, because of your history or other factors, the prosecutor must treat your charge as a felony.
Can You Win a DUI Causing Injury Case?
DUI defense lawyers win these cases all the time. When you contact a DUI lawyer, they may:
- Investigate your case and look for weaknesses in the evidence against you
- Assess whether police performed the arrest legally and whether they violated your rights
- Review the breath test, blood test, or urine test to see if the results are reliable
- Look at the injuries caused to the other party and whether a felony charge is warranted
- Reconstruct the accident to see who was really at fault
The prosecutor faces a difficult burden of proof to convict you of VC 23153. It’s not enough to show that you were under the influence and that someone got injured.
They have to show that you broke another law (such as running a stop sign) or acted carelessly and that this led to the accident.
If they cannot prove this, or if your lawyer convinces the court to throw out any of the evidence, you could win your case. Alternatively, your lawyer could force them to offer you a deal so that you can move on with your life.
Learn More About DUI Causing Injury Charges
Have you been charged with DUI causing injury? We can connect you with an experienced Los Angeles DUI lawyer and get you a FREE consultation. You can complete our online contact form or call to review your legal options.
