Washington State Vehicular Assault
Being a Seattle auto accident lawyer and Bellevue injury attorney for several years I have come to realize that the roads are filled with reckless or negligent drivers. Sadly, these drivers do not know what they risk by speeding down the freeway or driving intoxicated and may eventually end up with vehicular assault charges when they are involved in a serious auto accident.
Contrary to what many people believe, being involved in a serious auto accident doesn’t automatically make it a vehicular assault case. Washington State Vehicular Assault law (RCW 46.61.522) states that a vehicular assault charge is the result when a car accident results in substantial bodily harm to another when a driver operates a vehicle:
- in a reckless manner
- under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol
- with disregard for the safety of others
While this may open up a vehicular assault to a wide variety of accidents the key lies in that the victim has to be inflicted with “substantial bodily harm” as a result of the accident. While whiplash or a facial laceration may be painful it does not quite count as substantial… substantial is an injury that: causes substantial but temporary disfigurement, causes substantial temporary loss or impairment of a organ or other body part or causes a fracture to a body part.
With this definition in mind, a vehicular assault charge can result from an accident in which the victim breaks a bone, suffers internal bleeding, or receives a brain contusion or substantial concussion.
So What Counts??
As stated earlier, not every accident merits a vehicular assault charge. If a vehicle malfunctions and causes severe injury when it crashes into another vehicle the driver will not be charged with vehicular assault as they had no control over the accident. If the driver, however, is speeding, fails to obey common traffic signals and laws, driving recklessly or drunk they will face a vehicular assault charge.
What Are the Consequences?
A vehicular assault is considered a Class B Felony in Washington State which comes with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. The vehicular assault also goes on not only the offenders driving record, but on their criminal record and may require the use of an ignition interlock device, if the offense was the result of a DUI.
What Affects the Sentence?
Like all criminal cases, the sentence depends upon the jury’s verdict and the judge’s mindset. There are a few things that contribute to the sentence length which include:
- The driver’s criminal and driving record prior to the offense—drivers with multiple offenses typically serve longer terms
- And the circumstances surrounding the accident also affect the sentence as well as the extent of the injuries—if the victim will suffer permanent debilitating injuries the sentence will most likely be higher than if they broke their nose alone.
