In Nevada, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is normally a misdemeanor. However, drunk or drugged driving becomes a category B felony if you cause someone’s death or substantial bodily harm.
The penalties for DUI causing death or injury under NRS § 484C.430 include:
- 2 to 20 years in Nevada State Prison and
- $2,000 to $5,000 in fines.
If you were transporting a child under 15 years old at the time, the court may consider it an “aggravating factor” when determining your sentence.
In this article, our Las Vegas DUI attorneys will address the following key issues regarding DUI causing injury or death.
- 1. Elements of NRS 484C.430
- 2. Your License
- 3. Defenses
- 4. Plea Bargains
- 5. Immigration
- 6. Record Seals
- 7. Related Offenses
- What To Do After a Crash
- Additional Reading
1. Elements of NRS 484C.430
For you to be convicted of DUI causing injury or death in Nevada, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt two elements. The first is that you were driving either:
- while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs; and/or
- with a prohibited amount of controlled substances in your blood; and/or
- with a blood alcohol concentration of alcohol (BAC) of 0.08% or higher within two hours of driving.1
(Note that the minimum illegal BAC is only .04% for commercial drivers and .02% for under-21 drivers.)
The second element of NRS 484C.430 is that your driving killed or caused substantial bodily harm to someone. Examples of injuries that qualify as substantial bodily harm are:
- fractures,
- wounds needing stitches,
- organ damage,
- paralysis,
- serious burns,
- long-lasting contusions,
- concussions,
- loss of consciousness,
- long-lasting cosmetic damage, or
- chronic pain.2
Note that if you are being prosecuted for a fatal DUI, you may not also be prosecuted for murder for the same case.3
2. Your License
Felony DUI convictions in Nevada trigger a three-year license suspension that begins after you are released from prison. To get your license reinstated, you will need to install an ignition interlock device in your motor vehicle for up to three years.5
Note that automobiles involved in Nevada DUI cases are usually impounded. Read more about DUI impound laws.
Killing someone or causing serious bodily injury while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a felony in Nevada, even if it is a first offense.
3. Defenses
Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with DUI, including cases involving serious injury or death. In our experience, the following seven DUI defenses have proven very effective with Nevada prosecutors, judges, and juries at getting these cases reduced or dismissed.
- The police lacked reasonable suspicion to stop you and/or lacked probable cause to arrest you.
- The police gave faulty field sobriety test instructions or scored you inaccurately.
- The breath test or blood test was administered incorrectly or was defective.
- The police committed other procedural errors, such as coercing your confession or finding evidence through an unlawful search.
- You suffered from a medical condition such as GERD which caused inaccurately high breathalyzer BAC results.
- You did not begin drinking until after you stopped driving.
- The other driver or some outside force was at fault for the accident.
Common evidence we rely on includes:
- eyewitness testimony,
- eyewitness recordings from phones,
- law enforcement reports,
- surveillance video,
- GPS records,
- medical records, and/or
- accident reconstruction expert testimony.
It may be possible to get a DUI causing injury or death charge reduced or dismissed.
4. Plea Bargains
If a DUI with injury or death charge cannot get dismissed in Nevada, it still may be possible to get it reduced by showing either:
- You were not committing DUI, or
- There was no causation between your actions and the victim’s injuries or death.
If the prosecutor can prove DUI but cannot show causation, your felony DUI charge could then be reduced to just a misdemeanor DUI.6
Alternatively, if the prosecutor can prove causation but cannot show DUI, then your charge could be reduced to:
- reckless driving causing injury (if the victim was injured) or
- vehicular manslaughter (if the victim died).
5. Immigration
Even as a felony, DUI is generally not deportable unless it involves drugs.7 However, all non-citizens facing criminal charges should still retain an experienced attorney to try to get the matter dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense.
NRS 484C.430 convictions are not sealable.
6. Record Seals
If your charge for DUI causing injury or death gets dismissed, you can petition for a Nevada record seal right away. If you get convicted, however, it remains on your criminal record forever.8
7. Related Offenses
DUI causing injury or death is one of four crimes in Nevada involving serious car accidents. As the following table shows, the sentencing range is always steeper whenever drugs or alcohol is involved.
| Vehicular Crimes Causing Injury or Death | Nevada Penalties |
| 1. Vehicular homicide (NRS 484C.130): Fatal DUI following three prior DUIs | Category A felony: 25 years or life in prison |
| 2. DUI causing injury or death (NRS 484C.430): Causing a fatality or substantial bodily injury from drunk or drugged driving | Category B felony: 2 to 20 years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000 |
| 3. Reckless driving causing injury or death (NRS 484B.653): Driving with willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property (no alcohol or drugs) | Category B felony: 1 to 6 years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000 (in most cases) |
| 4. Vehicular manslaughter (NRS 484B.657): Proximately causing another’s death by driving with “simple negligence” (no alcohol or drugs) | Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000 |
A possible defense to NRS 484C.430 charges is that you were not the proximate cause of the injury or death.
What To Do After a Crash
Five steps to take after a car accident in Nevada include:
- Stay at the scene and phone 911.
- Do NOT admit fault.
- Exchange contact- and car information with the other involved drivers.
- Take photos of the scene, and take down the name and contract information of eyewitnesses.
- Contact an attorney.
Additional Resources
For statistics on vehicular deaths, refer to the following:
- Nevada Traffic Safety Crash Facts – Nevada Department of Public Safety.
- Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) – Nevada Department of Public Safety.
- Car Crash Deaths and Rates – Compiled by the National Injury Council.
- State by State Fatality Facts – Provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
- NHTSA Estimates for 2022 Show Roadway Fatalities Remain Flat After Two Years of Dramatic Increases – Compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Legal References
- NRS 484C.430 – Penalty if death or substantial bodily harm results; exception; segregation of offender; plea bargaining restricted; suspension of sentence and probation prohibited; affirmative defense; exception; aggravating factor.
1. Unless a greater penalty is provided pursuant to NRS 484C.440, a person who:
(a) Is under the influence of intoxicating liquor;
(b) Has a concentration of alcohol of 0.08 or more in his or her blood or breath;
(c) Is found by measurement within 2 hours after driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle to have a concentration of alcohol of 0.08 or more in his or her blood or breath;
(d) Is under the influence of a controlled substance or is under the combined influence of intoxicating liquor and a controlled substance;
(e) Inhales, ingests, applies or otherwise uses any chemical, poison or organic solvent, or any compound or combination of any of these, to a degree which renders the person incapable of safely driving or exercising actual physical control of a vehicle; or
(f) Has a prohibited substance in his or her blood or urine, as applicable, in an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount set forth in subsection 3 or 4 of NRS 484C.110,
Ê and does any act or neglects any duty imposed by law while driving or in actual physical control of any vehicle on or off the highways of this State, if the act or neglect of duty proximately causes the death of, or substantial bodily harm to, another person, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 20 years and must be further punished by a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000. A person so imprisoned must, insofar as practicable, be segregated from offenders whose crimes were violent and, insofar as practicable, be assigned to an institution or facility of minimum security.
2. A prosecuting attorney shall not dismiss a charge of violating the provisions of subsection 1 in exchange for a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill or nolo contendere to a lesser charge or for any other reason unless the attorney knows or it is obvious that the charge is not supported by probable cause or cannot be proved at the time of trial. A sentence imposed pursuant to subsection 1 may not be suspended nor may probation be granted.
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, if consumption is proven by a preponderance of the evidence, it is an affirmative defense under paragraph (c) of subsection 1 that the defendant consumed a sufficient quantity of alcohol after driving or being in actual physical control of the vehicle, and before his or her blood or breath was tested, to cause the defendant to have a concentration of alcohol of 0.08 or more in his or her blood or breath. A defendant who intends to offer this defense at a trial or preliminary hearing must, not less than 14 days before the trial or hearing or at such other time as the court may direct, file and serve on the prosecuting attorney a written notice of that intent.
4. If the defendant is also charged with violating the provisions of NRS 484E.010, 484E.020 or 484E.030, the defendant may not offer the affirmative defense set forth in subsection 3.
5. If the defendant was transporting a person who is less than 15 years of age in the motor vehicle at the time of the violation, the court shall consider that fact as an aggravating factor in determining the sentence of the defendant.
See, for example, Chadwick v. State (Nev.App. 2024) . - NRS 0.060.
- Leavell v. Eighth Judicial District Court (Nev. 2020) No. 79923; David Ferrara, Nevada Supreme Court prohibits murder charges in fatal DUI cases, Las Vegas Review-Journal (September 14, 2020); NRS 200.030.
- NRS 484C.430; NRS 483.460.
- NRS 483.460.
- NRS 484C.400. A first- or second-time DUI in a seven-year period is a misdemeanor, but a third-time DUI in seven years is always a felony even if there were no injuries.
- See Montiel-Barraza v. INS (9th Cir., 2002) 275 F.3d 1178.
- NRS 179.245; NRS 179.255.