Criminal History and Injury Claims: Effects and Mitigation Measures

Your criminal history can have both direct and indirect effects on your personal injury case. Below are some of these effects.

Character impeachment is a legal term for catching someone in a lie. Consider a plaintiff who claims that they can never drive with even a little alcohol in their system. The defendant can impeach the plaintiff's character if they can prove that the plaintiff has had a prior DUI (driving under the influence) conviction. The rationale is that if the plaintiff did it once, they could do it again.

Note that character impeachment only works if your criminal history relates to your current injury case. For example:

• A DUI conviction can affect your current case if you claim sobriety behind the wheel.
• A traffic offense conviction can affect your current case if you claim safe driving habits.
• A fraud conviction can affect your current case if the defendant claims you are lying.

Thus, the nature of your past crime will determine whether the defendant can use it to impeach your character.

Past crimes can affect your credibility even if the defendant doesn't use it to impeach your character. Even the mere mention of your criminal history might be enough to get the court (especially the jury) to doubt your testimony. For example, if you have a history of financial misappropriation, some people might think your injury case is fraudulent.

Your criminal history can also affect how much others like you, especially those who don't know you well. Likability might affect how much compensation you get if you win your case. Decreased likability is more likely for crimes that society particularly abhors, such as crimes against children.

Don't let your past affect your injury compensation. At the very least, you should take measures to mitigate the effects of your criminal history on your case. The following measures can help.

Don't hide anything from your lawyer. Otherwise, the defendant might know your history before your lawyer does. The defense side can use that information to hurt your case since your lawyer won't be prepared for it to be brought up. In fact, volunteer anything you think might affect your case even before your lawyer asks for it. This way, your injury lawyer will prepare mitigation strategies.

Your criminal history is likely to matter to jurors more than the judge. The difference in effect is even more likely if the criminal history has no direct bearing on your current case. Juries tend to react more emotionally than judges. Judges have the training and experience to look beyond emotions and focus on the law. Don't request a jury trial.

Claim Irrelevance

If your criminal history does come up in court, you can mitigate its effect by showing the court why it's irrelevant to your case. Hopefully, the judge will categorize the evidence as inadmissible based on irrelevancy. If that happens, the judge won't consider your criminal history when ruling on your case.

The Law Office of Robert P. Karwin has over 20 years of experience in personal injury law. We take great pride in protecting our clients' rights and helping them get the compensation they deserve. Contact us for a consultation on your injury case.