Two Orlando Accidents Involve Orange County Sheriff Deputies

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on October 24, 2016

Three people, including an Orange County sheriff deputy, were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries following a Sunday afternoon Orlando car accident. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the three car crash occurred when the deputy was attempting to make a U-turn at an intersection near the Kirkman Road and State Road 408. As he was responding to a call, his squad car had both its lights and sirens on as it made its turn in the intersection.

However, that didn’t seem to be enough for one driver who, failing to yield, rammed into the side of the patrol car. In addition to the driver, the car also had a passenger. Both were injured and taken to a nearby hospital. A third car was also involved in the accident. Although it did yield to the turning squad car, as the other two collided they ricocheted and hit the third car. None of the occupants in the third vehicle were injured. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Surprisingly, this was not the only Orlando auto accident to involve a law enforcement agent. Just hours after the first crash, a second patrol car was involved in another accident near the Lockhart area of Orange County. The crash happened near Forest City Road and Riverside Park, a mere eight miles from the sight of the three car accident. In this second incident, a civilian backed into a deputy’s squad car. Although there was minor damage to the patrol cruiser, nobody was injured.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s office, it isn’t unusual to have such back-to-back crashes involving sheriff vehicles. Speaking to a local news station, one deputy said they handle about 10 per month.

When these accident do happen, as they involve a sheriff on duty, any injuries could fall under Florida’s worker’s compensation statutes. Although meant to compensate a worker injured on the job, sometimes the injury is serious enough to keep the worker out of work for an extended period of time – meaning the trooper experiences a significant loss of wages that worker’s compensation doesn’t fully cover. In these situations, one may have the right to seek additional compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. To learn more, contact the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham, P.A. today and schedule your free initial consultation.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.