Car Accidents in Florida
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), roughly 35,000 fatalities occur every year on U.S. roadways—this translates to almost 100 traffic fatalities every single day. Many more non-fatal collisions occur every year in the United States as well. These accidents amount to billions of dollars every year in medical treatment costs, insurance expenses, lost income, and lost productivity.
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The Factor of Car Accidents in Florida
Car accidents can occur due to a wide range of factors, including inclement weather, vehicle maintenance issues, and unsafe roadways. The majority of collisions, however, occur because of driver mistakes and negligent acts. Anything from driving under the influence to failure to yield can result in a collision with another driver, a motorcyclist, or a pedestrian. While injuries and damages may vary, almost any accident has the potential to be devastating, both financially and physically.
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Car Accident Cases in Florida In Which More Parties Are Liability
For cases in which one or more parties are liable for the accident, the victims involved may pursue compensation through insurance settlements or court awards. To learn more about car accident settlements, suing for damages in court, and the timelines for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Florida, please read the following sections. We also discuss Florida’s no-fault rules and suing for emotional distress. Contact a Florida car accident attorney to protect your rights.
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Auto Accident Lawyer Florida Help If you Suffer Injury in An Accident
If you suffered injuries in a car accident, you should discuss your rights and options with a car accident attorney in Florida as soon as possible after your injuries stabilize. At the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato, our auto accident law firm devotes time to making sure our clients understand their legal options and situations.
Our Florida Auto Accident Attorney Deal with Your Case
Nobody wishes for car accident injuries to happen, but they do happen – and oftentimes they take all sorts of forms. The personal injury cases that can stem from car accidents are varied and numerous, but a good Florida auto accident lawyer will know how to deal with all of it.
A car crash can take all kinds of forms. There’s driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, negligence, reckless driving, head-on collisions, rollovers, head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, side-impact collisions, sideswipe collisions, and even multiple-vehicle accidents.
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Call Our Florida Car Accident Lawyer As Soon As Possible
No matter what form your accident takes, being in an automobile accident should prompt you to call your accident attorney as soon as possible. Getting your car accident lawyer involved from the onset ensures that you meet the limited window wherein you can file your claim. It also ensures that you have all the information needed and you’re not missing out on anything.
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Our Car Accident Attorneys in Florida Have Experience In Handling Accident Cases
Our attorney knows how to handle car accident cases, protect our client’s rights, and maximize the damages we can pursue in an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. Our Florida auto accident lawyer team works to help accident victims recover the compensation they need to cover their medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering, and more.
Our Florida Car Accident Lawyer Help to Getting Car Accident Compensation
Our main goal at the law offices of Wolf & Pravato, a leading car accident, and personal injury law firm in Florida, is to ensure that you are properly treated, cared for, and compensated if you are the victim of an auto accident in Florida or the greater South Florida area. The law offices of Wolf & Pravato distinguish themselves from the other personal injury law firms in the area by decades of experience and the legal resources to handle virtually any case involving injury to families or individuals.
We Have Innovative & Knowledgeable Legal Staff
Your case is guaranteed to be handled by an experienced Florida car crash attorney, coupled with the most innovative and knowledgeable legal support staff in the profession. The law offices of Wolf & Pravato are progressive and trusted within the legal firm and are often called upon to settle cases that other accident law firms may not be able to handle on their own.
We have handled thousands of car wreck cases in the last 21 years, and with each case, we tend to learn a little bit more about our community and how to best serve our clients. Our goal is to empower each client to know every step they should take should they find themselves the victim of a car crash.
After all, it’s the steps you take in those first few moments following your collision that can ultimately determine how your case plays out in court.
Steps I Should Take After a Car Crash in Florida
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Don’t Move
Whether or not your car has damage, you must stay in your car and wait for emergency personnel to come and assess the situation. Oftentimes, the driver who was hit will let the other driver leave the scene if they don’t suspect damage to their car, only to wake up the next day with neck pain, body aches, and a car that doesn’t seem to be running right. No matter the severity of the crash, assess the damage to your car and then stay put until help arrives.
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Call the Police
Again, even if you assume that damages are minor and physical harm has not occurred, you are much better off with a police report. If you find issues with your car in the days following an accident or if you begin to experience pain, having this police report will make things much easier should you choose to open a case with your insurance company or hire an attorney to take on your personal injury suit.
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Stay Safe
Your safety is everything. Not all car wreck happens on the right side of the road, meaning you could be stuck in the center lane of a fast-moving highway. Put your hazard lights on, keep your seatbelt fastened while you’re in the car, and light flares if you have them. The bottom line, make sure the traffic around you can see you from a distance.
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Take Pictures
These days, we’re using pictures to document just about anything, and the same should be implored after your car wreck. Thanks to modern technology, there is almost no excuse to not capture images of the damages incurred during your car accident. This will not only help your insurance company, but it will also serve as proof for your attorney to use in court during your personal injury trial. Make sure to photograph all of the cars involved as well, to give a clear picture of the total accident damage.
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Exchange Insurance Information
This is what car insurance was made for. Insured motorists should have no problem sharing their insurance information with you following your auto accident, and it’s important to also jot down driver’s license numbers, license plate numbers, and the home address of the other parties involved. If you suspect that any of the other drivers are not insured, make sure to at least get their license plate information so that you have it on record should you choose to file a suit.
What are the Economic and Non-Economic Damages in Car Accidents in Florida?
The immediate effects of any car crash are clear. The car is usually in bad shape and some repairs need to be done. The people inside the car/cars involved will have to be checked for possible injuries. If the accident is catastrophic or fatal, then you’ll have to deal with really serious injuries or even death. Someone has to pay for all that, and this is where your claims come in. Personal injury law is complex and evolving, especially in a car crash case. It is not as easy to navigate as some seem to think. If a car accident attorney fails to investigate the causation, fault, and liability, they could hurt their client’s case. Additionally, If they do not adequately document their client’s damages, they could prevent their client from recovering the compensation they need to cover their past and future losses.
Our Auto Accident Lawyer Florida Know The Economical Damages
A good Florida auto accident attorney will know all this, but even more. This is because in assessing the personal injury caused by a car crash, there are economic and non-economic damages that need to be taken into consideration. First, let’s talk about the economic damages, which are a little more obvious:
- Medical Bills – According to Florida Statute § 627.736, you have 14 days to see a doctor after an accident. The medical expenses that you need to pay for following the car accident could balloon, even before you get the chance to account for it. This could come from various sources as well. Whether it’s hospitalization, visits to the emergency room, surgery, assistive devices, professional fees, and others, as long as the expense is medical and you’re incurring it because of the car crash, then this will be covered. It’s also important to understand that your lawyer will help you with getting compensated for any medical expenses that may still be incurred in the future. This is something people mostly underestimate because it will happen way after the crash. To get your full compensation contact our Florida car accident attorney.
- Loss of wages – Another important economic effect is the wages that will be lost. This is because when you get into a car accident lawyer insurance and suffer a car collision injury, parts of your normally functioning body will be impaired and you won’t be able to go back to work right away. While you’re recovering, you will have lost the wages that you should have been earning at that time. You should be compensated fairly for this.
- Loss of capacity to earn – In worst-case scenarios, the injury will prevent the person from going back to normal, and this means that the person will have lost his or her capacity to earn. Sometimes, there will be a downgrade of compensation after the accident because your capacity has also been downgraded. This is something you can claim.
Aside from economic damages, however, there are non-economic ones that are not as obvious but are just as important:
- Mental anguish, pain, and suffering – The psychological effects of any car accident should not be underestimated, particularly in cases when the accident was so devastating. The trauma, fright, grief, and worry that one could feel after the accident do not easily go away, and at times they prevent people from going on with their day-to-day tasks. The pain and suffering caused by auto accident injuries must also be considered and compensated.
- Loss of consortium – In cases when a fatal auto accident happens to your spouse, you may be able to build a case on claiming losses that are unique because they’re marital benefits: sexual relations, companionship, comfort, and others.
- Punitive damages – This does not apply to all, but there will be cases when the accident is caused by actions of the defendant that are not just negligent but malicious. In this case, your car crash attorney can help you ensure that the defendant gets punished for it.
With many discounts or “jack of all trade” law firms, their focus is on wrapping up your case as soon as possible and moving on to the next one. We will never rush to a settlement policy if it does not fairly compensate you, and we will not hesitate to litigate a case if necessary. They practice multiple areas of law, while the auto crash attorney team focuses only on serving victims of injuries in Florida.
What are Common Car Accidents in Florida and Their Causes?
Common accidents include common causes and contributing factors, as well as incidents involving certain vehicles or individuals. If in an accident, remember what you should and what you should not do in the aftermath of the collision.
Florida accident statistics show that there are 16 million drivers and about 250,000 car accidents in the state every year which is over 600 every day. Consider this list of five possible types and causes of accidents:
- Careless Driving – According to the Florida DMV Online Guide, most accidents in the state are caused by careless driving. This includes not paying attention to curves, road width, traffic, or other things affecting the ability to drive safely.
- Drunk Driving – Drunk driving is also an unfortunate common accident. Florida accident statistics show that more than 20,000 accidents in 2009 were alcohol-related. These resulted in 14,130 injuries and more than 1,000 deaths.
- Motorcycle Accidents – FL is a popular place for motorcyclists because of its beautiful weather. However, it can be difficult for cars to see motorcycles on the roadways. Florida saw more than 9,600 motorcycle accidents in 2008, and just over 500 people were killed as a result.
- Pedestrian Accidents – Statistics from FL show that nearly 7,900 pedestrians were hit by cars in 2008, leading to 502 deaths. Pedestrian accidents are a serious problem. In 2002, there were 70,000 pedestrian accidents in the United States. Many accidents occur in non-intersection areas.
- Bicycle Accidents – In FL in 2008, crashes involving bicycles accounted for 4,775 accidents that resulted in 118 deaths. Because cars are much bigger than bicycles, these types of accidents are often deadly.
If you were injured, contact an accident attorney from the law offices of Wolf & Pravato. We can help you get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Contact them today at 954-522-5800. You may also want to review our free eBook that deals with serious injuries.
What Factors Should Consider in a Car Accident in Florida?
In deciding which auto accident attorney in Florida to go with for this valuable legal advice, there are a few factors that you must consider. First, it would be good to go for a credible firm with a proven track record in working with cases like these. You would want a great team of car accident lawyers behind you – lawyers who are used to working with accident and defect engineers as well as reconstruction experts. Getting to the bottom of things is not as easy as it seems, and you’ll need a good legal team to aid you with that. Auto accident Lawyers with experience have done this so many times, that they’ll know exactly where to start from the onset.
It’s also worth noting that you’re operating within the state of Florida, and there may be applicable new laws. People don’t really keep track of new laws that affect the rules of the road, but lawyers will be aware of this.
Our Florida Car Accident Attorney Is Here To Help
Yes, it may not exactly be ideal to get into an accident and have to deal with all the damages, trauma, and legal battles that follow. But this is why having someone who can give you expert legal advice is valuable. The good news is you can schedule a consultation with our personal injury lawyers in Florida at the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato anytime.
How Can a Car Accident Lawyer in Florida Help in a Car Accident Injury Situation?
If you suffered injuries in a car collision, a car accident lawyer in Florida can help you recover your medical expenses. While you concentrate on your physical healing, your auto accident lawyer can serve as your advocate and begin the process of seeking financial compensation for your injuries.
Your attorney may also be able to help you receive medical treatments that you cannot afford at the time of the collision. You and your family should not have to endure financial hardship owing to the cost of your necessary medical treatments from an accident that was not your fault.
If you are injured in a car accident an auto accident attorney in Florida who handles your case can identify the ways you can receive compensation for your medical treatments and any medically necessary therapies or devices.
At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Policy May Cover Your Initial Medical Bills
Your auto accident lawyer can investigate the at-fault driver to ensure they carry the minimum insurance coverage Florida requires. The minimum insurance coverage includes $10,000 of medical care for each car accident victim who endures bodily injuries. Covered medical care can include:
- Surgical procedures
- Imaging tests for diagnostic purposes
- Accident-related dental care
- Physical and other types of therapy
- Medical devices
- Ambulance rides
- Hospital stays
- Nursing care
- And possibly more
You and any passengers in your vehicle at the time of the accident are entitled to have these expenses met, but the coverage provided by insurance minimums might not completely cover your medical expenses. An auto accident lawyer in Florida can help you find additional ways to cover your medical expenses.
You May Be Able To Collect Car Accident Claims From the At-Fault Driver
If the at-fault driver’s car accident insurance policy does not cover the full cost of your medical expenses, a lawyer may be able to help you hold the driver personally responsible. Florida’s PIP (Personal Injury Protection) law (§627.736) may also cover a portion of the medical costs of your car accident.
If your insurance policy has coverage for uninsured or underinsured motorists (§627.727), your own insurer will step in and pay your medical expenses. Coverage for uninsured and underinsured motorists is optional, but an auto accident lawyer in Florida can help you pursue its protection if needed.
How to Sue Car Accident Whiplash?
When it comes to a car crash, even the slightest of fender benders can leave you feeling out of sorts. Injuries are still possible in less-catastrophic collisions, with recent data suggesting that even a fender bender at 5mph can cause whiplash and neck pain in the days to follow, and here’s why:
“With whiplash, the force to the neck is violent and sudden and is not filtered through the neck musculature. Hence, those with thinner or weakened necks (i.e. women and those who have had prior neck injury) are more prone to the effects of whiplash, which can occur from an impact to the car as low as 3G’s.”
Of course, with car accidents that happen at a faster rate of speed, you’re likely to experience more severe injuries with long-term effects – if not worse.
How Florida Car Accident Lawyer in Assess the Cost of Your Injuries?
The emergency and immediate medical expenses you incur after a car wreck can be complicated. Medical expenses start adding up from the time you receive emergency treatment at the scene of the accident. You might also receive medical bills from more than one source, including:
- The ambulance service provider
- Emergency room physicians
- The hospital, if admitted
- Physicians who treat you during your hospital stay
- Medications you receive in the hospital
- Prescription medications after your discharge
- And possibly others
It can be difficult to create an accurate picture of your complete medical expenses for current and future care. Do not hesitate to speak with our car wreck attorneys in Florida who can help you create a clear picture of your car collision injuries and the complete cost of your full physical recovery.
Our Auto Accident Lawyer Florida Can Fully Assess Your Recoverable Damages
In addition to injuries, your car accident attorney in Florida can help you receive money owed to you for other expenses you might incur. You may be able to recover common costs associated with your losses such as:
- Loss of employment income
- Reduced earning capacity
- Property repair or replacement costs
- Funeral and burial expenses for a loved one who died in the accident
- Pain and Suffering
Again, fully cataloging and assessing your expenses can be difficult and time-consuming without the help of a lawyer. If you need help creating a comprehensive expense file, speak to a lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact a Florida auto accident lawyer with the law offices of Wolf & Pravato if you can benefit from help determining how to pay your injury expenses. Our team gives lawyers a good name. Our car accident attorney can explain the financial recovery options you have after a car accident that was not your fault.
Contact Florida Car Accident Lawyer at the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato
The Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato can assist you if you were involved in a car accident with another driver and suffered injuries and financial losses as a result. When you hire us, we can help you understand the relevant insurance and liability laws that apply to your case and put together a claim based on the available evidence.
We can also help you identify and quantify your compensable damages to determine if your case qualifies for court. Then, we can help you obtain a certificate of merit to prove that your injuries meet the legal threshold for filing a lawsuit.
Statutes of limitations apply to personal injury claims, so please do not hesitate to reach out to us today. Missing your filing deadline, submitting an incomplete claim, or not providing the right forms and documents to the court or the insurance company can harm your case.
Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help you handle your claim. Our team is just a call away. Reach out to the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato for a free and confidential consultation at (954) 633-8270.
FAQs: Car Accident Lawsuit in Florida
1. What Is the Average Settlement for a Car Accident in Florida?
Car accident settlements are based on the financial losses the victim suffers. The law usually quantifies these economic damages in terms of medical treatment costs, lost wages, property damage, vehicle damage, and other accident-related expenses.
Given the numerous factors involved, the average cost of a car insurance settlement can vary widely. Some accidents may result in vehicle and property damage alone, while others may cause life-long disabilities, leading to thousands of dollars in medical bills. Any settlement you receive would depend on the damages and losses of your specific case.
2. Can I Sue Someone for an Auto Accident in Florida?
In most cases, you can only sue for an auto accident if you suffered catastrophic damages. This is because Florida is a no-fault state. We discuss Florida’s no-fault insurance rules further below, but in general, they aim to limit car accident lawsuits in the state. The majority of damages should fall under an auto insurance policy.
However, you may be able to file a lawsuit for intangible damages, like pain and suffering, if any of your injuries are permanent, life-changing, or catastrophic as §627.737 of the Florida Statutes outlines.
3. How Long Do You Have to File a Report of a Car Accident in Florida?
The law requires you to file a car accident report in Florida within 10 days of the collision. You must report where and when the crash occurred and who was involved. You must also provide any other relevant information, such as the make and model of the cars involved and the badge number of the investigating officer if you have it.
4. Is Florida a No-Fault Accident State?
Yes, Florida is a no-fault accident state. No-fault helps to reduce the burden on the courts from handling car accident cases. They also aim to provide accident victims with quick access to compensation for their injuries and damages.
This is why Florida law requires all drivers to have personal injury protection—otherwise known as PIP coverage. It ensures that everyone involved in an accident has a basic level of funds to cover medical treatment and damages, up to the limits of the PIP policy each driver purchases.
5. Can You Sue for Emotional Distress in Florida?
Yes, you can sue for emotional distress in Florida. However, you must be able to provide evidence that you sustained physical injuries. This is known as the impact rule. If you can prove this, and that your injuries have caused you mental anguish, pain, and suffering, you can file a personal injury lawsuit for additional damages. In general, permanent disability, disfigurement, and death can qualify for a lawsuit.
Car Accident Locations Served
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