Imagine you are severely injured in a car accident with a damaged, broken or severed spinal cord.

Despite concerns of paralysis (paraplegia or quadriplegia), police officers are more concerned whether you caused the car accident by driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).  So, instead of helping you get medical treatment you need for your auto accident injuries, the police drag you to a police station where you are given a blood test — in extreme agony  — when you might not have been at fault for the car accident.

It may sound unlikely, but that is exactly what is going on in some police precincts.

Our firm’s car accident attorneys in San Diego don’t believe all police officers are utilizing these brutal tactics on injured car drivers suspected of drunk driving.  On the contrary, most police officers are doing their job to make sure that our world is a safer place than it would be without them.  We simply want to make sure that you are aware of a growing problem.

According to California law, California Vehicle Code 23152 (a) (driving under the influence/DUI) and (b) (driving a car with a BAC of .08% or higher) states that a car driver will be charged with felony DUI if that car driver caused an auto accident while drunk-driving.  However, if the car accident is not the fault of the drunk driver, then there is no felony DUI charge only a misdemeanor DUI charge.

In the April 2009 issue of Trial Bar News, there is a report about these police brutality cases in suspected DUI car accidents.  Often times, these police officers stalk suspected DUI drivers at hospitals and emergency rooms (ERs) to pursue a DUI charge after an auto accident, and doctors have had them thrown out so that they could treat car accident injuries.

Although it is important for the police to do their job to stop drunk driving, there is a line that a police officer should never cross.  A police officer should never get in the way of anyone’s medical treatment, especially after a car crash — DUI or not!

While we, a law firm of San Diego car accident attorneys, deplore drunk drivers, we also champion the safety and well being of all car drivers on the road.  If someone has been injured in an automobile accident, then they should be transferred to a hospital and NOT a police station.  To do so would be a form of police brutality.

Granted, drunk-driving is a major cause of car accidents each year, and the car drivers that DUI deserve to be punished for the threat of wrongful death they impose on the roads.  But these people have rights too, and they should never be stopped before they can get the medical treatment they need for their car accident injuries.

Please feel free to call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.  No fee if no recovery.