Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
In Fort Myers Slip-and-Fall Lawsuits, Witness Statements May Be Key
Witnesses can play a pivotal role in any Florida personal injury case – and that includes Fort Myers slip-and-fall lawsuits (also known as Premises Liability lawsuits). Sometimes with the ubiquitous presence of security and cell phone cameras, it’s easy to forget that the firsthand accounts of other people can be invaluable in helping us reconstruct what happened and who was at-fault.
Even with video evidence, some of the strategic reasons Fort Myers slip-and-fall injury attorneys will present witness testimony of an incident:
- Corroboration. A witness – particularly one that has no connection to the plaintiff/injured person – can back up the plaintiff’s story. This not only bolsters the plaintiff’s credibility, but also strengthens their case by providing additional evidence of the defendant’s negligence. Judges and jurors are going to be more convinced of the testimony you’re providing if multiple other witnesses are consistently saying the same thing.
- Observations you may have missed. When a person is seriously injured, their focus in that moment can sometimes narrow to the pain point. This might cause them to miss key bits of information that might prove crucial to the case. Witnesses can help fill in the blanks.
- Establishing actual or constructive knowledge. Florida slip-and-fall claims aren’t easy to win. F.S. 768.0755, Florida’s slip-and-fall statute, requires evidence that the defendant/property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition on site and failed to take action to remedy it. It should noted that this statute affects only cases when a transitory foreign substance is involved- The witnesses are sometimes even employees of the defendant – sometimes provide this evidence by detailing their actual knowledge of the hazard (ex: “I saw the spill and told my manager, but nothing was done to fix it or warn customers”) or testimony that the condition had existed for some time or occurred with regularity (thereby establishing constructive knowledge).
To be useful in a Fort Myers slip-and-fall case, eyewitness testimony needs to come from a person with firsthand knowledge of relevant events, a good memory, a consistent story and decent credibility. They must also be willing to testify in court. While written statements can be helpful to your lawyer’s investigation, they may be considered inadmissible in court as hearsay without the witness’s willingness to swear to it under oath.
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