Determining Fault in a Car Accident

Answer:

I spoke with a client recently who expressed some concern about the fact that she was hurt in an accident. The other driver got out of his car. The way she described what happened, it was really clear to me that she didn’t cause the accident and that the other driver had. When he got out of his car to talk to her, the first thing he said was, you cut me off. This accident was your fault.

Of course, she said, that’s not true. She came to me, of course, after she realized that she had been pretty badly hurt from the accident and asked how we were going to prove responsibility or fault. That’s the critical threshold question for a personal injury claim in Florida. It’s oftentimes the biggest and the most important question. How do we prove that? We prove it with evidence.

Believe it or not, there is way more evidence to prove a case like a car accident than what one person says about it. The credibility of the testimony is critical. We have to evaluate the other driver and their statements and match them up against the physical evidence that we have at the scene from the accident scene, the damage to the vehicles, and of course, any type of video surveillance or witness testimony that might be out there.

When you hire me to represent you for your injury, the first thing I’m going to do is begin a robust investigation of the accident. A police report is not admissible in court. Even if the police officer believed you and cited the other driver, that’s not going to be admitted in court. We have to do our own investigation.

The sooner we get out there, the better it is for the innocent driver. Don’t wait until the evidence gets lost. Skid marks get wiped away from the roadway; cars get repaired; critical electronic data in the vehicle gets overwritten; 9-1-1 tapes get erased; witnesses forget their testimony. Evidence has to be secured immediately. Time is not your friend.

Help us help you by talking to us today. I’m available now. Call me. I want to help.