Lindsay Lohan Plans To Sue Man Who Claims She Was Driving Drunk

Lindsay Lohan has denied claims by Jose Rodriguez, the 34-year-old chef who alleged she hit him with her car while driving drunk -- and now the star reportedly intends to take legal action against him.

Lohan, 26, considers Rodriguez’s allegation to be defamation and is concerned that she could lose work should people believe that she is struggling with sobriety again, according to TMZ.

The website reported Lohan said, “I'm tired of people lying just to score a quick paycheck."

Rodriguez claimed Lohan struck him with her car on Sept. 19 at about 2 a.m. EDT while attempting to park outside the Dream Downtown hotel in New York. He told that city's Daily News he had just completed a shift at the nearby La Bottega restaurant, where he works as a cook, when he “saw this car come real quick and hit me. ... I was in so much pain, I fell to the side.”

Rodriguez also claimed he was mistreated by the police, who arrived at the scene and took Lohan into custody, 30 minutes after the incident allegedly took place.

“They acted like I was nothing,” Rodriguez told the Daily News. “That no one could touch her because she was rich and powerful.”

Perhaps even more damning than the allegation that Lohan hit him before fleeing the scene was Rodriguez’s claim that the actress was “slurring her words” that night and “smelled like alcohol real bad.”

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly told the Daily News the police did not any reason to believe alcohol was involved in the incident, so Lohan was not asked to take a Breathalyzer test.

Surveillance footage taken outside the hotel at the time of the incident has been released by the New York Police Department, but it is unclear from the video whether Lohan’s car made contact with Rodriguez.

Rodriguez reportedly did not have any visible injuries, but he has claimed he was taken to Bellevue Hospital and treated for torn tendons in his knee.

The Daily News quoted Steve Honig, a Lohan representative, as saying, “We are confident this matter will be cleared up in the coming weeks and the claims being made against Lindsay will be proven untrue.”