Q: If you’re in a single vehicle car accident & you hurt yourself bad do the cops automatically test for alcohol?
My brother crashed his car into the woods & was taken to the hospital. He totaled the car too & he has been in the hospital for 5 days now. Do the police automatically test your blood for alcohol in these scenarios? He was the only person in the car & the only person injured.
A: When you are transported to a hospital under such circumstances, the medical staff will do a blood draw in order to provide the necessary care/treatment. There are situations when police officers may request a blood draw during a DUI investigation. However, if the medical staff is doing one anyway without the police asking for one; the results can be used in a subsequent DUI investigation/prosecution. Your brother should consult a DUI attorney if he is being prosecuted for DUI. Good luck!
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A: Based on the circumstances you described, it is likely that law enforcement will have blood to test and are likely to do so...You brother should retain a competent criminal trial lawyer a.s.a.p.
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A: Whether the police have sought the blood alcohol level of your brother may be irrelevant. If the State of Florida suspects a DUI, they may seek a subpoena to obtain your brother's hospital records in order to determine the Blood Alcohol Level (BAL) at the time of treatment. Although this is not a true depiction of the BAL at the time of driving, an expert can convert the hospital blood into a "legal" BAL and potentially extrapolate the result to the time of driving.
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