CAR ACCIDENT CAUSING INJURY TO A CHILD: A CASE STUDY

Another tactic which defense attorneys defending against a west palm beach car accident lawyer use is the darting child defense where the injury victim is a child. It works just like it sounds. They will argue that the car wreck occurred because the child darted in front of the car. Some of the counterarguments to this tactic could be brought out by the attorney's investigative effort. For example, if there was a "children at play" sign near the area where the car accident occurred; or if the accident was near a school zone; or if the child has some witnesses available which could be consulted to testify that the driver was traveling above the speed limit. The author once handled an accident injury case in which the defendant indicated that he was following the speed limit and that he was not speeding. The author -- then in a recorded deposition--asked him where he was going when the car or auto crash occurred and he indicated that he was going to go pick up his mother. The author then asked him," What time were you supposed to pick up your mother?" To which the defendant responded by saying, "12:30". The author then asked: "Where were you going to pick up your mother?" The defendant indicated a location which was approximately 25 miles from the location of the accident. The accident report revealed that the time of the car accident was 12:25. Therefore, the defendant had to travel 25 miles in five minutes and he testified that he was not speeding! Laughable! The defendant's testimony violates the common sense rule. We knew there was an indication of speeding because the defendant caused an accident; he received a ticket for causing the accident from a police officer; and admitted under oath that he was going to be late picking up his mother. All indications are a go that the defendant committed negligence and the case quickly settled after that. There is much to be said for a car accident injury attorney who pays attention to detail.