Please accept today’s blog entry from the accident lawyer from Boca Raton (injury attorney Lake park, accident lawyer Manalapan, accident attorney Pompano).
Police reports are extremely helpful in determining who is at fault in an accident. However, unless the policeman witnesses the accident, there is limited information that he or she can testify to. That is because of the “accident report privilege” which is part of 316.66, Florida Statutes. The lawmakers wanted to encourage people to explain accurately how an accident happened, so that this information could be used to make intersections safe and so forth. Thus, generally the police report is inadmissible in a civil case and the information that you told the police is also generally inadmissible. Thus, the policeman’s conclusion that one car is at fault is not admissible generally and the jury in a civil case will be limited to the testimony of the people involved in the accident, plus witness testimony and of course any physical evidence. In some cases, which could arguably go one way or the other, if the policeman sides with one car over the other, this information likely will not be able to be used in court if the policeman did not see the accident. Generally, when a police report is in your favor, this is a good thing and much more often then not the result in the police report will be agreed to by the insurance companies. However, there are some cases, which are close calls, where there can be disagreement on the police report or where the policeman for one reason or another missed something in a case.
If you have been in an accident where you believe the other car or the place where you were injured is at fault, please call Drucker Law Offices for a free consultation at 561-483-9199 (Boca Raton Main office) or 954-755-2120 (Coral Springs satellite office) or 305-981-1561 (Miami satellite office).
Every case is different and must be judged on its merits. It is a good start to get a complementary consultation regarding an accident case in case this happens to you. The advise contained in this blog is intended to be of general matter and not as to a specific situation, so please call a licensed Florida attorney, like the lawyer at Drucker Law Offices, to determine if and how Florida law applies to your case.
316.066 Written reports of crashes.—
(1)(a) A Florida Traffic Crash Report, Long Form is required to be completed and submitted to the department within 10 days after completing an investigation by every law enforcement officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle crash:
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(5) Except as specified in this subsection, each crash report made by a person involved in a crash and any statement made by such person to a law enforcement officer for the purpose of completing a crash report required by this section shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting. No such report or statement shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal. However, subject to the applicable rules of evidence, a law enforcement officer at a criminal trial may testify as to any statement made to the officer by the person involved in the crash if that person’s privilege against self-incrimination is not violated.
