A standard DUI is filed under Vehicle Code 23152. The moment someone other than the driver is hurt, the prosecutor can file instead under Vehicle Code 23153, which is DUI causing injury. This is a different and more serious charge, and the difference matters a great deal. I want to explain how the statute works, what you are facing, and where these cases can be defended.
What the prosecutor has to prove
Section 23153 has the same core element as an ordinary DUI, meaning the prosecution must show you drove while impaired or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. On top of that, the prosecution must prove two additional things: that you committed some additional act that violated the law or neglected a legal duty while driving, and that this act caused bodily injury to another person. The "additional act" is often a separate traffic violation, such as an unsafe lane change or running a light. Both the impairment and the separate negligent act have to be present, and the injury has to flow from them.
Misdemeanor or felony
DUI causing injury is what California law calls a wobbler, which means it can be charged either as a misdemeanor or as a felony. The prosecutor decides based on the seriousness of the injuries, your driving record, your blood alcohol level, and the facts of the collision. A minor soft-tissue injury with a first-time driver looks very different to a prosecutor than multiple victims with broken bones.
As a misdemeanor, the exposure includes county jail, a longer DUI program, license consequences, and restitution to the injured party. As a felony, the exposure rises to state prison, and additional enhancements can attach.
The injury enhancements that drive the sentence
The charge itself is serious, but the enhancements often matter more than the base offense. Under Penal Code 12022.7, a great bodily injury finding can add years to a felony sentence. There is also an enhancement for the number of victims injured under Vehicle Code 23558. A great bodily injury finding can also count as a strike under California's Three Strikes law, which carries consequences far beyond this single case. Reviewing whether the injury truly rises to "great bodily injury," and whether the prosecution can prove your driving caused it, is one of the most important parts of the defense.
How these cases get defended
Causation is frequently the strongest area. The prosecution has to connect your conduct to the injury, and that link is not always as clean as the police report suggests. The other driver's own conduct, road conditions, and the sequence of events all matter. The chemical evidence is challenged the same way it is in any DUI, through the stop, the testing procedure, calibration records, and rising blood alcohol. The severity of the injury, which determines whether enhancements apply, is also contested with medical records rather than accepted at face value.
In many injury cases the realistic goal is to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor, to defeat the great bodily injury enhancement, or to resolve the matter in a way that avoids prison and a strike. Mitigation, restitution, and early defense work all influence where the case lands.
If you are facing this charge
A 23153 case moves faster and carries more weight than a standard DUI, and the early decisions shape everything that follows. If you want to understand what your specific situation looks like under California law, you can use the free written case analysis below or call me directly. You can also read more on a DUI involving a collision and when a DUI is charged as a felony.