Tampa Pedestrian Accident Investigations
It is recommended that before Tampa pedestrian accident investigations begin, an individual should not disclose information about it until they have had a chance to speak to a skilled pedestrian accident lawyer who can help determine what the facts are. Some people are too quick to discuss accident details with an insurance carrier and they sometimes provide incorrect information based on what they thought happened as opposed to what can be proved happened.
Police officers are trained to investigate all types of conditions. A law enforcement officer is going to be able to document the circumstances surrounding an accident and take good witness statements while people’s recollections are at their best.
What to do if the Driver Fled the Scene
Contacting law enforcement is the most important part of a Tampa pedestrian accident investigation. A person’s best chance is getting a good description of the vehicle, including make, model, color, and year. If an individual can get the license plate number, it is the most important thing along with a general description of the operator of the motor vehicle.
If a person has been injured in a pedestrian accident, they should talk to law enforcement, because they are at the scene and going to be able to document what happened to the best of the person’s ability. Beyond that, a person should contact an attorney to coordinate with the claim and to make sure that the person maximizes the ability to recover.
When to Contact An Attorney
Consulting an attorney as soon as possible can affect the way your Tampa pedestrian accident investigation is handled. Pedestrian lawyers are trained in being able to not only document an accident scene but identify witnesses and potentially determine what parties may be liable to the injured person. It may be the driver, the owner of the car, a leasing company, the county, the city, or some governmental entity in some respect. An attorney is going to be able to determine how many accidents have occurred in that particular area and what government officials have done to prevent accidents in that particular location.
Overlooking Evidence
Non-attorneys overlook the ability to conduct Tampa pedestrian accident investigations properly. These investigations should include search government records to determine the propensity of a particular type of accident in a particular location. There are metrics held by government officers that track every pedestrian accident that occurs. In addition, a lot of times there are video cameras that are designed to control traffic. Those videos sometimes can capture a particular accident, even if it was not at the exact intersection where the camera was placed. They have vantage points sometimes that are further down the line, and those only exist for a finite amount of time.
Speaking with an Attorney
A good lawyer is going to be able to identify specific parts of Tampa pedestrian accident investigations, such as:
- Evidence necessary to uncover witnesses
- Collect witness statements
- Look into driver’s history
- Identify whether somebody should have allowed somebody to operate their vehicle
- Determine how many accidents have occurred at a particular intersection by searching county records
- Understand how and what the causes of an accident were
There are also a lot of professionals like an accident reconstructionist and body mechanics experts, that lawyers can engage to help a jury determine how an accident occurred and how could it have been prevented.