Following a car accident, many accident victims don’t know where to go, what to do, and to whom they should turn. Insurance companies don’t make the process any easier since they are never on your side and do not advocate for your best legal interests.
However, an experienced car accident attorney in Tampa can maximize the full monetary recovery you obtain in your case.
Unlike the insurance company, a car accident lawyer will be on your side and will advocate for your legal interests, help you make important decisions in your case, and represent you in all legal proceedings in a courtroom.
During those legal proceedings, your lawyer can highlight all of the strengths of your case and work to maximize the total monetary damages you receive for your injuries.
Common Car Accidents and Their Causes
When people drive carelessly or recklessly, their chances of causing a serious accident increase dramatically.
Traffic accidents that may result from driver error include:
- T-bone or broadside collisions, where the front of one vehicle hits the side of another vehicle
- Rear-end accidents, where one vehicle hits the back of another vehicle, usually because of tailgating or speeding
- Sideswipe accidents, where the sides of two vehicles strike one another while traveling in the same direction
- Head-on accidents, where two vehicles strike one another directly while traveling in opposite directions, frequently bringing about permanent injuries and sometimes fatalities
These types of car accidents usually happen when drivers behave unreasonably and carelessly under the circumstances.
Some of the most common causes of traffic accidents that lead to debilitating injuries include:
- Traffic law violations, such as where a driver speeds excessively, tailgates other vehicles, weaves in and out of traffic without using a turn signal, or fails to yield the right-of-way to other drivers when it is appropriate for them to do so
- Failing to use mirrors, when drivers do not look into their rearview and side view mirrors regularly while driving or pulling out of parking spaces, negligently causing their vehicle to hit another vehicle or pedestrian
- Fatigued driving, where a driver gets behind the wheel of a car or truck without having had enough sleep, sometimes causing the driver to fall asleep at the wheel and lose control of their vehicle
- Distracted driving, where a driver does not give sufficient time and attention to the road, usually because they are fiddling with an electronic device, such as a GPS navigation system, tablet, or cellular phone – or listening to loud music in their vehicle instead of watching the road attentively
- Drunk driving, where someone decides to drive under the illegal influence of drugs or alcohol, preventing them from concentrating on the road attentively, seeing other vehicles, or using their reflexes to react in time to a problematic roadway situation that develops
You are not alone if you suffered injuries in a motor vehicle crash resulting from one or more of these types of driver negligence. One of the best ways to ensure that you recover the monetary compensation you deserve is to seek experienced legal help as quickly in the process as you possibly can.
A knowledgeable attorney can investigate your car accident circumstances and speak with you directly about how the accident occurred. Your lawyer can then help you pursue a claim with the proper insurance company and work to negotiate favorable settlement compensation on your behalf.
If that is not possible, your lawyer can threaten the insurance company with personal injury litigation and pursue a favorable result on your behalf in court.
Potential Injuries in a Car Accident
Car accidents can lead to debilitating injuries that result in significant pain, high medical bills, and lost income.
Since every car crash case differs, the injuries that accident victims may suffer will differ from case to case. In some situations, a car accident victim suffers injuries when a part of their body strikes something in their vehicle, like the steering wheel, door, or headrest.
For example, if a driver or passenger hits their head on the steering wheel or headrest, they may suffer a traumatic head and brain injury, like a concussion.
Other common injuries that victims of car accidents might sustain include:
- Internal organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Soft tissue contusions to the neck and back
- Shoulder injuries
- Bone fractures
- Rib fractures
- Full or partial paralysis injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
Completing a medical treatment regimen following a car accident offers you the best chance of successful recovery. In addition, proceeding with your recommended medical treatment, including medical procedures, shows the insurance company that your injuries are directly related to the accident and that they deserve appropriate monetary compensation.
While you focus on completing your medical treatment regimen, your lawyer can start handling the legal components of your case, gathering the necessary documents, and assembling a settlement demand package on your behalf.
How Can a Lawyer Assist with My Car Crash Claim?
Representing yourself in a car accident claim is often a very difficult task. To achieve the best possible result in your case, you should retain skilled legal counsel to represent you as quickly as possible. Doing so significantly increases your chances of success in obtaining the maximum monetary recovery you deserve for your injuries and other accident-related losses.
Investigating Your Accident
In some cases, the circumstances surrounding an accident are not clear-cut. When that happens, and you are in a fault-based jurisdiction or filing a third-party claim, your attorney can retain an accident reconstructionist who can help you determine exactly how your accident occurred and who was at fault.
An accident reconstructionist can speak to you about how your accident happened, review police reports and other documentation, speak to witnesses, review camera footage, and go to the accident scene themselves. They can then draft a favorable report to your case and, if necessary, testify at a court proceeding.
Gathering Documentation
Next, your lawyer can help you gather the necessary documents to obtain the monetary recovery you deserve in your case.
Those documents may include:
- Police reports
- Camera footage of the accident
- Medical records
- Medical bills
- Lost income documentation from an employer shows the dates that you missed from work after your accident
- Photographs of your visible injuries
- Photographs of property damage
- Tax returns to prove your claim for lost income or loss of earning capacity, depending on your circumstances
After gathering the necessary documents, your attorney can forward them to the appropriate insurance company to help you recover the monetary damages you need.
Helping You File the Appropriate Insurance Claim
In some jurisdictions, like Florida, you must typically turn to your own insurance company following a car accident and file a claim under your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) policy.
Under this policy, you may recover your medical losses and lost earnings up to a maximum of $10,000. However, if you suffer a permanent disability in your accident or your accident-related damages exceed your PIP coverage, you can file a third-party negligence claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
In other jurisdictions, like Washington State, accident victims can file a third-party claim or a lawsuit against the negligent driver immediately. As part of a third-party personal injury claim, the accident victim may be eligible to recover additional damages, including compensation for their pain, suffering, and inconvenience.
Helping You Negotiate Favorable Settlement Compensation
Dealing with insurance companies, even your own insurance company, is often an uphill battle. Insurance companies will do everything they possibly can to undervalue your injury claim and offer you as little monetary compensation as possible to settle.
Your car accident attorney can be your advocate throughout the process and aggressively engage insurance company representatives in ongoing negotiations. However, if you file a third-party claim, your lawyer can threaten the insurance company with litigation if they refuse to offer you fair monetary damages for your accident-related injuries.
Efficiently Litigating Your Case
Finally, if the insurance company does not make you a fair monetary offer, then your attorney can file a lawsuit on your behalf in court and, if necessary, litigate your case at a personal injury jury trial or binding arbitration proceeding.
During a jury trial, your attorney can make opening statements and closing arguments on your behalf and introduce compelling evidence to help you satisfy your legal burden of proof in the case.
For example, your attorney can call witnesses to the stand and introduce various documents supporting your case, including medical records, medical bills, and lost income documents from your employer. Once a jury trial concludes, the jury will deliberate and decide what monetary compensation to award you for your car accident injuries.
As an alternative to taking your case to a civil jury trial, your lawyer can recommend alternative dispute resolution proceedings or ADR. At an ADR hearing, such as mediation, the parties meet with a neutral mediator who can help them resolve their claim more quickly than if the case proceeded all the way to a jury trial.
Moreover, at a binding arbitration proceeding, a neutral arbitrator will listen to the evidence in the case, evaluate the evidence, and decide the amount of monetary compensation to award the injured car accident victim.
Your lawyer can help you make informed decisions throughout your case to maximize your monetary recovery and obtain the full compensation you deserve.
Potential Car Accident Monetary Damages
Car accident victims may be able to recover several types of monetary damages, depending on various factors.
Factors that influence the types and amounts of monetary compensation that car accident victims can recover in their accidents include:
- The jurisdiction where the case is pending.
- The type of claim that the accident victim’s attorney has filed.
- The nature and extent of the accident victim’s injuries.
- The likelihood that the accident victim will make a full recovery.
As part of a PIP claim in a no-fault jurisdiction like Florida, accident victims are only eligible to recover medical expenses and lost income. However, an accident victim can obtain additional damages as part of a third-party personal injury claim or lawsuit.
First, they may recover compensation for all of their past/future inconvenience, pain, and suffering. Future pain and suffering damages may be available to accident victims who suffer permanent injuries in a car crash, as they will experience the effects of their injuries for the rest of their lives.
Car crash victims may also be eligible to recover monetary compensation for the following types of damages in various amounts:
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of the ability to use a body part for a limited or extended amount of time
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of spousal companionship, if the accident victim’s injuries prevent them from being intimate with their spouse
- Permanent disability or disfiguring injury
- Lifetime care costs
A skilled car accident attorney in your jurisdiction can review all of your legal options with you and help you select the best course of action for your case. Your attorney can also set realistic expectations about your case and the monetary compensation you may recover.
Finally, your lawyer can guide you through the settlement and litigation processes and work to maximize the total monetary damage award you receive in your case. Your attorney’s will ensure you become whole again after your recent car accident to the greatest extent possible.
Speak to a Car Accident Lawyer About Your Case Today
If you recently sustained injuries in a car accident, you should take legal action as quickly as possible. Doing so helps safeguard your right to recover the monetary compensation you deserve. As soon as a lawyer enters an appearance in your case, they may begin advocating for you.
Specifically, they can investigate your accident circumstances, gather necessary documents, and file the appropriate claim with the proper insurance company.
In addition, your lawyer can explore various litigation options and navigate the civil justice system for you. Your attorney will guide you through every step of the process and work with you to secure the best possible result in your car accident case.
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