Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

People commonly see campaigns for the safety of bicyclists, motorcyclists, and others.  It is not too often you hear or see campaigns for the safety of skateboarders.  Drivers should be on the look out for skateboarders as well. Let’s face it – a skateboarder is just a pedestrian on top of a piece of wood or plastic with wheels on it.  A skateboard is not match for the weight, power, volume, or force of a motor vehicle.  When a skateboard is hit by an automobile, the resulting personal injuries can be quite significant. Tragically, a skateboarder can and does often die as a result of the injuries sustained in an automobile / skateboarder accident.

Florida is a comparative fault state. In other words, the liability or fault for the accident can be apportioned to more than just one person. Let’s explore an example.  Let’s say that a skateboard is riding on the side of the street.  The skateboarder is then hit by an automobile and suffers personal injuries. Who is at fault?  Additional facts and information would need to be established to determine the fault or liability for the personal injuries sustained by the skateboarder.  In the State of Florida, a police officer usually arrives at the scene after the accident rather than personally observing the accident as it takes place.  The police officer will evaluate the scene of the accident and take witness statements.  Then, the police officer will decide whether or not to issue a citation.  In the State of Florid, there is the Accident Report Privilege which means that the contents of the police report and the issuance of a traffic citation (if any) are not admissible in evidence in a civil trial.  As such, the issuance or non-issuance of a traffic citation for an accident involving a skateboard is not dispositive or controlling on the decision of the skateboarder / family of the skateboarder to pursue a civil case or insurance claim on behalf of the skateboarder.

Certainly, drivers should pay close attention to traffic and conditions when operating a motor vehicle.  Whenever there are pedestrians, bicyclists, and, yes, skateboarders nearby, the most prudent action should be for the driver to slow down and attempt to change lanes away from the bicyclist, pedestrian, or skateboarder if possible.  Whenever there is a death as a result of an automobile accident involving another driver, passenger, pedestrian, bicyclist, or skateboarder, there will be a Florida Traffic Homicide Investigation completed by local law enforcement and / or the Florida Highway Patrol.  This report can contain important details and finding about the automobile accident.