What to do When You are Involved in a DUI Car Accident

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What to do When You are Involved in a DUI Car
Accident ?
Contact Salt Lake City Criminal Defense Attorney
David Paul White Phone [phone]
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Involvement in a DUI car accident could land you
in serious trouble. Apart from legal penalties,
the charges and legal procedures could be quite
distressing mentally as well financially.
Conviction in such cases may lead you to heavy
fines or jail sentence and a criminal record that
stays with you. However, you can defend yourself
in such cases even if someone was injured or
died. You just need to have an understanding
about the accident conditions, legal proceedings
and penalties that you might face and you can
prevent the DUI charges from ruining your life.
It is very important to know your rights
pertaining to DUI charges so that you can decide
your course of action immediately. Also, driving
under the influence doesnt always mean that the
accident was your fault.
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• Call for medical assistance
• Following a DUI accident, the first and the
  foremost thing to check is that if there is any
  injury or not. If anyone is hurt, you should
  immediately call for emergency medical aid. Also,
  report the status of those having injuries in the
  best possible way.
• 2. Report the accident
• Informing the concerned authorities about the
  accident is important. As per some of the state
  laws, all the accidents leading to physical
  injury or substantial property damage must be
  reported. If you are unsure about the law of your
  state, better call 911 and report the accident.
• 3. Avoid refusal to tests
• When suspected for DUI, the police usually asks
  you to take breath, chemical or field sobriety
  test like walk and turn, horizontal gaze and
  standing on one leg. You can, of course, refuse
  to take the test and there wont be any legal
  punishments for refusal but you would be ticketed
  for non-compliance. This may subject you to
  criminal or administrative penalties. Thus its
  best to cooperate with the tests.

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4. Consult your attorney before making
statements In DUI cases involving car accidents,
you must avoid making written or oral statements
to the police officers before consulting your
attorney. In case the authorities suspect you as
the cause of the accident or for DUI, you can
consult your attorney before giving out any
statements. 5. Avoid making statements to
victims     It best not to make any written or
oral statements to the victims as well as
witnesses. Even a simple statement like I am
sorry could lead you to trouble because in the
court it sounds like you are admitting your
fault. However, in some states, expressions of
regret are excluded from the evidence and if a
state doesnt have any such law, the judge may do
so if he or she wishes to. 6. Avoid leaving the
scene In such cases, never leave the scene. Be
present at the accident scene, especially, if
there is another vehicle or a victim involved.
Leaving the scene might trigger a claim of felony
hit and run.
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7. Click Pictures Take pictures of the vehicle as
well as accident scene with your camera or cell
phone having camera functionality. These could
lead you to evidences that might work in your
favor.    8. Note down the details of potential
witnesses At the accident scene, you must jot
down the names, phone numbers and addresses of
all the potential witnesses. This might be
helpful if you believe that the accident wasnt
your fault. The information might not be in the
police report and in such cases you can help
yourself by contacting such witnesses. 9. Record
your own version of the accident Noting down your
own version of what exactly happen could be quite
helpful. Also note the date and time when you
write. Mention Confidential Attorney-Client
Privileged over such statements and do not show
it to anyone except your attorney. Mailing a copy
of the statement to yourself is also a good idea
to retain a postmark with the date on it.
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10. Find out the property owners In case you hit
a damaged private property or an unattended
vehicle, try to find out who is the owner of the
property or the vehicle. Charges for DUI car
accident could pose a permanent impact on your
personal as well as professional life. To get rid
of such charges as soon as possible and to
prevent it from jeopardizing your life, consult
Mr. David Paul White, a skilled and experienced
Salt Lake City DUI Attorney immediately who can
review you case and provide good legal assistance
to protect your rights and interests.
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