When Do You Need To Hire A Florida Car Accident Lawyer?

Even with improvements in road infrastructure, the chances of getting into an accident on Florida roads are at an all-time high.

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid distracted or intoxicated drivers, or those who simply believe that the rules of the road don’t apply to them. 

If you or someone in your family was involved in a vehicle collision in The Sunshine State, and especially if there were significant injuries, you owe it to yourself to get in touch with a Florida car accident lawyer.

The Cases in Which a Lawyer is Necessary

Some cases are relatively simple, and if the material damage and injuries were minor, you may not need legal help. However, you can never be too safe. This is why we recommend consulting a Florida car accident lawyer on whether you have a viable personal injury case even in minor accidents.

Legal representation is absolutely necessary though, in complex cases such as:

1. Your insurance claim got denied or was undervalued

There are numerous instances in which an insurance claim gets denied. For instance, maybe the other party had no coverage or you were determined to be the liable party. Whatever the circumstances, you need a car accident lawyer if your claim is denied.

The same applies in the case your insurance company gives you a lowball offer. Most insurers are banking on you taking the offer and hoping you won’t hire a legal professional since this levels the playing field.

For example, they may offer to pay your medical bills at a reduced rate or offer a nominal amount of around $1k just to get you to settle. Many individuals take this bait and end up in financial ruin afterward.

2. Disputed liability 

Due to Florida laws, even if you are to blame for the accident, it’s still possible to recover compensation. There is a catch, though. The amount you receive will be reduced by the percentage of your liability.

Let’s say you are 75% liable for the accident, your medical bills amount to $10k, and your vehicle suffered $4k in damages. You’ll recover a fraction of that amount - only $2.5k in medical bills and $1k in property damage. 

3. Your case is complex

Some accidents are clear-cut, while others involve multiple at-fault parties, more than two vehicles, and monumental damages. Some feature no physical contact between two vehicles. If this is the case, you should work with an experienced Florida car accident lawyer to get the best outcome of your accident.

4. A commercial vehicle was involved in your accident

If a transport truck or any other commercial vehicle caused the collision, you should get in touch with a Florida car accident lawyer right away.

The reason is simple - establishing liability gets challenging quickly whenever a commercial vehicle is involved. 

For instance, the trucking company may not employ the truck driver, which means you can file claims against multiple parties. 

5. A vehicle defect contributed to the accident

How do you go about it if the drivers weren’t to blame? Many accidents are caused by a manufacturing flaw or defect, such as a faulty brake system or defective tire. 

The smart move is to hire a lawyer with expertise to prove that the accident could have been avoided if the vehicle design or manufacturing defect wasn’t present.

How Much Can You Recover?

According to data, an average injury claim amounts to approximately $22k while a property damage claim is in the ballpark of $5k.

In our experience, these averages are pretty much useless as each case and injury is different. Your injuries may have been more serious or you may have required extensive surgery or rehabilitation. 

These numbers only represent, well, the average paid out over thousands of claims. 

You can get a more realistic estimate by working with a Florida car accident lawyer who can help you properly calculate the damages. These may include:

• Economic damages 

Future and past medical expenses, as well as past and future lost wages.

• Non-economic damages

Compensation for pain and suffering, mental pain, and anguish. In serious injury cases, you may also be awarded damages for scarring or disfigurement, as well as loss of capacity, loss of consortium, and enjoyment of life.

How To Calculate Damages?

In most cases, calculating economic damages is easy as you have the receipts so it’s just a matter of adding numbers together. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are a bit more tricky since they are nonquantifiable. 

Nevertheless, there is a way.

First, your lawyer can use the multiplier method which works by multiplying your economic damages by a factor of your injury - a number between 1.5 to 5. 

The other method is the so-called Per Diem method which relies on assigning a number that represents your daily compensation for non-economic damages. The rate will usually be the same as your daily wage, which is then multiplied by the number of days you’ve been incapacitated.

Additional Factors to Consider

Sadly, things are rarely that straightforward and your damages for non-economic damages may depend on some additional factors.

If your injury is permanent, you’re more likely to recover compensation for pain and suffering. For example, minor bruises are not permanent, whereas a herniated disc in your neck is. 

Furthermore, severe injuries will increase your non-economic damages. Muscle sprains are usually not serious, but if your femur bone was broken, every insurance adjuster recognizes its severity.

The same applies to injuries that can be proven through diagnostic testing, as it’s easy to conclude you suffered extensive pain and trauma. On the other hand, subjective complaints are not a factor in non-economic damages if they can’t be scientifically backed up.

Lastly, any preexisting conditions can dramatically increase your compensation. In Florida, we have an ‘’eggshell skull’’ rule which dictates that the at-fault party is liable for exacerbating a preexisting condition or an injury.

While the insurance company may argue that the condition didn’t intensify due to the accident, your Florida car accident lawyer can successfully prove that the aggravation of a previous medical condition happened.

Avoid Injustice With the Top Florida Car Accident Lawyer

You deserve fair compensation after going through such a traumatic event, which is why you shouldn’t take any steps without an experienced lawyer handling your case.

While you might be compelled to simply settle for any Florida car accident lawyer who offers a free consultation, you should dig a little deeper. 

For complex cases, you need someone with decades of experience and a positive track record in cases such as yours. To save you hours of your time, take a look at the credentials of the Law Offices of RITE.

We have the experience, a long list of happy clients, and we will take on your case on a contingency fee basis. This means we’re not taking a penny unless you are paid, and we’ll work as hard as we possibly can to negotiate the highest possible settlement.

Call (904) 500-RITE (7483) or send a message to info@rite4justice.com to book a free case evaluation, and we can talk strategy.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.