Posted by Snowie on August 27, 2000, at 12:08:48
In reply to Re: U.S. legal questions » Snowie, posted by Cam W. on August 24, 2000, at 21:46:13
Cam,
#1 If you haven't already done so, re-create the accident in words onto paper ... in other words, write it down. You need as much detailed information as possible. Time has already passed since the accident, and your memory of what happened has faded some, and will continue to fade. Write down everything that happened now while it is still fairly fresh, i.e., who she was with and his address; name and address of the resort; any other witnesses?; city, county, and name of the street which contained the crosswalk where she was hit; time of the accident; where she was in the crosswalk; did the crosswalk have lights that were burned out, malfunctioning, or just no lights at all?; etc., if you haven't done so already. This will help your legal counsel help you.
#2 Hopefully you have a copy of the accident report. If not, you need to get one. Probably the accident report will also include a re-creation drawing of how the accident occurred. Let me know if you don't have a copy.
I'll look at the statutes again, and also other references which probably aren't online. There's a Hillsborough County Law Library not too far from where I work. However, I am limited to how much I can help since I don't know many of the facts.
If you need help finding an attorney, let me know, since I can help you there. There are plenty of good Orlando attorneys ... all I have to do is email the attorneys in our offices and they'll send me a list. If you are interested, I can have one of the attorneys in our office contact you by email for no other purpose than to give you his take on the case and steer you in the right direction.
Good luck ... we'll do our best to help.
Snowie
> Snowie - Thank you very much. This will be really helpful. Yes, I was able to get to the site and printed it off. I think that (7) states that pedestrians do have the right-of-way in a crosswalk, but a defense might counter with (8) saying she stepped in front of him. I don't think (8) will apply in this case because she was almost 3/4 the way across when she got hit. Am I allowed to challenge an investigator on his decision not to press any charges? Criminal charges are possibly not warranted, but I think he could be charges under Chapter 316(7). I may being calling you on a professional basis if my Orlando connection falls through (God, sounds like a drug deal).
>
> This is so nice of you to help like this. - Cam
poster:Snowie
thread:170
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