Miami Private InvestigationsPersonal injury investigations at a glance
- What it is: fact-gathering on how an injury happened and who is responsible: scene documentation, witness statements, video retrieval and background on the parties.
- Case types: vehicle accidents, premises liability, negligent security, workplace incidents and wrongful death.
- Who hires us: plaintiff firms, defense counsel, insurers and claims professionals.
- Why timing matters: Florida gives most negligence and wrongful death actions two years (s. 95.11, F.S.), but footage and scene conditions can be gone within days.
- What you receive: an attorney-ready report with a timeline, photos, diagrams, statements and the original media, plus testimony if needed.
- Credentials: Florida agency license A1800135, veteran-led, bilingual, office in Coral Gables.
Insurers start looking into a serious incident right away, because the first documented version of events tends to frame everything after it. Counsel on either side needs an investigator who moves at that pace and records facts carefully enough to survive cross-examination. Personal injury work is a core part of our practice, not a sideline.
What does a personal injury investigator do?
Florida law defines private investigation to include looking into the "causes, origin, or responsibility for" accidents, damage or injuries, the credibility of witnesses, and "securing evidence" for use in trials (s. 493.6101, F.S.). In an injury matter that breaks down into five jobs:
- Scene documentation. High-resolution photographs and video, measurements, sight lines, signage, lighting and weather conditions, and the physical damage, captured before anything is cleaned up or fixed. It also gives any accident reconstruction expert reliable data to work from.
- Area canvass. Door-to-door work around the location to find people who saw the incident or knew about the hazard, and to spot every camera that may have recorded it: storefronts, apartment entrances, gas stations and doorbell units.
- Witness location and statements. Finding bystanders, neighbors and co-workers, and taking detailed statements while memories are fresh. People who ignore a law firm's calls often talk to an investigator at their door. See witness location.
- Video retrieval. Identifying who controls each camera and getting footage preserved before it is overwritten (surveillance video retrieval).
- Background on the parties. Public-record research into a defendant driver, property owner, management company or security contractor for prior incidents, lawsuits or misconduct, and into a claimant's history where the defense needs it (background investigations).
Which injury cases do we investigate?
Vehicle accidents
When fault is disputed or the police report is thin, we photograph the intersection and vehicles, look for traffic, business and dashcam video, and locate independent witnesses. Florida keeps the personal details in a crash report confidential for 60 days after it is filed, but releases it immediately to the parties, their legal representatives and their insurers (s. 316.066(2), F.S.).
Premises liability
Slip-and-fall cases turn on the property's condition at the moment of the fall and whether the owner knew or should have known. We document the hazard, lighting and warnings, and gather what shows how long it existed: maintenance practices, complaints and earlier incidents.
Negligent security
We review prior police calls and crime history around the property, and assess lighting, gates, locks and access control for lapses that bear on foreseeability. Florida gives a multifamily owner a presumption against liability for third-party crimes if it "substantially implements" listed measures, including entry and exit cameras that keep footage "retrievable for at least 30 days," lit parking areas, deadbolts and a crime prevention assessment, and the owner bears the burden of proving it did (s. 768.0706, F.S.). Documenting what was actually in place, and whether it worked, is fieldwork.
Workplace incidents and wrongful death
Construction and workplace injuries often involve several companies on one site, and identifying each one is part of the job. In wrongful death matters we work respectfully with families while securing the scene, footage and witnesses. Florida's two-year limit applies to wrongful death actions too (s. 95.11, F.S.).
Do you work for plaintiffs or the defense?
Both. Plaintiff firms use us to prove liability and show every responsible party. Defense counsel and insurers use us to test a claim: to check whether a claimant's publicly observable activity matches the reported injury (surveillance) and to research prior claims. Liability analysis helps either side: under Florida's comparative fault rule a claimant's own fault reduces the award, and a party "found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages" (s. 768.81(6), F.S.). Insurer work is covered on our claim investigation page.
When should an investigator be brought in?
As early as possible, ideally when the case is signed or the claim first looks contested. Three things decay quickly:
- Video. Many systems record over themselves within days, and no subpoena brings it back.
- The scene. Spills are mopped, broken rails repaired, lights replaced and vehicles sent to salvage.
- Witnesses. People move, forget, or adopt someone else's version.
Weeks later is not too late: witness work, records research and activity checks remain possible, and we will say plainly what is still recoverable. Against the usual obstacles (an at-fault party who denies everything, a carrier disputing the evidence, records lost or destroyed), early and consistent documentation is the best answer.
What a Florida PI can and can't legally do in an injury case
We are licensed under Chapter 493, Florida Statutes, through the FDACS Division of Licensing. A license is not a badge, and unlawfully gathered evidence can sink the case it was meant to help:
What we can do
- Photograph and film a scene from public areas, or from private property with the owner's permission or through the access counsel arranges.
- Interview willing witnesses and take signed or recorded statements, with the witness knowing the statement is being recorded.
- Use motor vehicle record information for a permitted purpose connected with a court proceeding, which federal law allows licensed investigative agencies (18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)(4) and (b)(8)).
What we won't do
- Secretly record a conversation. Florida allows interception of an oral or wire communication only when "all of the parties to the communication have given prior consent" (s. 934.03, F.S.). A hidden recording of an interview is a felony and is barred from evidence, with anything derived from it (s. 934.06, F.S.). Our recorded statements begin with the witness's consent on the recording.
- Enter a property without authorization. Entering a gated complex or fenced lot uninvited is trespass (s. 810.08 and s. 810.09, F.S.).
- Fly a camera drone over private property to watch people. Florida bars using a drone to record privately owned property, or the people on it, to conduct surveillance in violation of their reasonable expectation of privacy without written consent (s. 934.50, F.S.).
- Track a claimant's car. Placing a tracking device on another person's property without consent is a felony, and investigators get no general exemption (s. 934.425, F.S.).
- Pose as police, or solicit clients for a lawyer. Impersonating an officer is a crime (s. 843.08, F.S.), and soliciting business for an attorney in return for compensation is grounds for license discipline (s. 493.6118(1)(l), F.S.). We do not contact injured people on a firm's behalf.
For the full picture, read our guide to Florida Statute 493 and what a PI may do.
How is the evidence authenticated and reported?
Florida requires authentication "as a condition precedent to its admissibility," meaning evidence sufficient to show the item is what it is claimed to be (s. 90.901, F.S.), and it must be relevant to a material fact (s. 90.401, F.S.). Each file is built for that:
- Original media kept unedited, with capture dates, times and locations logged, and working copies clearly marked as copies.
- A documented chain of custody for footage obtained from third parties: who provided it, when, from which system, and how it was stored.
- Witness statements with contact details, date and place, and notes on inconsistencies with other accounts.
- A written report with a timeline, diagrams, photographs and findings, usable in settlement talks or at trial.
- Testimony from the investigator about what they observed and how each item was captured (s. 90.701, F.S.).
Miami-Dade civil cases are heard in the 11th Judicial Circuit, largely at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 N.W. 1st Avenue. Prior suits against a property owner or business can be searched through the Miami-Dade Clerk's civil case search, and the entity behind a property can often be identified through Sunbiz. See also our guides to court-admissible scene documentation and vetting an injury investigator.
What affects the timeline and cost?
We scope each matter individually and do not publish a price list. The main factors are:
- How much time has passed. A fresh incident means fast scene and video work; an older one shifts effort toward witnesses and records.
- Number of witnesses and cameras. A busy intersection can involve many businesses to canvass and several footage requests.
- Case type. Negligent security work involving a property's crime history and security measures takes more research than a single-vehicle scene.
- Surveillance, travel and testimony. Field days, work outside Miami-Dade, and deposition or trial preparation add scope.
Scope is agreed with you before work begins, and we update counsel as findings come in.
Why law firms work with us
- FDACS agency license A1800135
- ★ 4.9 from 88 Google reviews
- Veteran-led team
- Witness interviews in English and Spanish
Many Miami witnesses are more comfortable in Spanish, and a bilingual investigator takes the statement in their own words. Attorneys at firms including Morgan & Morgan, Cornish Hernandez Gonzalez, Asilia Law, Goldberg & Rosen and Scheer Legal have recorded video testimonials about our work; watch them here. Case information stays confidential, since unauthorized release is grounds for license discipline (s. 493.6118(1)(e), F.S.). Whoever you hire, verify the license, ask for a redacted sample report, and avoid anyone who promises an outcome.
Related services
Field investigation and testimony for litigators.
Building the fact record for plaintiff counsel.
Claim checks for carriers and defense counsel.
Finding and preserving camera footage after an incident.
Lawful activity documentation in public places.
Finding the people who saw what happened.
Our long guide to evidence in injury matters.
Available across Florida
Personal injury investigations are run from our office at 4000 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 470, Coral Gables, and our investigators travel to wherever the incident happened.