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Alchohol or Result of Concussion???

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valhalla3

Guest
New York State:

I fell asleep while attempting to stop to rest and went off the road into a tree. I was the only one involved. I was extremely fatigued and was driving a little further distance than usual at about 2:15 in the morning. I had 1 beer at about 8:30 that night and 2 more between 10:30pm and 1:00am. I am a 47 year old man and weigh 180 lbs.

To be brief I will try to just list the pertinent points:

* I hit my head badly and was bleeding from the head, nose and lips. I found later that I had a concussion and internal hemmorhaging.

* I was in shock and confused and I did not know where I was or how I got there.

* I almost passed out while attempting to tell the paramedics that I thought I was alright. They never asked me the standard head injury questions of Do you know who your are, where you are, the year and who the president is.

* Right after this the sheriff was making me do a field sobriety test inspite of me telling him that I about passed out and was feeling woosy.

* I stopped at the exact same place saying the alphabet twice..it was just gone not confused or jumbled.

* The sherrif asked me to submit to further testing. I was getting very confused and paranoid because I myself did not know what was wrong with me and I could see he thought I was drunk.

* I was standing there confused and telling him that I was aware of horror stories about these tests not being accurate and that I was concerned about where this was going and said I didn't think I should take it. I told him that I had 3 beers through out the night and he said that 3 beers would not be a problem.

* He did not tell me that there was a mandatory license suspension for not taking the test. His words were "You COULD lose your license..." He did not say I would lose it. This was part of why it seemed like the thing to do.

* He asked me 3 different times at the scene and during the next 2 or 3 hours how I got to the accident scene. I told him the same thing each time which was indicating I thought I was somewhere else.

* He gave me the field sobriety test at the station for the second time. I did the alphabet fine 2 times and I thought I did ok on the other parts especially considering my head injury.

* He then told me he was arresting me for a DWI.

* This was a very bad accident and I had a serious head injury. Looking back I don't think I was in any condition to make a rational decision about going to the hospital or not or taking drunk tests or not. I think the paramedics and the sherrif put my health and life in danger by not taking me to the hospital and subjecting me to further possible injury by making me take the field sobriety tests and keeping me from medical attention.

I ended up going to the doctor about 36 hours later and have records that diagnose a concussion and loss of memory and equilibrium. I was rushed to have a Cat Scan which showed the internal hemmorhaging and I have seen a neuro Surgeon who substantiates all of this.

How can they clearly and legally distinguish between behavior and appearances that are a result of head injuries etc. from what they are speculating (by default) to be alcohol related?

Do I have a good defense of not being coherent enough to make a rational decision of this magnitude based on medical reports showing the severity of the head injury?

Do I have a case for suing the paramedics, the Sherrif, the Sheriff's Department or all 3 for not recognizing and dealing with my head injury?

Please give me your feed back.

Thank you!

Valhalla
 
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FKNA

Guest
You have a darn good case since you were taken to the hospital 36 hours later and the records back up your claim. Stop wasting your time here, you need to be interviewing lawyers. Make sure you do just that, INTERVIEW them. There are many lawyers out there that are just after you money and just want to plea out your case.
 
V

valhalla3

Guest
Thanks FKNA!

Thanks for replying. Are you an attorney?

The lawyer I have now is with one of the biggest firms in town what ever that is worth. He is going with me to the motor vehicle hearing for the chemical test refusal on Monday. My court date isn't until 12/21. People are telling me that they should, at minimum drop it to a DWAI. I feel that it should be reduced to something that has nothing to do with alcohol since that was the case. It is my understanding that I can reject what the DA tells my lawyer and have a trial by jury. Beyond that it is my understaning that I can also have a civil suit against the parties involved, meaning the Paramedics and/or the Sheriff's department.

The only thing the Sheriff has is a video taped sobriety test that even in his words I did ok on, and the fact that I didn't want to take the chemical test. Everything in his report that he had that I had said that night sounded incoherent to me. That was actually the case too. I didn't know where I was or how I got there and was very confused about what was wrong with me and what was going on.
 
F

FKNA

Guest
No, I'm NOT an attorney. Just someone that has been down the DWI road a few times. First couple of times I was guilty and didn't fight it. Third time I didn't have ANYTHING to drink, fought it and had it dismissed. The third time gave me a good understanding of the dwi laws and how the system works, how different lawyers work, etc.

Your understanding is correct. You do NOT have to accept any plea bargain the DA offers. And if the DA doesn't have a case, the more apt they are to offer a plea bargain right off.

Yes, you very well may have a civil suit case. But that too will cost you money just to get the ball rolling with no guarantee of winning. That's how they get away with so much. Not many people will shell out the $$$ to go the full nine yards. Hell, the average Joe can't afford to shell out that kind of bucks. For now, if I were you....concentrate on the current case. And if you really want to pursue a civil suit afterwards, you must NOT accept ANY plea bargain. Because if you do, that will pretty much kill your civil suit case
 

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