What if the Other Driver Lies to the Police?
Someone turning left and speeding through an intersection, laying on his horn in an attempt to beat a red light, plows into your car as you accelerate from a green light with the right of way on a busy South Florida road in broad daylight. He smashes into your rear driver’s side door and trunk, pushing your car off the road and into a ditch. He immediately gets out of his car, rushes over to make sure you are okay and to apologize to you for what happened. The other driver expresses what seems like genuine remorse, saying he was in a hurry and trying to beat the light because he was late for an important meeting. You exchange insurance information and then call the police, waiting for them in your car, glad you somehow survived with what seems like minimal injuries. The other driver also sits in his car until the police arrive. However, the other driver’s story changes when police arrive. Despite what he said to you after the accident occurred, the other driver lies to the police. He says that he was safely proceeding through the intersection, completing a left-hand turn with the right of way. You then accelerated into the lane he was turning into, and he claims he had no chance to swerve or otherwise avoid hitting you, given that you were accelerating so fast, even though he claims he, not you, had the right of way. Shaking with anger, you can barely get out the words to tell the police the truth about what occurred.
It is almost predictable that the other drives lies when they cause a motor vehicle accident, knowing that they would face not only a ticket, a fine and points on their license, but also increased insurance rates and potential liability if the driver that caused the accident hurt someone else. However, what many people in your predicament do not understand is that, particularly in the digital age, it is very difficult to get away with fooling not only the police, but also the other driver about exactly how an accident occurred. In an era when red light cameras and other video evidence is available, particularly when the accident occurs in broad daylight at a busy intersection when there are likely dozens of witnesses, getting away with this is not easy. This is particularly true if the other driver ran a red light such as in this case. This is one reason that your selection of the right personal injury attorney to represent you in your Florida motor vehicle accident claim is so important. The right attorney will know exactly how to prove the other driver was lying about how the accident occurred.
Ways to Prove The Truth of What Occurred in Your Motor Vehicle Accident
There are many sources to prove the truth of what actually occurred during a motor vehicle accident in a scenario like the one described above where the other driver lies about the circumstances of the accident. First, the number of cameras that likely captured the events would surprise most people. Not only is there the chance that nearby businesses had surveillance cameras that just may have happened to catch all or part of the events as they unfolded, but also there may have been traffic cameras at the intersection.
In addition, even if there is no video surveillance that shows exactly what happened, a talented private investigator can find witnesses much more easily than many people would expect. Police may be too busy or trying to respond to too many calls to properly canvass the area and find all potential witnesses to an accident, but a good private investigator will always do everything in his or her power to locate, identify and speak with anyone who may have witnessed the accident or been anywhere near the vicinity. Accident victims often are surprised that complete strangers will go out of their way to help someone they do not even know, particularly when a witness finds out the driver whose negligence caused the accident is trying to lie his or her way out of what he or she did. A pedestrian that was waiting for the light to change may be completely ignored by the police, but an experienced investigator often may be able to review video camera footage and identify and talk to that person, who could end up being the key witness at trial.
Talented accident reconstruction experts can also assist immensely in recreating for the jury exactly what happened. Whether it is properly analyzing the skid marks or tire tracks on the road, the damage to the vehicles involved in the accident or video evidence, proving what occurred during an accident is not as difficult as most people believe it to be.
Contact Schwed, Adams & McGinley
At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, our experienced Florida personal injury attorneys have more than 150 years of combined legal experience. We have dealt with many situations where the other driver lies about how exactly an accident occurred, but this often backfires on that driver given the amount of evidence available to show exactly how such an accident occurred. We work with experienced investigators and experts who have seen literally everything when it comes to accidents, including where the other driver lies and having to prove that a negligent motorist is not telling the truth. No matter the type of accident or scenario, contact our experienced attorneys at contact@schwedlawfirm.com or (877) 694-6079 for a free consultation today if you have been injured or a loved one has been killed or injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida.