DUI Manslaughter and DUI With Serious Bodily Injury in Florida

By Daniel D. Nawara, Sarasota criminal and DUI defense attorney. Last updated October 5, 2026.

When a DUI case involves a crash where someone is badly hurt or killed, everything changes. These are felonies with prison sentences, and the State puts its most experienced prosecutors and traffic homicide investigators on them. They are also cases where the evidence is technical and where the details of the crash matter as much as the alcohol or drug evidence.

This page explains the two charges, the penalties, and how these cases are defended.

What the State has to prove

Under section 316.193(3), Florida Statutes, the State has to prove three things:

You were driving under the influence: impaired by alcohol or a controlled or chemical substance, or at a breath or blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.
You operated a vehicle.
By operating the vehicle, you caused or contributed to causing serious bodily injury to another person, or the death of a human being or unborn child.

The third element is where many of these cases are fought. The statute says caused or contributed to causing, which is a broad standard, but it still requires a link between how the vehicle was operated and the crash. Being impaired and being in a crash is not automatically the same as causing it.

DUI with serious bodily injury

Charge: third-degree felony
Maximum: 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine
Serious bodily injury means an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

Whether an injury meets that definition is a factual question. Broken bones that heal, for example, are argued both ways.

DUI manslaughter

Charge: second-degree felony
Maximum: 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine
Mandatory minimum: 4 years in prison
License: permanent revocation on conviction

DUI manslaughter becomes a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years, in two situations:

the driver knew or should have known the crash occurred and failed to give information and render aid, or
the driver has a prior conviction for DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide or vessel homicide.

Each death or serious injury can be charged as a separate count.

Other charges that often come with these cases

DUI with property damage or injury, a first-degree misdemeanor
Vehicular homicide, which is based on reckless driving and does not require impairment
Leaving the scene of a crash with injury or death
Reckless driving causing serious bodily injury
Driving while license suspended causing death or serious injury

How the investigation works

These cases are usually not charged the night of the crash. A traffic homicide investigator maps the scene, downloads data from the vehicles, takes statements and waits for lab results. Charges can come weeks or months later, often by arrest warrant.

Blood is central. When an officer has probable cause to believe an impaired driver caused death or serious bodily injury, Florida law requires a blood test and allows reasonable force to get it. Hospital blood drawn for treatment may also be sought by subpoena. See DUI blood tests and medical blood records subpoenas.

How these cases are defended

Causation. What the other driver, pedestrian or cyclist did. Speed, lighting, road design, a vehicle defect, or a sudden event no sober driver could have avoided. Independent crash reconstruction often matters more than anything else in the file.
The blood evidence. Whether the draw was lawful, who drew it, how it was stored and tested, and whether a hospital serum result is being treated as something it is not.
Impairment. A number is not the whole case, and in drug cases there may be no meaningful number at all. See marijuana and drug DUI.
Who was driving. In some crashes this is not obvious, and the State has to prove it.
Statements. What was said at the scene or the hospital, whether it was part of the crash report, and whether it can be used.
The injury. Whether it legally qualifies as serious bodily injury.
Sentencing. When the evidence is strong, the work is in the sentencing guidelines, mitigation, and what a judge can and cannot do below the guidelines. The 4-year minimum for DUI manslaughter is mandatory.

What to do if you were in a serious crash

Do not talk to police, investigators or insurance adjusters about the crash without a lawyer.
Do not post about it or contact the other family.
Keep your vehicle, phone and any dashcam as they are. Do not repair or sell the car.
Keep every paper from the hospital, the police and the State, and watch for a notice about your medical records.
Get a lawyer involved now, before charges are filed. Evidence at the scene and in the vehicles does not last.

Frequently asked questions

Is DUI manslaughter a mandatory prison sentence in Florida?

Yes. A conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 4 years in prison, and the sentencing guidelines often call for more.

I have not been arrested yet. Should I wait?

No. These investigations take time, and the period before charges are filed is when a defense investigation can do the most good.

What if the other driver was also at fault?

It matters. The State has to prove you caused or contributed to causing the crash, and the other party's conduct is part of that question.

Can police take my blood without my consent after a fatal crash?

Florida's statute requires a blood test in these cases and allows reasonable force. Whether a particular draw was constitutional depends on the facts, including whether there was a warrant.

Can a DUI manslaughter charge be reduced?

Sometimes, depending on the evidence of causation and impairment. Every case is different and no outcome can be promised.

Will I lose my license permanently?

A DUI manslaughter conviction carries a permanent revocation. DUI with serious bodily injury carries a long revocation as well.

Talk with a lawyer now

Nawara Law defends serious DUI crash cases in Sarasota, Manatee and the surrounding counties. Call or text (941) 920-5514, nights and weekends too, or request a free consultation with former prosecutor Daniel D. Nawara.

General information only, not legal advice. No outcome is guaranteed. Contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.