Most of the time, if an officer believes there is probable cause for a DUI arrest but a person injured, they will not place that person in handcuffs. Instead, they will instead take them to a hospital. In some cases, however, an officer may place a person in handcuffs because they believe they are not seriously injured, but upon arrival at the county jail, the jail staff may learn that the person was in an accident and may refuse to accept them. At that time, the officer would agree to escort the person to the hospital where they would be released to the hospital staff, and then issue the person citations for driving under the influence and any other related charges.
If someone is in need of medical attention, it is often the case that they will not be arrested for a DUI. An officer may call an ambulance, or the officer may transport that person to the hospital on their own. Because of their training and experience, it is left to the officer’s professional judgment in making the decision as to when a person requires medical attention.
In the case that you are facing DUI charges in Atlanta, but needed medical attention after you were stopped, an Atlanta DUI lawyer can help immensely. When someone needs medical attention after a DUI, it becomes a unique situation in which a standard DUI arrest does not occur. An experienced attorney can then use this unique situation to your benefit.
Atlanta police officers are trained to make decisions on whether or not someone they have come into contact with requires medical attention. They may ask questions to evaluate if the individual has been injured, and they may make visual observations. They have basic training in healthcare and paramedic treatment that gives them the ability to make decisions on whether or not medical treatment is necessary.
A person who has been charged with a DUI and received medical attention should contact a locally experienced DUI lawyer. In this situation, an individual’s case is far more likely to be bungled by the police if they received medical attention following a traffic accident or a traffic stop. Things get complicated when hospitals get involved, and it creates problems for the prosecution and police.
The state carries the burden to prove an individual’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. These kinds of cases are outside the normal circumstances contributing to probable cause for a standard DUI arrest, such as simply failing to maintain lanes or failure to signal. It is when an accident happens, or someone who is sick needs medical attention, that officers drop the ball and prosecutors forget to subpoena records. If prosecutors slip up and forget to take any necessary steps, cracks open up in the state’s case, and a defense attorney can exploit those cracks for reasonable doubt and not guilty verdicts.
It is important for a lawyer to know the whole story from start to finish from the day of your arrest.
When it comes to failure to provide medical treatment, a lawyer may use this information later at trial against the arresting and investigating officers at the scene. By doing so, they can show that the officers were careless and reckless with a person’s safety. An attorney might try to show that the officer was most concerned with the DUI arrest rather than ensuring the well-being on an individual.
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