Here again is a common question that is received at the law firm and the accident lawyer in Boca Raton (injury attorney Palm Springs, accident lawyer Wellington, injury lawyer Lake Worth, accident attorney Miami, accident lawyer Fort Lauderdale, injury attorney Cooper City, injury lawyer Delray Beach) will respond to this question.
Generally, no you do not have to give someone who you are suing a recorded statement. When you fall at any business establishment like a department store AND you believe it is their fault, you may ultimately make a bodily injury claim against the store. Thus, the store very well may forward the information about your fall to their insurance department or sometimes the larger retailers have captive risk departments (which are effectively like in-house insurance departments) to investigate your claim. From THEIR standpoint they want to investigate all of the facts and this would include taking a recorded statement of any witnesses including the injured person. Generally, if the retailer has insurance, you are making a third party claim against the insurance and thus generally, under Florida law, the retailer or their insurer would NOT have a RIGHT to take your recorded statement before litigation is begun. You can voluntarily give such a statement however but we will discuss why that may not be a great idea below. It is important to note that some retailers have insurance that contain medical payment provisions and in those cases you may be required to give a statement in order to claim medical payment coverage, depending on the wording of the policy. It is a good idea to speak to a lawyer after you fall and certainly before agreeing to any sort of recorded statement.
The reason why giving a recorded statement is bad idea, especially when it is not required, is several reasons. First, if you give the statement before you hire a lawyer then you are not having the ability of having your lawyer prepare you for the statement. The second reason is that while you may believe that your statement is accurate, if you give a statement more than one time (and if your case ends up in court you will have to give written explanation of the accident and your injuries as well as a oral sworn statement or deposition), there possibly can be differences between them and that can work against you. From the insurance company’s standpoint, they always want to take the statement recorded, such that they lock you in and so that they can use this to help them later. Bear in mind that, under Florida law, any person, including an insurer has to advise you that they are recording you. Usually, after the adjuster turns the recorder on, he or she will ask you whether it is okay to record the conversation. If it is not okay, then just say “no” and the insurance adjuster would have to turn the recorder on. You could always seek the advise of an attorney before you give a statement, as discussed above.
If you have been in a slip and fall accident, car accident or any other accident where you believe you were injured due to another’s negligence, please call Drucker Law Offices for a free consultation at (561) 483-9199 for Palm Beach County (main office Boca Raton); (954) 755-2120 in Broward County (satellite office Coral Springs); or (305) 981-1561 in Miami-Dade County (Satellite office Miami).
Of course, a case based on a fact pattern such as the one above is unique and any other case should be judged based on the specific facts of the case. The advice in this blog is intended to be general and should not to be used as specific advice for a case, as the slightest difference in the facts could change the result. Also, this blog is, as the web site name suggests, based on Florida law and the laws of any other state could vary significantly from Florida.
