Posted in DUI
Maryland separates two drunk-driving offenses by degree, and a blood or breath test can carry different weight depending on the number. Those rules are best known from criminal cases, but the statute also reaches civil proceedings. For someone injured by an impaired driver, that detail can shape how fault is proved.
Maryland Separates Two Offenses
Under Maryland Transportation 21-902, a person may not drive or attempt to drive any vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, which includes being under the influence per se. A separate provision bars driving while impaired by alcohol. Maryland treats them as distinct offenses, with impairment as the lesser of the two.
The labels matter because people use DWI and DUI loosely. Learning what a DWI means in Maryland terms helps an injured person follow a police report, a charging document, or an insurer’s letter without confusion.
Test Levels Carry Statutory Weight
Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings 10-307 attaches specific effects to alcohol test results:
- At 0.05 or less, the person is presumed not to have been under the influence
- Above 0.05 but below 0.07, no presumption arises either way, though the result may be considered with other competent evidence
- At 0.07 but below 0.08, the result is prima facie evidence of driving while impaired by alcohol
- At 0.08 or more, the person is considered under the influence of alcohol per se
Prima facie evidence means evidence that is enough on its face unless it is contradicted. Insurers often read these numbers closely, and the insurance company’s role in a claim includes weighing a test result against everything else in the file.
The Statute Reaches Civil Proceedings
The same section says an alcohol test result is admissible in evidence and has the effect described in those subsections in any criminal, juvenile, or civil proceeding where a person is alleged to have committed a listed violation. For an injured person, a test result may matter in the injury case itself, apart from what happens in criminal court.
The civil case still needs proof of negligence and damages. A test is one piece. Fault, causation, and the full extent of the injuries all remain open questions until the evidence is assembled. Questions about shared fault can arise even when the other driver was clearly intoxicated, so a thorough record of the crash helps protect the claim.
Crashes that cause serious harm often involve several insurers and medical providers. Injured people can rely on a Wheaton motor vehicle accident lawyer to coordinate those records and request the testing documents that bear on the driver’s condition.
Tests Are One Piece of the Evidence
A number on a lab report rarely tells the whole story. Timing, testing method, and the way a sample was handled can all be examined, so the result is the beginning of the analysis, not the end. Evidence that can support a claim includes:
- The police report and the officer’s observations
- Breath or blood test records, including who administered them and when
- Witness statements from passengers and other drivers
- Receipts, video, or messages showing what the driver consumed
- Photos and vehicle data from the scene
Families can ask a Wheaton DWI lawyer who represents people hurt by intoxicated drivers to gather these items and explain how the statutory levels fit the facts. The same lawyer can also say which records are worth requesting first.
Answers to common DUI questions can help families follow the criminal case while the civil claim develops. The two proceedings run on separate tracks, and records from one can sometimes support the other.
Adam R. Leighton, a partner at Cohen & Cohen, is AV-rated and focuses on medical negligence, automobile accidents, and premises liability. He was admitted to the Maryland bar in 2004 and serves on the Board of Governors of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Evidence of impairment can disappear quickly after a crash. People injured by a driver who may have been drinking can reach out to us to learn what the statutes say and which records to preserve before they’re lost.
