Car Accidents Involving Wrongful Death Often Present Special Proof Problem

The tragic death of a young Winter Garden man highlights the unique challenges families often face after a car crash causes the wrongful death of a loved one.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, 28-year old Scott Siether was killed in a crash that occurred in the early morning hours last Friday when his Ford pickup collided with a semi tractor-trailer while both vehicles travelled northbound on the Florida turnpike near the Highway 50 exit.  The driver of the tractor-trailer and his wife survived the crash with minor injuries.  Mr. Siether unfortunately did not.

The Sentinel reported the investigating Florida Highway patrol concluded that Mr. Siether changed lanes and was struck by the semi.  Obviously it is impossible to know exactly what happened at the accident scene, but this seems to imply that Mr. Siether was responsible for causing the crash.

As an experienced Orlando accident attorney, I know that car accident cases involving wrongful death are some of the most difficult cases we handle.  The most obvious difficult in these cases is that oftentimes law enforcement only gets one side of the story.  If there are no independent eyewitnesses to an accident, the surviving driver’s story is often the only one heard.

Many times the only hope that the family of the deceased driver has of receiving justice is to have someone take an independent look at the physical evidence left at the scene (skid marks, gouge marks, etc.), and to take a close look at the damaged vehicles.  Experienced automobile accident attorneys often hire engineers and other qualified accident reconstruction experts to look into these kinds of matters.  In many instances, these experts are able to take a fresh look at the evidence and observe factors that law enforement may have missed.

We hope the Siether family has an opportunity to learn the whole story about what happened to their son.

If you have any questions about a Florida car accident or wrongful death, call Orlando personal injury lawyers Kim Cullen and Bob Hemphill at 407-565-7386.  Or, order a FREE copy of Kim’s automobile accident handbook, Asleep At The Wheel at www.bestfloridaaccidentbook.com.