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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A positive drug screen may be negative for your case

Often if a motor vehicle crash results in serious injury or death, the drivers are tested for various drugs. If the drug test shows drugs in their system it may have a serious negative impact on the case.

First, if it can be shown that the drugs caused or even contributed to the crash itself, that showing would be a complete bar from recovery in Alabama. Even if the drugs are not shown to cause or contribute to the crash, however, they may negatively impact the case.

Ultimately, juries determine the value of a case and jury members are slow to grant awards to drug users. In fact, it is common for juries to rule against a drug user altogether. This is a situation that simply requires legal representation. If the positive drug screen was due to the fact that the driver was taken prescription drugs, the appropriate evidence must be mustered to prove that fact. If the positive drug screen was simply false, it must be challenged.

Drug screen challenges vary widely including breaks in the chain of custody which allow for contamination, improper sampling, outdated or ineffective testing methods, laboratory cross-contamination and so forth. If you are faced with this situation, avoid the temptation to ignore it hoping it will go away. Instead, retain legal representation sooner rather than later and attack it head on. blb (205)912-8248.

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