A DUI can be devastating for you and anyone else who is impacted by it. As someone who is normally very responsible, the idea that you have been accused of drinking and driving and causing a crash is hurtful.
The officer at the scene took your breath test and claimed that it was .06%. You had been in a crash, but he made you do the field sobriety tests anyway. You failed them, struggling to balance yourself.
It later turned out that you had a head injury caused by the crash. Additionally, you were under the legal limit and hadn’t been driving recklessly when the other driver pulled out in front of you. You don’t want to end up with a DUI when you were a victim in this situation.
The first thing that you should know is that your head injury could absolutely affect your field sobriety tests. If you have a concussion or other head injury, your balance, speech and senses could be impaired. You may have trouble seeing or comprehending what you’re being asked to do.
Another thing to know is that you were under the limit, but with other evidence, the officer could claim that you were impaired. It could be hard to prove impairment if you had a brain injury or other injuries from the crash, though, which is something your attorney will need to look into.
This is an interesting situation, because as a victim of a crash, you shouldn’t have to worry about charges. Unfortunately, if the officer or officers at the scene believed that your actions played a role in the crash, they could suggest to the prosecution to seek charges.
Your attorney’s job is to look at the evidence that the police say they collected and to go through it. If something like a walk-and-turn test was failed, your attorney may be able to show that you failed it due to brain trauma. Similarly, if you were not given the Breathalyzer test correctly or as many times as required, your attorney could work to have those results thrown out or questioned by the court as well.
Throughout this, it’s important for you to focus on getting well and protecting your rights. As a victim, you may want to pursue compensation, just as you will want to fight charges of a DUI that should not apply to your case under these circumstances.
