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Many car accident victims in Florida think that their best chance at compensation is filing a car insurance claim. In some cases, that might be true, but if you faced injuries and needed to take time off work to deal with them, your insurance coverage might not be enough to properly compensate you.

The Florida car accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm represent injured drivers and passengers. Our lawyers take the fight to the insurance companies and the courts to get our clients the compensation they need for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other damages.

For help with your case, call our Florida car accident lawyers today at (954) 951-4828 for a free case review.

Suing for Car Accidents Under Florida’s No-Fault Laws

Florida is a no-fault state for car accidents. This means that every insurance policy is a “no-fault” policy designed to cover the driver who pays for the premiums. That means that after a crash, your own insurance policy will cover your vehicle damage and injuries. If the victim needs additional coverage, then the at-fault driver’s insurance should cover things, depending on policy limits. No-fault insurance also limits your ability to sue. However, in cases where injuries are severe or permanent or where they cost far too much, a lawsuit may be the best way to get all the compensation needed.

Florida law allows car accident victims to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver in any case worth at least $10,000 in medical care and lost wages. Any case with injuries that are considered permanent or meet other specific statutory standards can also be escalated to a lawsuit.

When you sue for injuries instead of filing a car insurance claim, you may also open the ability to claim higher damages and more areas of damages. Most car insurance policies in Florida limit drivers to claiming only a portion of their damages. First, drivers have to pay a deductible on their claims, which means paying something out of pocket even if you were not at fault. Second, insurance policies may limit drivers to only a percentage of their full damages, and they typically close access to pain and suffering damages. This means that by going through your insurance company, you automatically leave damages on the table.

When you file a lawsuit, you can include all expenses related to the crash in the lawsuit, and even many of your legal fees can be paid through the damages you receive. The at-fault driver’s insurance company will typically step in and pay for their lawyer and their damages, so it is important to have an experienced Florida car accident lawyer on your side as well. The Carrion Law Firm can provide you with the representation you need to fight for the damages you deserve.

Serious Injury Threshold for Noneconomic Damages in Florida Car Accident Lawsuits

Noneconomic damages compensate victims for their physical pain and emotional anguish suffered because of a crash. In order to recover noneconomic damages caused by a car accident in Florida, a victim’s injuries must meet the serious injury threshold. The following types of injuries are considered to meet the threshold:

Injures that cause significant and permanent loss if a bodily function
Permanent injuries (to a reasonable degree of medical probability)
Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
Death

However, the road to recovering noneconomic damages can be difficult. Other drivers’ insurance companies will likely dispute several aspects of your claim. If you suffered serious injuries because of a car accident, you can contact our Florida car accident lawyers for help recovering the compensation you deserve from an at-fault driver.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida

After being involved in a car accident, the first thing you should do is get yourself to safety and call for help. Especially if you faced serious injuries, you should call 911 immediately so you can get emergency medical treatment and a police response. When the police arrive, they can also create an accident report that includes information and evidence that you might not be able to collect yourself if you cannot stay at the accident scene.

If you are able to stay at the scene of the crash, there are a few additional steps you should take in the immediate aftermath of the crash and in the following days after the accident:

Immediately After the Accident

Get as much information as you can about what happened and who was involved. If you are able to, take notes on paper or on your phone. Photos and videos of the scene will also be helpful. Ultimately, collecting all of the following information is ideal after a crash:

The contact info for all drivers, passengers, and witnesses involved in the accident
The insurance info for all drivers involved
The make, model, color, and license plate number for each car involved
Where the accident happened, including cross-streets or mile-markers
Notes on the weather, lighting, and roadway conditions
Photos of any injuries
Photos of any vehicle damage
Photos of the intersection or roadway

If you can, also take notes about what happened. Recording yourself (audio or video) narrating what just happened to you can be helpful later. Your Florida car accident attorneys can give you additional tips on any other information to collect at the scene of the accident.

If you do have any need for medical treatment, make sure to get evaluated and treated right away. The shock of the crash and the adrenaline in your system might prevent you from feeling the injuries, so make sure to have an EMT evaluate your condition and recommend further treatment.

Days After the Accident

Some common car accident injuries, specifically back and neck injuries, do not always show in the first day. Sometimes, injuries like whiplash only become apparent when you wake up the next morning. If you notice any additional pain, injuries, or physical limitations in the days after an accident, get medical care immediately. Also follow up with your doctor if you received emergency medical care and were instructed to follow up.

In the days after a crash, you might also be able to collect more evidence by calling some of the witnesses and getting statements from them. This information is also important to give to your lawyer, which brings us to another important step to take: calling a lawyer.

You should call a Florida car accident lawyer as early as you can after an accident. If you are laid up in the hospital, you may want to spend a few days focusing on recovery first, but you should get a lawyer involved as early as you can. Your attorney can collect any remaining evidence, such as security camera video that might have caught the accident on tape. They can also start a record of your medical care and expenses and help you start a journal of your pain and suffering during the recovery process.

Lastly, you will also have to talk to your insurance company. Since Florida is a no-fault state, you usually need to file a claim with your own insurance to get PIP coverage. If additional damages are warranted or your injuries are severe, your lawyer can also help you file a lawsuit. Even if a lawsuit is unnecessary, having a Florida car accident lawyer discuss your case with your insurance company will be helpful and make the case a lot smoother.

Common Car Accident Injuries in Florida

Drivers and passengers can be seriously injured in car crashes despite modern safety features. Cyclists, pedestrians, and others outside a car could also face serious injuries if they were hit by a car. Our Florida car accident attorneys see many different types of car accident cases, and the following are some of the most common serious injuries that we help our clients get compensation for:

Back, Neck, and Spine Injuries/Paralysis

In a car crash, it is possible that you could face injuries to the back or neck and the spinal cord that runs through them. Injuries to the bones, muscles, and soft tissue in the neck and back may cause ongoing pain, especially if there were breaks, serious misalignments, or herniated disc injuries. These could require surgery to repair and a long recovery period. Chronic back and neck injuries are often caused by acute accidents like car crashes and could leave victims suffering for years to come.

More serious injuries to the spinal cord itself could cause paralysis. Your body, from the point of injury down, could face total paralysis, loss of motor control, numbness, and even pain. This could mean needing home nursing care, taking time off work, and needing help just to perform daily tasks. Talk to a lawyer about claiming damages for life-altering car accident injuries.

Head Injuries

Like spinal cord injuries, head injuries can be life-altering. Although airbags, headrests, and other safety features in your car are designed to prevent head injuries, many car accident victims receive injuries from traumatic blows to the head or from shrapnel and debris penetrating the skull. These injuries can affect motor function, memory, and your abilities, potentially permanently. Talk to an attorney about the damages you may be able to claim for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a serious concussion in a Florida car crash.

Loss of Limb

Cars are designed with crumple zones to absorb impact and avoid any compression or crushing of the passenger compartment. However, many crashes still involve immense force directed at the driver and passenger areas, potentially pinning victims into the car. Sometimes traumatic amputations occur, or surgical amputations are necessary at the hospital to save the victim’s life. Loss of limb can cause immense effects on the rest of your life and could entitle you to substantial compensation for these challenges and for the emotional toll of the injury. The same is true for disfiguring burn injuries or scarring.

Burns

Vehicles may catch on fire during an accident. Victims are often burned by hot surfaces, steam, hot fluids, and chemicals. The most severe burns can require expensive treatment like surgery and skin grafting. Our Florida car accident lawyers can help recover damages related to excruciating burn injuries.

Fractures

Breaks and fractures often occur to arms, wrists, legs, ankles, and ribs because of car accidents. Crashes that occur at high speeds are more likely to cause broken bones. Some serious breaks and compound fractures may require surgical treatment.

Crush Injuries

Crush injuries are another type of injury commonly caused by car accidents in Florida. When a part of the body is caught between two heavy objects, crush injuries can occur. Crush injuries can cause devastating harm to organs, muscles, and bones. Victims can contact our Florida car accident lawyers for help recovering compensation related to crush injuries.

Knee Injuries

Knees are also frequently injured in car accidents because they smash into some part of the vehicle. The cartilage inside the knee can sustain serious damage if the knee is twisted or turned abruptly in a crash. People with pre-existing knee injuries are highly susceptible to re-injuring their knee in a violent crash.

Shoulder Injuries

Much like knee injuries, shoulder injuries can result from the force of impact created by car accidents. Shoulder injuries can be extremely painful and often affect a victim’s ability to perform numerous tasks.

Internal Injuries

Some injuries caused by car accidents can be internal. Crashes can cause victims to be thrown from the seat of their car or be hit by flying objects. Such impacts can cause internal bleeding or damage to various organs inside the body. Internal injuries can lead to life-threatening symptoms. You should seek treatment immediately if you suspect you suffered internal injuries because of a car accident in Florida.

Soft Tissue Injuries

Car accidents also cause damage to muscles and tendons in the form of strains and sprains. These types of accidents can be painful and debilitating. Such injuries frequently cause victims to miss work and may require physical therapy.

Whiplash is a common soft tissue injury that occurs in the neck. The impact of a car crash can cause a victim’s neck to whip back and forth, causing injury to neck muscles. Even accidents at low speeds can cause whiplash.

Other Injuries

Other common injuries involve cuts, scrapes, and punctures that could vary in degree and number. No injuries are too small or not serious enough to talk to a lawyer about after a car crash. Any time you seek medical attention after a car accident, you could be entitled to compensation for the injuries you faced.

Who is at Fault in a Florida Car Accident Case?

In many car accident cases, your Florida car accident lawyers will be able to tell you who is at fault and what damages you should expect to claim from them. However, it may be helpful to have some idea of how fault works before meeting with a lawyer.

In general, fault in a car accident is determined by looking at who was doing something wrong that helped cause the crash. Car accident injury lawsuits are based on claims of “negligence,” which means looking for the violation of some legal duty that contributed to the crash. This can come in the form of unsafe driving decisions or explicit traffic violations.

If someone committed a traffic violation that led them to hit you with their car, that is usually clear evidence that they should be held responsible for the crash. In some cases, multiple drivers may have committed traffic violations, and the courts can hold each of them responsible for their fair share of the damages as well.

In some cases, victims wonder if they could be considered partly at fault for their crash. Ultimately, it is important not to admit fault or give the defense any information they could use against you. However, victims who do share some responsibility for the crash can still file claims for injuries and get the rest of their damages paid by the other drivers.

In Florida, your damages can be reduced by the proportion of fault you were responsible for. However, the rest of the damages are still paid by the at-fault driver. This means that if you looked down for a moment to check your GPS or you were driving a few miles per hour over the speed limit, that is unlikely to shift the blame totally to you. In many cases, our Florida car accident lawyers can still help you get damages.

If the case involves broken car parts or defective equipment, it is possible that auto manufacturers or auto mechanics could also share responsibility for causing the accident. In crashes involving truckers or other commercial drivers, the driver’s employer could also share fault, too.

Causes of Car Accidents in Florida

Drivers are expected to operate their vehicles with reasonable care. Unfortunately, many car accidents still occur each year in Florida because of drivers’ negligent actions. Motorists can cause devastating injuries through their careless and reckless behavior. The following are common causes of car accidents in Florida:

Speeding

Speeding frequently leads to car crashes. Drivers operating their vehicles at excessive speeds will be unable to react to traffic signals and other vehicles on time. Additionally, accidents that occur at high speeds can produce more harm.

Unsafe Lane Changes

When drivers cut into your lane without using their turn signal or without leaving enough space, serious crashes can occur. Even for defensive drivers, accidents can be unavoidable because of unsafe lane changes. Our Florida car accident lawyers can offer support to those who have been injured because of other drivers’ unsafe lane changes.

Wrong-Way Driving

It can be easy to turn the wrong way down a one-way street. However, wrong-way driving can lead to catastrophic accidents. Wrong-way driving commonly leads to head-on collisions which can involve devastating and even fatal injuries.

Drunk Driving

Drunk driving is another common cause of car accidents in Florida. Drunk drivers will exhibit poor decision-making abilities, slow reaction times, and blurry vision. Accordingly, drunk driving is extremely dangerous. Impaired motorists put themselves, other drivers, and pedestrians at great risk of harm.

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving also frequently causes car crashes in Florida. Distracted driving describes situations where drivers take their attention away from the road. There are many forms of distracted driving, however, the following are the most common:

Texting and driving
Adjusting a radio while driving
Eating while driving
Talking on the phone while driving
Talking to other passengers while driving
Scrolling through social media while driving
Using a GPS while driving

Our Florida car accident lawyers can help you recover monetary damages if you have been injured because of a distracted driver.

Types of Car Accident Cases in Florida

Most car accidents happen because a driver acted carelessly. However, some accidents are not caused by drivers’ negligence. The following are all types of accidents that may occur in Florida.

Accidents Caused by Drivers’ Negligence

There are many forms of negligence that can cause car accidents. Our Florida car accident lawyers can help recover compensation after crashes caused by other, negligent drivers.

Defective Car Parts

Some car accident injuries are caused by defective parts such as faulty brake systems or malfunctioning seat belts. In such cases, injured parties may recover compensation from the defective products manufacturer. The assistance of our experienced car accident lawyers can be highly beneficial when proving a crash was caused by a defective part.

Accidents Caused by Poor Road Conditions

Many car accidents occur in Florida each year because of poor road conditions. Severe potholes, downed power lines, and poor signage are among the many hazardous road conditions that may lead to an accident. Victims to accidents caused by poor road conditions may also be entitled to monetary damages.

Call Our Florida Car Accident Attorneys for a Free Case Evaluation

Our Florida car accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm fight to help injury victims after car accidents. If you or a loved one was involved in a car accident and now faces serious injuries and an uncertain future, call our lawyers today to schedule a free legal consultation on your case. Our phone number is (954) 951-4828