CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER

If you're involved in a car accident in Florida, both your car insurance carrier and the at-fault driver's car insurance carrier will be required to spend money on the claims.  And since insurance companies will always seek to increase their profits by reducing the value of all claims, they will begin building a case against you immediately.  How do they do this? By either recording you making a statement that negatively affects your claim, instructing you to fill out questionnaires or other documents that negatively affect your claim, or convincing you to provide them with access to your medical and employment records.

(Many times this occurs as a recorded phone conversation with your insurance company shortly after filing a claim.  Other times the at-fault driver's insurance company will call you and request a recorded statement.  And yet other times you'll receive questionnaires and other documents in the mail with instructions to complete, sign, and return them immediately.  Usually all three occur.)

If you consult with a Lakewood Ranch car accident lawyer first, they can provide you with valuable guidance prior to discussing your car accident and injuries with an insurance company or completing any documents that may become a part of the case record.  This advice can help you in discussing and describing the facts of the collision, your injuries, and any pertinent medical history in a way that nullifies the claim reduction tactics routinely used by insurance adjusters. 

So, in short, talking to a Lakewood Ranch car accident lawyer before you talk to any car insurance carrier will help ensure that the value of your case is not unfairly diminished.    

Following a car accident, there are a few important steps you should take to ensure your legal rights are protected:

• #1 GET TO SAFETY: Most car accidents occur in the roadway, which can place you at risk of being struck by other vehicles traveling on the roadway. If your vehicle is operable, move your vehicle out of the roadway as soon as possible.  If your vehicle is not operable, leave your vehicle in the roadway and move out of the roadway to a safe area nearby.

• #2 CALL THE POLICE: It is important to call the police to the scene of the accident.  The attending officer will generate an official "Crash Report" which will document the occurrence of the accident as well as contain other factual information such as the other driver's information, etc.

• #3 GET MEDICAL ATTENTION IF YOU ARE INJURED: If you experience any injury, pain or symptomatology, seek medical attention as soon as possible following the collision.  

• #4 TAKE PICTURES OF BOTH VEHICLES AND THE ACCIDENT SCENE: Many times pictures of the vehicles provide the best evidence of the severity of the collision.  Also, pictures of the scene may assist in providing context to facts of the accident as well as correct any inconsistencies.  

• #5 GET THE OTHER DRIVER'S CAR INSURANCE INFORMATION: This is especially important if the police do not attend the accident scene.  However, even if a "crash report" is generated by law enforcement, it may sometimes have errors.  

• #6 CALL A LOCAL PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY: Before you talk to ANY insurance company, it is important that you speak to a local personal injury attorney first.  This is because all insurance companies - even your own - are attempting to minimize claims. So, when you talk to an insurance company after an automobile collision, they may document or even record the contents of your conversation in an effort use it against you at a later time.  A local personal injury attorney will be able to advise you on whether you should talk to an insurance company, what you should say to them, or they may even speak to them on your behalf.  

Questions? Call (941) 907-1133 to talk to a Lakewood Ranch personal injury lawyer now.  

Florida Statute 324.021 requires all drivers to obtain automobile insurance consisting of at least $10,000.00 in Property Damage Liability (PDL) coverage and $10,000.00 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage in order to legally register and drive a motor vehicle in Florida.  

So, what are these coverages, and what do they do?

Property Damage Liability (PDL): PDL pays for damage to another person's property caused by you or someone else driving your insured vehicle.  Keep in mind, however, that PDL does not pay for damages to YOUR vehicle.  

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): PIP coverage, also known as "No-Fault" insurance, is governed by Florida Statute 627.736 and pays for 80% of your necessary and reasonable medical bills up to $10,000.00 -- no matter who is at fault for the accident as long as the accident involves a motor vehicle.  (pedestrians and bicyclists are covered by PIP However, if an injured party has not suffered an "Emergency Medical Condition," PIP reimbursement is capped at $2,500.00.  In addition to medical bills, PIP coverage will also pay for 60% of your lost wages.  Keep in mind, however, that reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages comes from the same $10,000.00 coverage.  So, for instance, if PIP reimburses you for $3,000.00 in lost wages, there will only be $7,000.00 available to pay for medical bills.  Lastly, PIP also provides for a $5,000.00 death benefit for a driver or passenger in a covered vehicle.    

The insurance coverage required by Florida Statute 324.021 is considered "minimum" coverage and does not cover you, or others, in various common scenarios.  That is why most Florida drivers elect to carry some or all of the following additional coverages:

Collision Coverage: "Collision" pays for damages to your vehicle (remember, the required PDL coverage only pays for damages to another vehicle) when it is involved in a collision of ANY kind -- no matter who is at fault for the collision.  So, this coverage will pay to repair your vehicle when you are at fault for a car accident but also comes in handy when you're not at fault for an accident and the other driver doesn't carry enough car insurance to have your car repaired (the $10,000.00 minimum in PDL will not be enough to repair many vehicles), or is completely uninsured. 

Comprehensive Coverage: "Comp." pays for damages to your vehicle not caused by a collision.  A few instances where this coverage would be beneficial is when your car is hit by an object in the road (the stone in the road that cracks your windshield), when your car is damaged due to water damage or flooding, or when your car is damaged due to being broken into. 

Bodily Injury Coverage: Bodily injury coverage, or "BI" pays for the damages and/or bodily injuries to another when your car is involved in an accident and the driver of your car is deemed to be at fault to some extent.  So, in addition to covering you when you are liable for a car accident, it also covers any relative who lives with you -- even if they're diving someone else's vehicle -- or any other person driving your vehicle with your permission.  In addition to paying for damages and/or injuries to another person, when you carry BI coverage, your insurance carrier will provide you with legal representation in the event you are sued for a car accident.  You are not legally required to have BI coverage to register a motor vehicle in Florida unless you've committed certain traffic violations or been convicted of DUI (you must carry it for 3 years after your license is reinstated).  However, if you do not carry BI and are found liable for an accident, your financial assets may be at risk for the amount of damages -- there's a good chance you'll get sued.

Medical Payments Coverage: "MedPay" works like PIP in that it pays for your medical bills related to a car accident regardless of liability.  However, MedPay doesn't kick in until after PIP pays. So, after PIP pays for 80% of a medical bill, MedPay will pay the remaining 20%.  Also, once your PIP benefits have exhausted, MedPay will pay the PIP portion (80%) and MedPay portion (20%) of your bills until it is exhausted.  However, keep in mind that MedPay is different than other auto coverages in that your insurance company will have subrogation rights to the amount of MedPay used.  This means that in the event you receive compensation for your injuries from another party, your insurance company has a right to be reimbursed out of those funds for any MedPay benefits used. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: "UM" or "UIM" coverage pays for medical expenses, lost wages, bodily injury, and death resulting from a motor vehicle that does not have liability insurance (BI coverage), or has insufficient liability insurance to cover the total damages sustained by the injured person.  UM is available if you, the passengers in your motor vehicle, or your family members are while driving a car (yours or someone else's), riding in a car, riding a motorcycle, riding a bicycle, or struck by a motor vehicle as a pedestrian.  UM also applies when you are injured in a hit-and-run collision or "phantom" vehicle accident.     

Rental Reimbursement Coverage: This coverage will reimburse you for a rental car if an accident renders your car inoperable.  

While the internet may provide many helpful resources regarding Florida automobile insurance, it is always best to consult a Florida personal injury attorney with any questions.

Have questions about buying car insurance?  Check out the Automobile Insurance Consumer Pamphlet on the Florida Bar's website.  Not sure the type and amount of automobile insurance coverage to buy? Call (941) 907-1133 to talk to a Lakewood Ranch personal injury lawyer.

A few years ago, I represented a husband and wife from Georgia (We'll call them Mr. GA and Mrs. GA) who were staying at the Pleasant Lake RV Resort in Bradenton while visiting family in Lakewood Ranch.  One night, around dusk, as they were driving to meet family for dinner, they attempted to cross over the westbound lane of State Road 70 in order to travel eastbound on State Road 70.  However, in doing so, Mr. GA, who was driving, did not see an older BMW sedan traveling westbound and was struck broadside on the driver's side door at a very high rate of speed.  The collision was huge and the injuries were immediate and severe.  In fact, Bayflite was called to the scene to transport Mr. GA to the Blake Medical Center trauma unit.  Mrs. GA was also transported to Blake by ambulance where she presented with significant injuries.  

When Mr. and Mrs. GA contacted my office with questions, they were more concerned with their own potential exposure in the matter and didn't think they had any chance of obtaining compensation for their injuries.  And, based on the facts of the case, we definitely had some major issues to deal with:    

1. Mr. GA received a traffic citation from the Florida Highway Patrol at the scene of the accident.
2. All insurance companies deemed Mr. GA as the at-fault driver in the accident.
3. Mr. and Mrs. GA's medical bills and related liens were extremely high due to the severe nature of their injuries.
4. Mr. and Mrs. GA's auto insurance policy had been in force for less than a week.  In fact, it was so new, the initial documentation I received from their insurance carrier had a generic name on it.    

While I knew these issues would not be easily overcome, I was very familiar with the accident scene and had some ideas on how to build a viable case for Mr. and Mrs. GA. 

First, I had to determine whether or not Mr. and Mrs. GA had auto insurance in force at the time of the accident.  This was pretty easy to do as I had documentation (albeit with the generic name) showing that the policy had taken effect the week prior.  With automobile insurance, all that matters is if a policy is in effect on the date of an accident.    

In many states, Mr. & Mrs. GA would have been legally barred from recovering compensation for their injures.  In fact, had this accident happened in Georgia, Mr. and Mrs. GA would've been left without any options.  However, at the time of the accident Florida followed a "Pure Comparative Fault" system of negligence.  This means that a party may recover for their damages as long as they are not 100% liable for the accident.  In doing so, the amount of damages they recover will be reduced by the percentage of liability attributed to them.  In our case, I knew that because of the severity of Mr. and Mrs. GA's injuries, along with their exorbitant medical bills and liens, the value of both of their cases was significant.  That meant that if I could somehow prove that Mr. GA was not 100% liable for the accident, I could still recover a good amount of compensation for them.  So, how would I do that?

The first thing I did, is pointed to the severe nature of the collision.  Obviously, a collision of that magnitude requires a lot of speed.  Well, since we know Mr. GA was crossing over the westbound lanes of State Road 70, we know that he didn't have enough time or space to generate a lot of speed.  Therefore, the speed required for this collision had to have come from the other driver.  So, I argued that the other driver was speeding at the time of the accident.

Next, I knew that the accident happened around dusk and that it had also just turned to daylight savings time.  This means drivers are required to turn on their headlights earlier than they are used to. I also determined that the BMW driven by the other driver did not have automatic headlights.  So, I argued that the other driver did not have their headlights on at the time of the accident and that Mr. GA could not see him when he attempted to cross over State Road 70.  

These arguments, plus a few other minor objections, led to the insurance company agreeing to reduce Mr. GA's liability to 70%.  Shortly thereafter, I was able to turn the other driver's 30% liability into a settlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mr. and Mrs. GA.    

So, what can we learn from this case? That even if you think you may be liable for a car accident, you should always call and talk to a local personal injury lawyer about the incident.  Since Florida follows a "Pure Comparative Fault" system of negligence, there's almost always a chance that you can legally pursue damages for your injuries.  Now, whether it's feasible to pursue this compensation is best determined by a local personal injury lawyer.  Why local? Because a personal injury attorney that lives and works locally is most familiar with the area the accident occurred as well as the medical providers closest to you.  These are things a billboard/TV commercial injury lawyer from Tampa, St. Pete, or Clearwater will never know - no matter how large their law firm is.