In most personal injury cases, your criminal record does not come up at all. Most claims settle with the insurer without a lawsuit, and your record is not part of a claim about a rear-end collision on the 101. If the case is filed and you testify, a felony conviction can be used to attack your credibility, but the judge has discretion to keep it out, and misdemeanors and arrests generally cannot be used. The one situation where a record is directly relevant is a DUI or similar charge arising from the crash itself, because that goes to fault.
The thing that decides how much a record matters is whether the case depends on your word. If liability is clear from a police report and the damages are documented by Northridge Hospital, a ten-year-old felony is a footnote the defense may not even try to use. If the case is a swearing contest about who had the green light, the defense will push hard to get a felony in front of the jury, and the argument over whether it comes in will be one of the motions decided before trial. A lawyer who knows the record from day one can build the case so it does not rest on your testimony alone.
Can my criminal record be used against me in a personal injury case?
Only in limited ways. Under Evidence Code 788, a prior felony conviction can be used to attack the credibility of a witness who testifies. Judges can exclude it when its prejudice outweighs its value, which is often the case for older convictions and ones unrelated to honesty. Misdemeanors, arrests without conviction, and dismissed or expunged cases generally do not come in. A conviction related to the accident itself, such as a DUI at the time of the crash, is relevant to fault and will be used.
What the rules actually allow
California evidence law separates two uses of a record. The first is credibility: the idea that someone who committed a felony may be less believable. Evidence Code 788 permits that use, but only for felonies, and only if you testify. The judge then weighs the conviction under Evidence Code 352, which allows exclusion of evidence that is more prejudicial than useful. In practice, convictions involving dishonesty (fraud, theft, perjury) are the ones most likely to come in, because they bear on truthfulness. A drug possession felony from 2014 is a weak candidate and is often excluded.
The second use is character: the idea that someone with a record is the kind of person who would cause a crash or exaggerate an injury. That use is barred by Evidence Code 1101. The defense cannot argue “he has a record, so he probably ran the light.”
Arrests that did not lead to conviction are not convictions and are not admissible to attack credibility. A misdemeanor conviction is generally not admissible for that purpose in a civil case. An expunged conviction under Penal Code 1203.4 is treated as dismissed, though the defense may argue about it and the judge decides.
Where a record does matter
A DUI or reckless driving conviction from the crash itself is not a credibility question; it is evidence of what you were doing when the collision happened, and it raises your comparative fault. An insurer will treat a driver convicted of DUI arising from the crash as largely at fault, and the claim has to be built around the other driver’s conduct.
A record can also matter in a less direct way. If you are claiming lost earnings, the defense can ask about gaps in your work history, and a period of incarceration explains a gap. If you are claiming emotional distress beyond ordinary pain and suffering, the defense may argue that other events in your life, including a criminal case, contributed to it. These are discovery issues your attorney manages, not reasons to avoid a claim.
What the insurer will do
Insurers run background checks on claimants. They will know about a conviction early, whether or not it is admissible. Some adjusters use it to justify a low offer on the theory that the claimant will not want to go to trial. That is a bluff more often than not. A felony that is excluded never reaches the jury, and a settlement negotiation that assumes it will is based on a misreading of the rules.
If a case is filed, expect a written interrogatory asking whether you have been convicted of a felony in the past ten years. Answer it accurately. Your attorney will also raise the issue before trial through a motion in limine, asking the judge to exclude the conviction or limit how it can be described. In many cases the judge allows the defense to ask only whether you were convicted of a felony, without the name of the offense or the details, which takes most of the sting out of it. The conviction is a public record and lying about it in discovery converts a weak credibility attack into a strong one.
What you should do now
Tell your attorney about any record at the first meeting, including arrests, dismissed cases, and anything expunged. The attorney needs the full picture to decide how to build the case and what to argue in the motion to exclude. There is nothing to be gained by hoping it won’t come up. Then focus on the things that make the case not depend on your word: photos, witnesses, the police report, and consistent medical treatment.
Common mistakes
Not disclosing the record to your own lawyer. Lying in a deposition or interrogatory response about a conviction. Assuming the case is worthless and not pursuing it. Giving a recorded statement to the insurer in which you volunteer the record. And letting an adjuster’s reference to your “background” drive the settlement number.
Questions people ask next
Does a juvenile record come up? Juvenile adjudications are not criminal convictions and are generally not admissible for credibility.
What if I’m on probation or parole right now? Your status does not affect your right to bring a claim, and a settlement is not affected by it, though a court-ordered restitution obligation may have a claim on part of a recovery.
Will the other driver’s record come up? The same rules apply. A defendant’s DUI at the time of the crash is admissible on fault, and a felony may be used on credibility if they testify.
Manoukian Law Firm handles personal injury cases throughout Los Angeles County, and the attorney, Vaheh Manoukian, works each case personally, including building the evidence so the case does not rest on any single witness. If you have a record and were hurt in an accident, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation.
