Is a Police Report Required to Pursue a Claim for Personal Injuries from a Motor Scooter Accident?

In order to pursue a claim or case for personal injuries following a motor scooter accident, a police report or a crash report is not required; however, it should be pointed out that a police report / crash report is often helpful in that statements are taken, witnesses are identified, and insurance information is obtained. In the State of Florida, in most civil cases, the police report and statements obtained by police officers during the investigation are not admissible at trial. While the report itself cannot be submitted as a piece of formal evidence, the information contained in the police report can be helpful. Furthermore, insurance companies are influenced by the information contained in the police report including the determination of fault by the investigating police officer.

In the State of Florida, a motor scooter is considered to be a motor vehicle. As such, the operator of a motor scooter must obey the rules of the road. Many of the rules of the road are found in Chapter 316, Florida Statutes. For instance, Section 316.0895, Florida Statutes, stated that a motor vehicle should not follow another motor vehicle more closely than would be reasonable and prudent taking into account traffic, speed, and the condition of the roadway. In most cases, when a motor vehicle rear ends another motor vehicle, there is a citation for following too closely and / or careless driving.

If a motor scooter operator or rider is injured as a result of the negligence of another person driving a motor vehicle, it is generally recommended that the police department is contacted so that the accident / crash can be properly documented. Again, there is no legal requirement that a police report be issued in order to pursue a case or claim for personal injuries. It should also be noted that if there is a police report, the findings or lack of findings of fault by the police office are not binding on the personal injury claim or case. For instance, let's say that a motor scooter operator is rear ended by the driver of a motor vehicle. The motor scooter operator is injured and the police department is contacted. The police officer arrives on the scene and documents all of the relevant information. The police officer, in his or her discretion, decides to cut the negligent driver a break. As such, no citation is issued. Does this mean that the case or claim for personal injuries cannot be pursued? The answer is clearly no. A personal injury case or claim can still be pursued. While it is preferable that there is a citation issued to the other driver for his or her fault, the case or claim for personal injuries can still move forward.

Following a motor scooter accident with injuries, there are a number of issues and challenges faced by the injury victim and family. It is often helpful to contact and experienced Florida Motor Scooter Injury Attorney to discuss the courses of action. David Wolf has been representing injury victims and their families for over 30 years. He is knowledgeable about insurance and compensation awardable in motor scooter and related accidents. Attorney David Wolf provides a free consultation on all personal injury cases. He is the author of 12 books and 4,000 articles that focus on personal injury matters.

Contact David Wolf right now. He is available days, nights, weekends, and holidays to discuss your legal rights and inform you as to how to better protect and enforce these legal rights. Call David Wolf at (904) 500-WOLF or (904) 500-9653. You can also e-mail David Wolf at dwolf@davidalanwolf.com Get David Wolf to protect and enforce your legal rights. You deserve to have an attorney on your side.