Cooperating With The Prosecutors in a Drunk Driver Case

Answer:

One of the somewhat unique things about a claim against a drunk driver who causes an injury is there’s almost always a significant criminal prosecution that is going on at the same time. Clients have often asked, “Should I participate in that prosecution? Should I help the prosecutor? Is that going to do something bad to my case?” The answer is the prosecutors in this setting tends to be our friend and we want to cooperate with them.

We have to recognize that anytime there’s going to be on-the-record testimony involved in the prosecution of the drunk – the prosecution being the criminal action the state brings against the drunk as opposed to the claim that you have for your damages – it can be used in the civil case. As such, you want to be prepared before you talk on the record in the criminal case and before you give testimony at trial or at a preliminary hearing or anything like that. You want to have lawyers involved helping you and making sure that you’re ready because the prosecutors aren’t going to be as focused on the issues related to your personal injury case as your personal attorney is. While you should cooperate with those prosecutors, you should do so in conjunction with and consultation with your own attorneys in your civil case. It’s important to have attorneys involved. What you should do is give us a call. We’ll talk about your situation and see what we can do to assist you and help you assist the prosecutors in getting a measure of justice for society, then later we’ll get a measure of justice for you.