Car accidents have become increasingly prevalent on the roads of Orlando and they can be immensely traumatic too. Such incidences can also leave victims facing enormous financial difficulties as an aftermath.
Thus seeking financial compensation may be the only way for you to avoid complete disaster. It is your legal right to seek reimbursement for your economic and non-economic losses, thus you should not hesitate in this matter.
Securing fair compensation, however, is not as simple as most deem at first. You have not one or two but several technicalities in the due process that can be exploited by the other side to either sharply cut down the compensation sum or simply refuse to offer one altogether.
In such cases, it becomes important to seek help from professional Orlando car accident lawyers to get compensated fairly for all the damages you sustained and to avoid being mistreated and misled by the insurance of the at-fault person or party.
Every year, thousands of drivers are involved in serious car accidents throughout the state Florida; the numbers have been steadily climbing with no signs of slowing down or stagnating over the past years. The reason is simple: as roads and highways become more and more congested, the odds of accidents and wrecks will only multiply.
Thus, it is not wrong to assume that the odds of being involved in a car crash are worrisome as-is, and are only going to get worse year after year.
Of course, with such a steadily mounting challenge, the authorities have jumped to their feet and busied themselves with making roads safer, but there is only so much they can do to ensure your well-being when your actions behind the wheel and those of others determine what will happen.
Distracted driving is the leading cause of such calamities, but it is not the only one to blame.
We have a whole host of reasons for the sudden surge in car accidents throughout Orlando:
Error in Judgment: Sometimes, more frequently than you would imagine, it is not negligence or recklessness or unsafe driving that causes an accident but rather fate. A simple error in judgment can lead to catastrophic results, and many accidents have happened because of such mistakes. Of course, this does not exempt one from the blame.
Negligence on Part of the Other Driver: The term conforms to many shapes and forms in the personal injury dictionary. Negligence is generally understood as missing one’s duties in certain roles that result in some form of harm done to others. In a car crash scene, this would encompass:
Negligence on Part of the Manufacturer: If there was some technical issue with the other person’s vehicle that led to the accident then the manufacturing company will be held liable for your losses. The other driver may also sue the company if the accident was caused solely by a technical defect and through no fault of theirs.
Negligence on Part of the Company: If the other driver caused an accident due to negligence or intoxication while driving a company vehicle, then the said company will also be held liable. By the law, every organization is bound to keep tabs on the activities of their drivers and if they allow such behavior or don’t have an adequate screening process, then you can sue them too. Moreover, if there was a maintenance issue with the vehicle that could’ve been handled with routine checks but wasn’t, you can factor in that as well for your personal injury claim.
Negligence on Part of the State: Perhaps unsafe road conditions somehow led to the accident, or at least had some part in the happening. If that turns out to be true, then the state of Florida will be held liable for failing to address unsafe road conditions. However, filing a lawsuit against a government entity or even a government employee usually follows a much shorter statute of limitations than otherwise, so seek legal counsel as soon as possible after such accidents.
Be sure that you check in with competent Orlando car crash attorneys immediately after an accident, even if minor, because it won’t hurt you to explore your legal rights. Also, sometimes, the pain and suffering that results due to an accident may not surface immediately so avoid talking with the other party’s insurance company before all the facts are laid in front of you.
Since they differ in causality, car accident claims also play out differently. As mentioned earlier, negligence from any party involved (failing to perform a duty associated with one’s role) can make them liable in a car crash scenario.
Lawyers are highly resourceful in this area as they help identify all the liable parties, even if it means getting private investigators on board to explore the facts and trace them to their roots.
For any personal injury claim to go anywhere, you will have to prove a correlation between your sufferings and the negligence of a said party. You will also have to prove the extent of your damages and then demand a fair settlement sum.
However, all of this will highly depend on your type of claim:
Thus, in all forms of claims, your strategy will be different.
Thus contacting a competent Orlando car accident attorney is your best chance at proceeding cautiously in such matters.
Legal experts recommend that you seek immediate medical attention after a car crash, even in extreme cases, you should not delay it any more than 72 hours. This is important because, without a thorough diagnosis of your personal injuries, you won’t be able to describe your sufferings as accurately.
Just a PS, it is never advisable to communicate with insurance companies about your injuries and losses on your own because they will try to find incongruencies in your descriptions, simply to cut down the compensation they have to pay you.
Based on the intensity of the accident, a car crash victim may face different situations. In less severe cases, the victim may suffer from a whiplash (sudden jerk in the neck; very hurtful), minor bruising, muscle damage, lacerations, minor fractions, and so on.
However, things can turn from bad to worse, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, bone fractures, internal bleeding, serious cuts and lacerations, internal organ injuries, joint damage, and permanent disability or disfiguration is also very possible.
All of these are covered by bodily injury coverage of insurance policies, but all losses are not equal, for instance, a permanent injury is sure to multiply the compensation for damages you had to sustain.
Many car accident cases have climaxed into wrongful death claims as well since in some situations, the victim either dies at the spot or succumbs to the massive trauma. The parents, children, and spouse of the deceased can file their wrongful death lawsuits either together or separately.
As with all other personal injury cases, car accidents also result in economic and non-economic damages. These losses are mounting, to say the least, amid the current financial environment. While the former type is easy to define, the latter is harder to handle and this is where insurance companies usually try to make cuts into their settlement offers.
Just a friendly heads up, never take their first offer!
Why you should not accept the first insurance offer. Economic damages resulting from a car accident include but are not limited to all the bills for the medical attention you sought, property damage, extra expenses that you could’ve avoided otherwise, and lost wages. Note that loss of income may not necessarily be short-term, for instance, in the case of a disability, the victim will lose the ability to earn as well as they could before the accident.
In some cases, the loss of income may be absolute.
These damages are calculated by summing up all the short-term and long-term financial setbacks caused by an accident. They are easier to sum up because numbers are fixed and easy to deal with, however, the same is not true for the non-economic losses.
The accident also leaves deep emotional scars on the victims – perhaps for life, and then there’s the pain and agony. However, the problem with pain and suffering is that neither can be measured or visualized. You can’t touch the pain, or see it, or feel how it affects others.
Thus, it is tricky to prove these losses before the insurance companies.
Beware, the insurance adjusters will try their best to downplay your sufferings and get you to agree with them – don’t fall for the trap. Ideally, you should not handle the insurers on your own and instead send your lawyer to sort out the mess.
Usually, personal injury lawyers assign a multiple of up to 5 to the sum of all economic losses to compensate you for your pain and suffering. Of course, the multiple depends on the intensity of your sufferings and will be less than five in most cases, however, if the accident resulted in some serious damage, a major settlement sum is to be expected.
The streets of Florida witness many accidents every day but a huge fraction of these events involve uninsured drivers. Florida, unfortunately, has a high proportion of drivers without insurance or having minimal insurance that nominally offers bodily injury coverage and a minor compensation for property damage.
If you were involved in an accident where the at-fault driver was not insured, then odds are they don’t own any valuable property and are thus unable to pay you anything even if your losses were mounting. This is why uninsured motorist coverage is a part of all insurance policies in the state.
Orlando personal injury legal experts suggest that you should have the coverage included in your personal injury protection plan. This way, if the liable party is unable to pay for your losses, you will be able to seek support from your own insurance company.
But there’s a tiny problem here: insurance companies are not all too eager to pay up for your losses – it is bad for business.
You will need the assistance of highly competent personal injury lawyers to help persuade the insurance company into honoring its commitment or taking matters to a court of law via a personal injury lawsuit, if necessary.
Of course, the legal business is best left to lawyers and personal injury law firms but there’s a lot that you can do to help your case soon after a car accident in Orlando:
Immediately after an accident, if you can, then you should assess the damage sustained. Check yourself for any injuries, ask the passengers if they are okay, and then check your vehicle for any damages. This preliminary assessment is only a prelude to the next steps.
Take out your cell phone and start photographing everything in sight. Be sure to clearly capture the damages and other details in your photos, including all the injuries you sustained. Also, take photos of the accident scene and the license plate of the other driver’s vehicle.
The law requires all drivers involved in an accident to exchange information with each other. You should ask the other party for their full name, contact information, driver’s license information, license plate number, insurance provider, and so on. The other driver will also demand such information from you and you should tell them without hesitation.
Just don’t discuss the blame or fault at this point because that is something we’ll deal with later. Even if you’re certain that the other party is at fault, avoid commenting on the matter.
In some cases, the other driver may flee the scene without discussing anything with you, this is called a hit and run case, and you should not chase after the other driver because they may be dangerous. Just try and steal a look at their license plate number because that may make all the difference.
Always ask for a police report. This is another legal requirement, and you should be near the accident scene when the reporting officers show up. They’ll ask you a couple of general questions; share those details with them truthfully.
Also, ask for a copy of their police report because you’ll need it for your case.
You should not delay seeking medical help any later than 72 hours after the accident. This is the deadline, you should visit the doctor as soon as you can because a timely diagnosis of your sufferings will help you better connect the dots in your personal injury lawsuit.
You should keep your records complete in every way. Medical bills, receipts for other expenses, and lost wages – you should hold onto every piece of proof that reflects upon your economic losses. These records will become the backbone of your case and help you claim fair compensation.
For non-economic losses, you can journal your experience, and this will be all the more effective if you already keep a journal of things (but don’t share other details with the insurance company). Your medical records, doctor’s notes, and comments from your friends and family will be able to convince the insurance adjuster of the seriousness of your state.
In some cases, the insurer may not debate the matter at all, for instance, if the medical bill is very high – which is enough to suggest that you had to suffer a lot.
With all the data at your disposal, you can approach the insurance company and demand fair financial compensation, however, it is better if you get attorneys involved in the matter before taking this critical step. Insurance companies hire professionals who excel at minimizing losses.
They will find ways to downplay your sufferings and thus cut your compensation sum.
But their tactics won’t work on you if you’re accompanied by competent attorneys.
With your Orlando personal injury lawyer by your side, you should have no trouble reaching out to the insurance company. Just think carefully before speaking anything because your words can and will be used against you in a court of law if things go that far.
Your settlement negotiations will be shaped largely by the evidence you present and how you present it. But you don’t need to worry about a thing because personal injury lawyers make it a point to represent their clients at all stages of the process, including the negotiations, thus you can sit back as your lawyer lays waste to all of their cheap tactics.
Settlement negotiations can go either way: you may or may not get a fair sum.
If you feel like your rights have been violated and that the insurer did not treat you well enough, you can step out of the process and proceed to file a lawsuit. Your lawyer will handle the mess from thereon and see to it that no page is left unturned in your bid to secure your legal right.
Don’t worry about being able to afford an Orlando personal injury lawyer because you can find those who work on a contingency fee basis.
Hiring personal injury attorneys in the early stages of a car accident case in Orlando is highly recommended because:
Seeking rightful compensation for your economic and non-economic losses from a car accident should not be hard but this is not an ideal world and things are far from being perfect. You can run into any number of problems in the process.
It is best to have professional Orlando car accident lawyers by your side to help you sort this mess more effectively and to avoid any pit-traps from the insurance companies.
The VG Law Firm is dedicated to offering top-rated legal services to our personal injury clients in Florida. Our expert lawyers in Orlando will help you along every step of your compensation quest – you can count on us!
There are no upfront charges and the consultation is free, so don’t hesitate to give us a call!
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