Personal Injury Law

Evidence in Missouri Personal Injury Trials: Recreational Drinking and Drug Use

By Benjamin J. Sansone, Esq.

Part I: Can lawyers inject into a Missouri injury trial claims of drug use or intoxication not directly related to the cause of the injury?

A good Missouri personal injury lawyer knows that the defense will do whatever it takes to discredit the injured Plaintiff, this includes trying to get into evidence something in front of a jury showing that the Plaintiff drinks or has used drugs. Obviously an attempt to use evidence irrelevant to any issue of personal injury suffered and a shot an trying to get a injury lawsuit jury to dislike the victim.

Unless intoxication or drug use has a direct relation to the actual incident that caused the injury, the general reputation of a Plaintiff for sobriety or drug use is inadmissible pertaining to the issue of their intoxication at the time of the collision. See Frye v. Meramec Marina, Inc., 673 SW 2d 451 (Mo Ct App ED 1984) Additionally, it is not admissible for any other reason either.

I currently am handling a Crawford County Missouri car accident case wherein this is an issue. I am the St Louis injury attorney representing a passenger in the back of a pickup truck at a float trip docking area that was thrown from the back of the pickup truck when the driver gunned it up a gravel road hill. As expected, everyone was drinking that day on the river, however, the Defendant driver threw out accusations that the injured passenger smoked marijuana, but was unable to testify that she smoked it that day. The insurance defense lawyers will likely try to get some testimony regarding drug use in front of the jury, but I am ready for that and will file the proper motions and make the timely objections keeping those issues out of the jury's consideration so that can determine the case properly on the relevant facts.

A good injury attorney must keep in mind all issues that could come up at trial, as oftentimes just casting a little doubt on someone's credibility can make or break a case for the wrong reasons.

Other Missouri cases addressing recreational drug use or drinking as evidence at injury trials:

Daniels v. Dillinger, 445 SW 2d 410 (Mo Ct Appeals 1969)

State v. Williams, 492 SW 2d (Mo Ct App ED 1973)

Holding that "cross-examination which attacks the witness on the basis of alleged over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages is also improper."

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Law Blog on December 08, 2010 (boomark / email).