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CRIMINAL DEFENCE · ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Charged After a Road Traffic Accident with Injuries or Death: How to Build Your Defence

A road traffic accident resulting in injury can, if the victim formally initiates criminal proceedings, give rise to a charge of Negligent Injury (Art. 94 bis) or Negligent Homicide (Art. 84 bis PC). We act in Buenos Aires City (CABA) and the Province of Buenos Aires to conduct your defence, protect your driving licence and minimise the impact on your day-to-day life.

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When insurance is not enough: the driver's criminal exposure

Many drivers believe that having insurance is sufficient. Insurance covers civil liability (financial compensation), but it does not cover your criminal liability or prevent disqualification from driving.

The Penal Code has toughened the regime for road traffic incidents. If fleeing the scene, failure to render assistance, excess alcohol, excess speed or running a red light are established, the case ceases to be a "mere collision" and can become a serious criminal offence with real procedural risks (including the possibility of liberty-restricting measures) and a potential conviction.

Our intervention focuses on accident reconstruction and mechanical expert evidence. We work with party-appointed experts to demonstrate, where the case allows it, that:

  • You did not breach your duty of care.
  • Fault lay with the victim (crossing unlawfully) or a third party.
  • There was no conditional intent — this was a negligent event (an accident) without any intention to cause the outcome.

We do not improvise — we know how prosecutors and courts approach these cases and how they are litigated. To see how similar cases have been resolved, review our Criminal Case Law Library: Road Traffic Accidents.

Core strategy: probation and detention risk management

Objective: avoiding a conviction

In many negligent offences, the practical objective is to assess whether a Suspension of Proceedings on Probation is available, provided the law permits it and the court grants it. This outcome typically involves conduct requirements and a reparation payment, and once fulfilled, the criminal action is extinguished without a conviction.

Fleeing the scene, failure to assist and conditional intent

In very serious collisions (high speed, street racing), some prosecutors try to classify the offence as homicide with conditional intent or add standalone charges related to failure to render assistance, with a real risk of liberty-restricting measures. In those cases we litigate to maintain a negligent classification and improve your position regarding liberty.

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Legal representation and technical defence in traffic cases in CABA, Province of Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires (AMBA).

Protocol for the immediate aftermath of an accident

If you have just been in an accident, these three initial decisions can change the course of your case.

  1. Do not flee and do not abandon the victim: Stay at the scene, call the emergency services and cooperate with rendering assistance. Fleeing the scene and failure to render assistance can seriously aggravate your procedural situation.
  2. Strategic silence: Do not make any statement about the mechanics of the accident to the police without first speaking to your lawyer. Hand over your documents, but avoid "explaining" how the collision happened while still in the heat of the moment.
  3. Witnesses and records: Note the contact details of witnesses and preserve photographs and any records that show you were driving within the rules, or that the dangerous manoeuvre was made by someone else.

Common scenarios in road traffic criminal cases

The most urgent priority is not to make any statement without technical legal defence. Before attending any summons, a lawyer must review the case file: what accident reconstruction evidence exists, whether an alcohol test was taken, whether the charge is simple negligent injury (Art. 94) or the aggravated form (Art. 94 bis), and whether the victim formally initiated criminal proceedings. With that information, it can be decided whether to seek a probation suspension, whether there are grounds to challenge causation, or whether there is a basis for dismissal.

It is not automatic. A positive alcohol reading or excess speed triggers the aggravating factors under Art. 94 bis, but the defence can challenge: the chain of custody of the alcohol test, the calibration of the breathalyser, whether the excess speed was the determining cause of the accident, or whether there was contributory fault on the part of the victim. Every piece of evidence has technical weaknesses that a criminal lawyer can exploit before the case proceeds to trial.

The law provides for aggravating factors such as fleeing the scene or failing to render assistance, alcohol above the legal limit, excess speed (more than 30 km/h over the limit), running a red light or driving without a valid licence. In those circumstances, the sentencing range is aggravated (Arts. 94 bis and 84 bis), which can increase procedural risks and, depending on the case, lead to a custodial sentence. Technical defence relies on expert evidence, the causal link and evidentiary oversight from the outset.

The Suspension of Proceedings on Probation can be a convenient resolution in negligent injury cases (and in some minor cases), provided the law permits it and the court grants it. It avoids an oral trial: conduct requirements and a reparation payment are set, and once the agreed terms are fulfilled, the criminal action is extinguished without a conviction.

In very serious accidents (street racing, extreme speed, dangerous manoeuvres), some prosecutors try to frame the case as homicide with conditional intent (carrying a higher sentence), arguing that the accused foresaw the likely outcome and continued regardless. The defence focuses on contesting expert evidence, context and the causal link to maintain a negligent classification — without any intention to cause the outcome — and to open the door to alternative resolutions where applicable.

In those cases we contest the causal link. If the pedestrian crossed mid-block, the other vehicle ran a red light, made an unlawful turn, or a third party created the dangerous situation, criminal liability can shift. This is established primarily through accident reconstruction and mechanical expert evidence, supported by witness accounts and records (CCTV, photographs, tyre marks) — not simply one party's version of events.

The difference lies in the harm to health and the recovery period:

Minor: inability to work for less than one month, no permanent consequences.
Serious: more than one month of recovery, risk to life or permanent weakening of health.
Grievous: loss of a sense, organ or limb, an incurable illness or permanent inability to work.

The classification has a direct impact on the sentencing range and on the prospects of bail or alternative resolutions.

Have you received a police or court summons following a collision?

Do not make any statement without advice. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say at a police station or to the prosecution can be used against you in the criminal case and/or in the civil claim.

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