If you have recently been convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol, you most likely will have to go through court proceedings to find out what punishment you will receive on a criminal level. Unfortunately, if someone was injured due to your DUI, you may also need to have a court date to retaliate against a civil suit case. Here are some tips to use when battling someone for medical expense reimbursement.

Hire A DUI Litigation Attorney

If you are being sued for medical expenses due to negligence, you will need to prove to a court that the injuries the person had sustained were not a result of your charge. This is going to be very tough to do, as you were under the influence at the time, making you less than a believable source. A DUI litigation attorney from a firm like Halverson & Sheehy, PLLC will be able to weed through the events that had happened, finding facts that could greatly help your case. Trying to battle a civil suit case without representation could cause you to lose money you would not have had to pay if you had a lawyer present evidence showing you were not at fault.

Pause The Civil Case

If your criminal trial and civil trial are both happening around the same time, let your attorney know so that the civil case can be paused until after the criminal trial has taken place. This can help your case as the results of the criminal trial may be taken into account when litigating against the civil case accusations. The criminal case will most likely take precedence over the civil case, allowing you to use the results when planning your defense. Most judges will adhere to this request so you will have a fair trail when your civil case comes around.

Keep Records Of Everything

If there is evidence showing that proper steps were not taken after your arrest to prove you were under the influence, you may be able to use this information to counteract a civil suit case. If the machinery used to determine your blood alcohol content was not calibrated correctly or if the field sobriety tests conducted were not done ethically, and this is able to be proven during your criminal trial, the information can also be used during a civil dispute to show you the person who was injured may have sustained the injuries on their own accord.

If there were any witnesses that had seen the arrest, or who were in the area at the time the civil suit plaintiff is accusing you of causing them injury, get written accounts from them to be used in your defense, if possible. If people were with you the date of the DUI, who can vouch that you had not been under the influence at the time of the plaintiff's injuries, this can be used to help your case, as well.