If you are a Florida motorist injured after a collision with a commercial tractor-trailer, there are several things you need to know. Under Florida law, an immediate investigation by police and other authorities will commence. Florida state statutes provide certain protections to individuals involved in accidents so that they will truthfully cooperate with investigators about what happened while also preserving their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
The so-called “accident report privilege” extends only to drivers, owners or occupants of the vehicles involved. Generally speaking, those members are permitted to speak freely to accident scene investigators without fear that their statements could then later incriminate them at trial. However, a court may decide to allow a law enforcement official to testify towards statements regarding the accident which do not violate the accident report privilege.
In our law firm we work hard to conduct thorough crash scene investigations for our clients. Besides the normal investigation of the scene, photographing the accident site and examining the damaged vehicles, we also interview witnesses. In some cases, one of the most important things we do is to identify potential witnesses who may have testimony that is beneficial to the case. As previously mentioned, the testimony of witnesses not involved in the accident can often play a crucial role because of the inability to question actual accident participants about statements they made to police.
In addition to our truck accident scene investigation, we also consult with vehicle engineers about the road-worthiness of at-fault commercial tractor-trailers. We sift through documents to determine whether an at-fault driver received proper and appropriate training for the vehicle that he or she was driving at the time of the accident. In short, our Miami-based attorneys advocate forcefully on behalf of our clients to obtain the best available outcomes.
Source: https://needleellenberg.com/, “Florida Trucking Accident Lawyers” Sep. 09, 2014