Defence for failing to provide a sample?

[Worriedoh]

My husband was arrested on suspicion of.drink driving & refused a blood test initially as he was unaware of the implications of refusal & says he was not made aware. He then fitted in custody & had chest pains so was taken to hospital. He is now charged with failurea to provide a specimen. Does he have a defence for not being advised the implications of not providing & then being medically unable to as he was taken to hospital & the police made no attempt while he was there to obtain a blood sample?

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

There are two separate and distinct offence that he may have been charged with. One is refusal at the roadside, the other is refusal at the police station.

In either case, the police are required to explain the implications of refusal (the statutory warning). Failure by the police to do this at the roadside can give rise to a defence. Similarly, if your husband has a genuine medical reason for failing to provide a sample at the police station then this can also give rise to a defence.

You should seek legal advice and representation in order to properly formulate and present a defence, if indeed one exists. A lawyer would need to fully consider all the evidence, in particular what evidence there is that the warning was given. He or she would also need your full instructions and would have to consider obtaining independent medical evidence to substantiate whether there was a reasonable excuse for failing to provide on medical grounds.

We have successfully defended countless drink driving cases on this basis.

Visit our website or call us on 0333 323 3727 if you'd like to discuss this further.