Impaired Driving May End Your Nursing Career
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, 1.5% of New Jersey drivers reported that they had operated a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol. If you are a nurse who is caught driving while impaired, you could lose your license, pay a fine or spend time in jail. You may also be subject to discipline from your employer or from a state licensing board.
Why a DUI Might Negatively Impact You Professionally
As a nurse, you have a responsibility to care for the community. If you have a DUI on your record, it may be seen as an indication that you are vulnerable to making bad decisions that could harm yourself or others. If you are prone to making questionable decisions in your personal life, your employer may suspect that you are prone to making poor decisions at work.
Furthermore, if a patient found out that you have a criminal record, it may cause them to lose faith in your ability to provide proper care. If a patient has reason to believe that a caregiver was negligent, it might lead to a lawsuit against your employer. At a minimum, news of a lawsuit could result in a loss of goodwill for your employer, which would likely increase the pressure to suspend or terminate your employment.
Therefore, it may be worthwhile to hire a Morristown criminal defense lawyer if you are a nurse who has been charged with a DUI. An attorney may be able to help get the charge reduced or dismissed, which may help to clear your name or at least minimize the potential fallout a conviction may cause.
Tips for Minimizing the Fallout
If you are convicted of DUI, your employer will likely find out about it. You may no longer have the ability to drive yourself to work and have to rearrange your schedule. You may also have to spend days, months or years in custody, which means that you’ll need to tell your employer about your status. Finally, the authorities may alert your immediate supervisor or someone else within the hospital or practice where you work about the DUI.
Therefore, trying to hide the conviction or deny that it happened will typically only make the situation worse. Instead, it may be in your best interest to acknowledge what happened and outline the steps that you’ll take to avoid a future drunk or impaired driving charge.
For instance, you may agree to go to rehab or to simply refrain from drinking or using controlled substances. You may also agree to install an ignition interlock device on your car that prevents it from starting if it detects alcohol on your breath.
It may also be helpful to outline any facts in your case that might be considered out of character for you. For example, if you were charged with DUI because of an issue with a prescription medication, you may be allowed to escape punishment if you truly had no idea that you would react poorly to it. The same may be true if someone poured something into your drink without your knowledge or permission.
Other Issues to Consider If Convicted of DUI
If you are convicted of a DUI, a landlord may refuse to consider your application for a place to live. You may also lose access to certain types of student loans, which may make it harder to continue your education and advance your career. Finally, court costs and other fees may hamper your ability to afford a decent home or car.
If you need a Morristown criminal defense lawyer, don’t hesitate to contact Gregg Wisotsky today. You can do so by calling 973-898-0161 during normal business hours or 908-229-9714 during evenings or weekends. You can live chat with a representative on our website or fill out our online contact form so that one of our representatives can call you.
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