If you were injured in a Florida car accident, you may be entitled to important legal rights–including the right to compensation. You might ask after an accident: Do I need a lawyer to pursue my claim for damages? In most cases, the answer is yes if you want to get the most out of your claim and obtain the compensation you deserve.
An experienced car accident lawyer can help you navigate the steps of a claim from the day of an accident to the day you are paid for your damages.
The Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers has fought for car accident victims in Tampa and across the state of Florida. Our dedicated legal team can help answer your questions and guide you toward what comes next. Call us now to schedule your free consultation.
You should hire a car accident lawyer if:
You Suffered Serious Injuries
In Florida, car accident victims can file claims against at-fault drivers if they sustained serious injuries due to the accident. Florida statutes describe serious injuries as any of the following:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important body function
- Permanent injury, other than scarring and disfigurement
- Significant and permanent disfigurement and/or scarring
- Death
Florida’s no-fault insurance laws allow for coverage of certain medical bills and lost income. However, no-fault insurance does not cover additional or non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. To pursue these damages and maximize your recovery, you should discuss options with an experienced Florida car accident lawyer.
You Are Accused Of Causing the Crash
To collect compensation in a personal injury claim, you must prove the other party was at least more responsible than you for causing the accident. Drivers and their insurance companies will often turn the tables on you to avoid financial responsibility. If you are blamed for causing a car crash, you will want skilled legal help to avoid liability.
Florida follows a modified comparative negligence law, meaning that your compensation can be reduced by your percentage of responsibility for an accident. These rules prevent you from being compensated if you are over 50% at fault for the crash. If your responsibility was 50% or less, you would be compensated in proportion to your share of fault. For example, if your claim is worth $100,000, and you were 20% at fault, your share in the end would be $80,000. Dividing legal liability is a crucial issue that is best done with the help of an experienced car accident lawyer.
The Insurance Company Denied Your Claim Or Gave You A Lowball Offer
Insurance companies are there to protect their policyholders and enforce policies, but they also operate to make a profit. Paying out the maximum amount as soon as claims are filed isn’t in their financial best interest. To limit liability, the insurance company could deny a legitimate claim, undervalue damages, or give you an offer far less than what you rightly deserve.
If you take the insurance company’s offer at face value without consulting a lawyer, you could shortchange yourself significantly. Even worse, once you accept a lowball settlement offer, you cannot return to the insurance company for more damages. A lawyer with experience battling insurance companies can evaluate your claim and tell you if the insurance company is playing games with you.
You Were Involved In A Complex Car Accident
In a simple fender-bender case, you might not always need legal help. In other situations, the complexities of the crash can require a knowledgeable car accident attorney’s help. Complex car accidents can include:
- Multi-vehicle crashes, including chain-reaction accidents
- Commercial truck accidents
- Crashes involving negligence by a business owner or municipality
- Distracted driving accidents
- Crashes due to drunk or drugged driving.
In these types of car accidents and others, fingers will be pointed in every direction, and you will need to prove who was truly at fault. Our skilled legal group knows how to handle complicated car accident claims in Florida and will use all available evidence to support your claim.
The Florida Statute of Limitations Is Close To Expiring
In most cases, Florida’s statute of limitations for car accident lawsuits is two years from the date of the accident. In a wrongful death claim, it is two years from the date of death. Unless your case falls under a rare exception, two years is the deadline. If you miss the filing within Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims, you forever lose your right to file the lawsuit.
You Suffered Permanent Injuries or Disability
If your injuries are serious, long-term, or even permanent, you may need a lawyer to aggressively pursue the damages you deserve. If your injuries will cause you to suffer reduced earning capacity and loss of future income, a car accident attorney can also help you recover those costs. In the event of permanent injuries or disability, your lawyer can help you seek compensation for:
- Future medical expenses and therapy costs
- Future lost earnings and reduced income potential
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of companionship
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Disability and disfigurement.
Collecting damages under these situations is not always simple. Proving your long-term damages can require medical experts, occupational experts, and financial professionals to help calculate your damages fairly. A Florida lawyer with experience handling these situations will know which experts to contact and how to build a strong case to prove your claim.
You Lost A Loved One In A Car Accident
The most difficult car accident claim is a wrongful death claim. After a devastating fatal accident, the spouse, child, or estate of the victim has a legal right to pursue damages from the at-fault driver. Wrongful death lawsuits are different from a typical car accident claim for many reasons. A knowledgeable and compassionate wrongful death accident lawyer can help you and your family navigate the legal process during times of unimaginable grief.
Contact A Tampa Car Accident Lawyer Today
As you can see, a car accident lawyer can help in a wide variety of hard situations after an accident. If someone else was at fault for the crash, you can and should pursue damages. A Tampa, FL, car accident attorney can help explain your full range of legal options and aggressively pursue damages on your behalf. If you have been injured in Florida, contact our dedicated legal team at Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers to set up your free consultation today. You can call us at (813) 430-3338.
