DUI Resulting in Bodily Injury or Death

Yes. DUI bodily injury and DUI manslaughter charges are serious felonies with mandatory minimum prison sentences (5 years for DUI manslaughter), large fines, license revocation, and a permanent felony record. The complexity of the evidence (medical records, accident reconstruction, toxicology), the procedural rigor of Superior Court practice, and the lifelong Read More

DUI bodily injury and DUI manslaughter cases in Rhode Island typically take 12 to 24 months from arraignment to resolution, often longer for cases involving multiple victims or complex accident reconstruction. The discovery process alone can take months because of medical records, expert reports, and toxicology evidence that must be Read More

Yes. DUI manslaughter charges in Rhode Island can be defended even when the death occurred. Defense angles include challenging the DUI element itself (chain of custody on blood draws, calibration of testing equipment, lawfulness of the stop), contesting the causal connection between impaired driving and the death (was the death Read More

DUI with serious bodily injury applies when the victim survives but suffers substantial harm (substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, protracted loss of function). DUI manslaughter applies when the victim dies as a result of the impaired driving. The penalties differ significantly: DUI with serious bodily injury carries up to Read More

DUI causing serious bodily injury is always a felony in Rhode Island. DUI causing minor injury may be charged as a misdemeanor (DUI with injury) or escalated to felony depending on the severity. The line between "minor injury" and "serious bodily injury" is fact-specific and determined by the prosecution based Read More

Prosecution evidence in Rhode Island DUI injury and death cases typically includes the arresting officer's testimony, field sobriety test results, BAC test results from breath or blood, medical records documenting victim injuries, accident reconstruction reports, witness statements from other drivers or pedestrians, body camera and dashboard camera footage, 911 audio, Read More

DUI manslaughter in Rhode Island is the felony charge filed when impaired driving results in the death of another person. The charge carries up to 15 years in state prison with a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence for a first offense, plus fines from $5,000 to $20,000, mandatory license revocation, and Read More

DUI resulting in serious bodily injury is a felony in Rhode Island carrying up to 10 years in state prison, fines from $1,000 to $5,000, license revocation, and a permanent felony record. Serious bodily injury includes substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss of function of any organ Read More