Car Accidents and Unintended Consequences

January 4, 2011  |  Jon P. Erickson

Some times when a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident they end up getting a traffic ticket such as a careless driving ticket. This can happen even if a police officer didn’t witness the accident. They might give you a ticket there at the scene of the accident, or send you one in the mail. A careless driving ticket or other misdemeanor moving traffic violation is a crime with a statutory maximum of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
The potential biggest problem from a conviction for such an offense is probably the collateral consequence of its effect on your motor vehicle insurance rates. It may make sense financially to hire a lawyer to fight this charge to try and prevent such a conviction. There may also be problems should you be sued civilly by the driver(s) of the other motor vehicles involved. We at BGS recommend you talk to our lawyers about this to help you make a decision on what to do.
There are even potential felony charges from being involved in a motor vehicle accident such as Criminal Vehicular Homicide or Injury charges. One should always hire a lawyer in these types of cases.
We have the legal expertise to handle both your motor vehicle accident case, and any criminal charges resulting from it. We encourage you to call us should you have any questions.