South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

The Miccosukee tribal police force may be prosecuted for its refusal to release an accident report in a fatal South Florida pickup truck accident, the Miami Herald reported March 11. The newspaper said the Miccosukee, whose lands are in the Everglades outside Miami, were first to respond to the serious accident Jan. 21 and turned away a Florida Highway Patrol officer. The victim’s family would like an accident report and other information on the crash routinely provided by police agencies -- but the tribe has refused, even after the records were subpoenaed.

According to the newspaper, a truck driven by Tatiana Furry, 31, of Kendall, crashed with an SUV driven by a tribe member Jan. 21. All three of the people in the SUV were hospitalized. Fault is still under investigation, but Furry’s family has asked for the accident report, photos from the scene and other information, including the name of the other driver. When the tribal police refused, the family contacted the Miami-Dade state’s attorney’s office, which is now considering prosecution. The tribe says the records are its sovereign property, exempt from state law. In two separate press releases, it also said criticism of how it handled the incident was biased and racially motivated.

The case is further complicated by jurisdiction. The crash happened outside of tribal lands, but a Miccosukee press release said its police officers frequently patrol the relevant stretch of road under an agreement with Miami-Dade County. The Florida Highway Patrol has no such agreement. The tribal police were first to arrive at the scene; when an FHP officer arrived afterward, he was told it was a tribal matter and left voluntarily. The Miccosukee press release later said the officer failed to assert jurisdiction. It’s unclear now whether the crash is being solely investigated by the FHP or jointly investigated by that agency and the Miccosukee police.

As a Fort Lauderdale auto accident lawyer, I use accident reports and related police records every day to do my job. As the Herald notes, police agencies routinely release these records to victims, their families and auto insurance companies, which use them to help determine fault in serious crashes. That’s why the tribe’s refusal to release the records stands out. Unfortunately, this is a common problem when dealing with serious injuries on Native American land. Legally, tribes are sovereign nations regulated by federal law but completely outside of state law. As I have written here before, this gives them sovereign immunity from lawsuits. And that means that victims of serious injuries may have no recourse against tribes that hurt non-members with illegal or careless behavior.

Involvement by the FHP in this case might mean that the family can finally recover the records. But in general, if you’re being stonewalled by a Native American tribe or any other government, it’s best to move quickly. Thanks to the doctrine of sovereign immunity, government agencies from the local level to Washington, D.C. can make suing more difficult, shrinking deadlines and asking plaintiffs to follow complicated administrative complaint procedures. One mistake could take away your right to sue at all. For those reasons, experts recommend that people with these claims hire an experienced Florida car wreck attorney as soon as possible after the accident.

Cohn, Smith & Cohn has nearly 25 years of experience helping injured Floridians secure compensation with Florida traffic accident lawsuits. Based in Pembroke Pines, we represent people throughout South Florida. If you or someone you love has been hurt in an auto accident you believe is someone else’s fault, we would like to help. To set up a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online as soon as possible.