As Orlando car accident lawyers, we continue to speak with people who tell us that they were injured in a car accident, but they were wrongfully given the ticket. They want to know if the fact that they were erroneously ticketed prevents them from trying to hold the other driver responsible for their injury. As we explain to these injury victims, in cases involving injury or death from a car accident Florida law does not permit evidence of the traffic ticket.
Why is that? There a number of reasons. Injury victims may be taken from the scene for medical treatment and do not have an opportunity to speak with the officer to explain how the car accident actually happened. There are times when the police officer preparing the report or deciding whether to issue the ticket is not the officer with all of the facts and relevant information. While law enforcement officers do their best, they are human and they can make mistakes. For these and other reasons, who received the traffic ticket is never presented at the trial of a car accident lawsuit.
In a recent Orlando car accident case, we again investigated the facts in an accident report and determined that our client never should have been ticketed. We proved that our client did not violate the other driver’s right of way. From our pre-trial work it became apparent that the other driver was in a turn lane when he, without warning, decided to continue through the intersection. However, our client, who had been taken to the hospital for his serious injury, never had an opportunity to speak with the officer before he was sent the ticket in the mail. Fortunately, our client received the justice he deserved. Indeed, once we demonstrated the true facts, the insurance company changed their evaluation, accepted responsibility for the other driver and resolved the case months before the scheduled trial date.