Rear End Collisions: When is the law not the law? When there’s an exception.
I have heard a good number of people proclaim that in a rear end collision, Florida law says it is the the rear driver’s fault. That statement contains seeds of the truth but is not entirely accurate.
In a rear end car accident, Florida law imposes a presumption that the rear driver is at fault. This presumption can be overcome with sufficient evidence. If the rear driver can show that the lead driver stopped or changed lanes abruptly or arbitrarily in a place that a reasonable person would not expect them to, then Florida law no longer presumes the rear driver to be negligent.
If the lead driver’s vehicle is stopped illegally, then Florida law no longer presumes the rear driver to be negligent.
Lastly, if the rear driver in the wreck can show that his or her car suffered from a mechanical failure like sudden brake failure (and the mechanical failure is not the fault of the rear driver) then Florida law no longer presumes the rear driver to be negligent.
These exceptions to the rear driver negligence presumption played an important role in a recent Florida wrongful death lawsuit involving a highway wreck. The case almost got thrown out of court until a judge ruled that the plaintiff (who represented the rear driver) presented enough evidence of the first exception.
Without evidence that the lead driver of a tractor trailer abruptly changed lanes and decelerated, the rear driver would have been presumed to be the negligent party and the case would likely have been thrown out of court.
Explore posts in the same categories: Auto Accidents, Wrongful Death, negligence