Miami Car Accident Lawyer
Fighting for Full Compensation on Behalf of Car Accident Victims
A car accident can change your life in an instant. Fortunately, you may be entitled to compensation after an accident for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future medical care. Where will that money come from? The job of a Miami car accident lawyer is to shoulder the work of ensuring the victim gets all the financial compensation to which he or she is entitled. At Freidin Brown, P.A., personal injury work is the main focus of our legal practice – and we represent scores of car accident victims in Florida.
Our team of accident lawyers has extensive experience with all types of car accidents, including:
- Bridge & Overpass Accidents
- Car Accident Liability
- Dangerous Roadway Accidents
- Distracted Driving Accidents
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Fatal Car Accidents
- Head-On Collisions
- Rear-End Collisions
- Uninsured Motorist Accidents
How is Fault Proven in Car Accident Cases?
In a basic sense, every car accident is the same from a legal perspective. The accident victim receives compensation first from his or her own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) policy and then from the insurance policy of the at-fault driver. However, the percentage of financial compensation the accident victim receives will be determined by their own level of fault.
For example, if the cost to the accident victim outside of PIP payments is $10,000, and it is determined that they were 80 percent responsible for causing the accident, then the car accident victim may recover $2,000 from the other driver’s insurance. company. How your Florida personal injury lawyer goes about proving fault will depend greatly on the type of accident.
What Should I Do if I Have Been Injured in a Car Accident?
There is no substitute for consulting a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer after a car accident. Your lawyer can explain your legal rights and start building a strong case on your behalf. Every law firm is different and every car accident victim’s needs are different. We encourage you to learn more about Freidin Brown, P.A. and the successes our Florida car accident lawyers have had on behalf of individuals and families who have suffered a serious personal injury or wrongful death in a car accident.
What Types of Car Accident Compensation Can I Recover?
In legal terms, your financial losses after a car accident are called “damages.” In Florida, personal injury law states that a victim can get compensatory damages with the goal of making them “whole” again, or returning him or her to the financial status enjoyed before the motor vehicle accident. Compensatory damages include both economic and non-economic items.
Economic damages you may be entitled to after an accident include:
- Vehicle repair and car rental expenses
- Lost wages due to time off work
- Medical care not covered by insurance
Non-economic damages are awarded for pain and suffering. In some cases, they may also be entitled to punitive damages. This is a financial award beyond the amount necessary to make the victim “whole” financially. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the driver who caused the accident. Punitive damages may be available in car crash cases involving drunk driving.
Florida Car Accident FAQs
After a motor vehicle accident, who will pay for your property damage and medical expenses? What happens if you are permanently incapacitated? What should you say to your insurance company? Should you get a second medical opinion? If you have been injured in an accident, we can help answer your questions and recover compensation for your losses. The following are questions that clients frequently ask our Florida car accident lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A.
I was involved in an accident here in Florida, but I live in another state. Can I sue?
Yes, you can sue in the Florida county where the accident happened, even if you are from another state or country.
What should I say to the insurance companies after an accident?
You will need to report your accident to your own car insurance company. What you say, however, can make a difference in your case. Report the facts, but do not editorialize on what happened. State that an accident occurred, give your information and the other driver’s information, and answer all questions with facts. Do not discuss fault.
If the other driver’s insurance company contacts you, decline to give a statement. Let them know that your lawyer will contact them. Also, if an lawyer or anyone else on an lawyer’s behalf approaches you at the hospital or your home, calls you, or sends you a letter in an attempt to have you sign up as a client, be sure to ask them to leave. It is unethical for an lawyer to reach out to you directly after your accident.
Who’s at fault for my accident?
This is one of the most important questions to ask in any car accident case, and while it may be difficult to answer without the individual facts and circumstances about your wreck, there are some basic concepts you should understand when it comes to fault and liability. Generally, victims of auto accidents have the right to hold the at-fault party who caused their accident accountable for their negligence, and financially liable for the damages they caused. Proving fault and liability, however, is dependent on what happened in your case. In some circumstances, the at-fault party may be another driver whose negligence (i.e. speeding, traffic violation, or even intoxication) caused your crash. In others, commercial companies (including those who own and operate commercial trucks) or manufacturers of defective products (such as faulty tires) could be held liable for your damages.
Determining fault and liability is a case-by-case matter, and one that demands the attention of proven lawyers. Remember, just because you allege a driver or some other party is at fault for your accident does not mean you’ll be fairly compensated. Defendants and their insurance providers often fight accident claims aggressively, raise disputes about who’s at fault, and do all they can to pay as little as possible. Having a lawyer by your side can ensure you have the resources to handle these issues as they arise.
How can I protect my rights after a car accident?
After any type of auto accident, there are many steps you can take to protect your health, the safety of others, and your legal rights should you have the opportunity to pursue a personal injury claim against the at-fault party later on. A few important steps you can take to do so include:
Calling emergency services to request medical assistance, if needed, and to have a police officer respond to the scene of the accident. A law enforcement officer can gather information about what happened in your crash for use in a police report, which can serve as important evidence in any personal injury case you file at a later time. Collect as much information as you are able to at the scene. This can include contact and insurance information from all involved parties, names and numbers of witnesses, driver’s license information, and vehicle information such as license plate numbers. Take photos of the scene of the accident from multiple angles if possible, as well as photos of the position of the vehicles, nearby traffic signs or signals, damage to vehicles, visible injuries, and other factors you may feel are important to understanding what happened. Take the time to write down or record all you can remember about what happened in your accident as soon as possible while the details are still fresh.
While these steps are important, many victims simply don’t remember them or have the ability to address them in the wake of serious collisions. Ultimately, one of the most effective ways to protect your rights is to work with lawyers who can help you take the appropriate steps moving forward, communicate with insurance companies on your behalf, and begin working on your claim for compensation.
Can I afford a car accident lawyer?
If you are concerned about finances and being able to afford a personal injury lawyer to help with your car accident case, you should know that most injury lawyers – including our legal team at Freidin Brown, P.A. – work personal injury cases on contingency fees. This fee arrangement means that victims do not pay up-front fees to hire a lawyer, and that lawyers’ fees are taken as an agreed upon percentage of the final financial recovery. If no recovery is made in your case, there are no fees. Our lawyers can further explain how our contingency fees and our agreements work during an initial consultation.
How much is my car accident case worth?
It is simply not possible, nor ethical, to affix any monetary sum to an accident case in its initial stages. That’s because car accidents are case specific matters, and because the full scope of victims’ damages must be known before any negotiations or speculations about value can take place. Generally, victims of preventable auto accidents have the right to recover the economic and non-economic damages they incurred as a result of the wreck and their resulting injuries. These damages can include, among others, past and future expenses for medical treatment, lost wages caused by missing work, reducing earning potential caused by disabilities or impairment, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional injuries.
Should I accept the insurance company’s offer?
In most cases, an insurance company’s first offer to you is not its best offer. Insurance adjusters have been trained to lowball settlements in order to protect their companies’ bottom lines. Furthermore, if you have been injured, they will likely not account for all of your injuries. Before you accept an insurance company’s settlement offer, discuss your case with an lawyer. It will not cost you anything to sit down with us to review your options — our initial consultations are free, and we handle each case on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will not owe us lawyer’s fees unless we recover money for you.
I have only minor injuries. Do I need to go to the doctor?
Yes. Even minor injuries can be signs of issues in the future (such as soft tissue injuries). In fact, it is common for injuries to appear weeks after an accident has occurred. No matter how you feel, visit the doctor and discuss all of the aches and pains that have appeared since your accident.
I don’t think I can work. How will I pay my bills?
If your injury prevents you from working, your personal injury settlement or verdict should include compensation for a percentage of your lost wages.
It has been a while since my accident. Can I still file a lawsuit?
You have a limited amount of time to file your car accident claim. This is called the “statute of limitations.” In Florida, you have four years to bring a claim, unless the accident caused a death and then the statute of limitations is two years. It is important, however, that you take action as soon as possible. Evidence does not last forever, especially in car accident cases, and the sooner you have a lawyer working for you, the better.
Our Miami Car Accident Lawyers Offer a Complimentary Initial Consultation
At Freidin Brown, P.A., our Miami car accident lawyers have over 100 years of combined courtroom experience, and we are known in the South Florida legal community as aggressive advocates for our clients. We encourage you to learn more about our law firm and lawyers and to contact us if you have questions or need legal help after a serious car accident. We encourage you to schedule a private and free consultation with one of our car accident lawyers. To make an appointment at one of our offices, call 888-677-7764. We have offices in Florida and Fort Myers, and our contingency fee policy guarantees you’ll owe us nothing until we reach a favorable verdict or settlement on your behalf. To put it another way: if we don’t win, you don’t pay.
