If you have sustained a serious injury in a Florida truck accident, you will likely hire a Florida personal injury attorney. Your attorney will do several things. First, he or she will advise you of your rights so that you can make informed decisions about what you wish to do in the wake of the accident. Second, he or she will represent you in negotiations with insurance providers and will negotiate with them on your behalf. Finally, your Florida personal injury attorney will investigate all the causes of your truck accident in order to determine what has caused the accident.
This last role is extremely challenging. By the time you have found an attorney, the scene of the accident is usually cleared up. Evidence may be gone forever. Most attorneys in Florida work with private investigators and other professionals to find out the truth about an accident. This type of investigation may involve:
1) Accident reconstruction. Private investigators have complex software tools which can help them recreate an accident based on information gleaned from police reports, witness testimony, and other factors. This can give investigators a moment-by-moment rendering of the accident.
2) Background checks. Investigators hired by your Florida attorney will usually run background checks on the driver who was involved in the crash. If there are irregularities in the driver’s credentials or if the driver has been involved in other Florida car accidents or pedestrian accidents, this may indicate and can help prove a pattern of negligence. An investigator will usually also investigate the carrier or trucking company involved in the crash. If the company does not screen drivers, take proper care of their trucks, and generally work to avoid traffic accidents, this, too, can be proof of negligence.
3) Documentation. Florida investigators have access – or can gain access – to quite a but of documentation related to your truck accident. Everything from Florida police reports to doctor’s reports from the hospital to truck driver logs will generally be carefully pored over to help determine liability in an accident. Even weather reports and reports of city construction projects can help your Florida attorney determine liability.
4) Witness testimony. Florida personal injury attorneys may call in and interview many witnesses related to your case. In addition to those who witnessed the accident or your injuries, your attorneys may also interview expert witnesses or people who can make more general comments about your case based on their knowledge. For example, your attorney may gather testimony from a Florida brain injury expert who can state the type of force that may have caused a head injury like yours.