Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury Charges in Massachusetts
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Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury can be either a Felony or a Misdemeanor under Massachusetts criminal law. For Feloniously Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury, a person may be convicted on the theory of operating under the influence coupled with either:
- Reckless Operation or
- Negligent Operation which results in Serious Injury
For Misdemeanor Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury, a person may be convicted only by Operating Under the Influence which results in Serious Injury. Under Massachusetts criminal law, the crime of Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury may be found at Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90, Section 24L (1) and 24L (2).
What is Serious Bodily Injury
A person’s actions were the cause of serious bodily injury to someone if they directly and substantially set in motion a chain of events that produced the serious injury in natural and continuous sequence. A bodily injury is “serious” if it had any one of the following four characteristics:
- it created a substantial risk of death;
- it involved total disability;
- it involved the loss of any bodily function for a substantial period of time; or
- it involved substantial impairment of any bodily function for a substantial period of time
Feloniously Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury
In order to be convicted of Feloniously Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury, there must exist strong evidence of the following legal elements:
- that the defendant operated a motor vehicle;
- that the defendant operated the motor vehicle on a way or in a place where the public has a right of access or in a place where members of the public have access as invitees or licensees;
- that while the defendant was operating the vehicle he or she had a percentage, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood of .08% or greater, or was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or was under the influence of marihuana, or narcotic drugs, depressants, stimulants, or vapors of glue;
- the defendant operated the vehicle in a manner which is considered reckless or operated the vehicle in a negligent manner so that the lives and safety of the public might have been endangered; and
- that the defendant’s actions caused serious bodily injury to someone
A person drives recklessly when he ignores the fact that his manner of driving is very likely to result in death or serious injury to someone, or he is indifferent to whether someone is killed or seriously injured.
The defendant was reckless if he or she knew, or should have known, that such actions would pose a grave danger of death or serious injury to others, but he or she chose, nevertheless, to run the risk and go ahead.
A person acts negligently when he fails to use due care, that is, when he acts in a way that a reasonable person would not act. This can happen either by doing something that a reasonably prudent person would not do under those circumstances, or by failing to do something that a reasonably prudent person would do.
The defendant acted negligently if he or she drove in a way that a reasonable person would not have, and by doing so created an unnecessary danger to other people, a danger that he or she could have avoided by driving more carefully.
Misdemeanor of Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury
In order to be convicted of Misdemeanor Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury, there must exist strong evidence of the following legal elements:
- that the defendant operated a motor vehicle;
- that the defendant operated the motor vehicle on a way or in a place where the public has a right of access or in a place where members of the public have access as invitees or licensees;
- the defendant was operating the vehicle he or she had a percentage, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood of .08% or greater, or was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or was under the influence of marihuana, or narcotic drugs, depressants, stimulants, or vapors of glue; and
- that the defendant’s actions caused serious bodily injury to someone
Potential Punishment if Convicted of Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury in Massachusetts
The potential consequences for Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury, if convicted, in the Commonwealth may be found at Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90, Section 24L(1) and 24L(2).
A defendant convicted of Feloniously Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury shall be punished by state prison for not less than 2 ½ nor more than 10 years or by imprisonment in a jail or house of corrections for not less than 6 months nor more than 2 ½ years.
A defendant convicted of Misdemeanor of Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury, shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years.
If you have been charged with Operating Under the Influence Causing Serious Injury call (508) 213-9113 to schedule a free consultation with experienced Massachusetts OUI Lawyers of the Law Office of John L. Calcagni III, and learn the best way to proceed with your case.