Car Accidents and Injuries
Have you been injured in a car crash? Our expert accident lawyers will help you navigate the road to a successful recovery.
Car Accidents by the Numbers
400K
Motor Vehicle Collisions in Florida (2019)
254K
Injuries Related to Motor Vehicle Crashes (2019)
3,200+
Fatalities from Motor Vehicle Crashes (2019)
Source: FLHSMV 2019 Crash Report
Over 1,000 Crashes Happen Every Day
Florida is consistently ranked in the top 5 states with the worst drivers, and statistically Florida drivers get into more car accidents than those in many other states.
Just how many? In 2019, the Florida Department Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles documented a total of 400,788 crashes, including 254,342 injuries and 3,217 fatalities. That works out to 1,098 traffic collisions per day.
South Florida is especially hazardous. Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties together accounted for 33% (132,567) of Florida’s total collisions, as well as 28% (71,934) of the total crash-related injuries and 22% (708) of the fatalities.
The worst part is that car accidents don’t just hurt the negligent drivers. Perfectly safe and law-abiding drivers can be swept up in a life-altering car crash in the blink of an eye. You don’t even have to be driving to be the victim of a car accident. Hundreds of passengers—coworkers, friends, and children—are injured every year as well!
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Florida Car Accident Laws
It’s almost a statistical certainty that you will be in a car accident at some point in your life. If or when this unfortunate situation occurs, every driver should be aware of these five critical Florida accident laws that could affect your ability to get compensation for your injuries.
1. Mandatory Accident Reporting
How does this impact me?
Any driver involved in a collision is legally required to stop at the scene of the accident. If anyone is injured, drivers must stay at the scene of the accident and exchange information with all parties involved. In addition, Florida law requires drivers to report the accident to law enforcement if property or personal damages exceed $500.
2. No-Fault Insurance Law
How does this impact me?
Florida’s Motor Vehicle No-Fault Act (also called “No-Fault Insurance Statutes”) requires drivers to turn first to their own insurance company to pay for their repairs and recovery costs after an accident—regardless of who is responsible! If an accident causes more damage or injuries than an insurance policy covers, a personal injury lawsuit can be filed to seek additional damages.
3. PIP & PDL Insurance Minimums
How does this impact me?
Florida’s No-Fault Insurance law requires all drivers to carry auto insurance with a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage and $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) coverage.
However, Florida has one of the highest uninsured motorist rates in the country (~20%). Plus, these minimums haven’t been updated in decades and are woefully insufficient for skyrocketing modern healthcare costs. An average 3-day hospital stay is around $30,000!
4. Pure Comparative Fault Principle
How does this impact me?
Florida operates according to the principle of pure comparative fault for assigning responsibility in an accident. Under this system, all parties in an accident share fault. Then, there is a discussion of what percentage of the fault to assign to each driver, and these percentages translate into the total amount of damages recoverable by each party.
5. Four-Year Statute of Limitations
How does this impact me?
If you or a family member have been injured in a car accident that was caused by a negligent driver, you are legally allowed to seek financial compensation. However, injured parties must file a personal injury lawsuit within four years of the date of the accident. Failing to file your lawsuit on time could result in your injury claim being rejected by a judge, regardless of the proof you have.
Additionally, car accident victims must seek medical attention within 14 days of the accident or PIP will not cover any medical bills.
6 Common Causes of Car Accidents in Florida
Although we use the term “accident,” most car crashes aren’t accidents at all. Rather, they are caused by negligence, malfunction, environmental factors, or a mix of all of these. Here are six of the most common causes of car accidents.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is anything that takes your hands off the wheel, eyes off the road, or mind off driving. Distracted driving is more dangerous than people think. At just 60 mph, a focused driver will need roughly the length of a football field to come to a complete stop. Drivers who are texting or talking on cell phones, adjusting the radio, eating and drinking, putting on makeup, or interacting with other passengers can he held liable for damages caused by their negligent behavior.
Aggressive Driving
Aggressive drivers make the roads less safe for everyone by their risky behavior. You can identify aggressive drivers by their excessive speeding, tailgating, quick and unannounced lane changes, “rolling stops,” or just general disregard for the rules of road and the other drivers. This dangerous driving style, together with even minor distractions, can cause tragic accidents.
Drunk or Impaired Driving
Despite being entirely avoidable, drunk driving is one of the top causes of road fatalities in Florida. Additionally, there is a growing threat of drivers who are impaired by drugs and prescription medications. In fact, traffic stops for impaired driving have outpaced DUI stops recently.
Drunk or impaired driving accounts for a disproportionate number of fatalities each year. In 2019, the 379 impaired-driving accidents led to 307 fatalities. That is an 81% fatality rate!
Hazardous Roads
Occasionally, car accidents are precipitated by the unsafe conditions of the roads themselves. Potholes and uneven pavement, poorly designed shoulders or exits, or improperly maintained road safety measures can all contribute to car crashes. In these instances, state and local government entities, property management companies, and private businesses can sometimes be held partly liable for the damages caused by improperly maintained or dangerous roads.
Weather Conditions
Anyone who lives in the “Sunshine” state knows that the sky can go from clear and blue to grey and rainy at the drop of a hat. When sudden downpours or more violent storms pass through, they create acutely hazardous road conditions. High winds and rain can decrease visibility and control and increase the likelihood of a car accident, especially on crowded highways and interstates.
Improper Maintenance
Regular oil changes help keep a car’s engine running smoothly. The same is true of other critical components of a car’s mechanical skeleton. Florida does not have state-required car safety inspections, but cars need regular maintenance to ensure they work properly and can be driven safely. Car owners can be held liable for accidents caused by their failure to maintain a car’s essential safety measures.
Most Common Car Accident Injuries
Regardless of what causes a car accident or how severe the damage to the vehicles, drivers and passengers can suffer an array of bodily and emotional injuries. While some car accident victims are lucky enough to escape with only minor aches and pains, others sustain life-altering injuries. Some of those most common serious car accident injuries we see are:
Neck and Back Injuries
The rapid deceleration that occurs when two cars collide can wreak havoc on the bodies of drivers and passengers. The sudden and violent jerking movements can damage vertebrae, ligaments, or discs. Minor whiplash can simply cause neck pain and stiffness, but more severe cases can lead to longer-term effects such as blurred vision, headaches, memory problems, and depression.
Head and Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions are some of the most serious car accident injuries, and the symptoms could take days to fully manifest. They’re caused by the head smashing against an object like the headrest or steering wheel. Their short-term effects include nausea and vomiting, numbness, or blurred vision, but TBIs can cause long-term damage too such as chronic headaches, depression, behavioral changes, and seizures. Anyone who’s had head trauma in a car accident should seek medical attention immediately to assess the damage. Medical treatment for brain injuries is costly, and it is critical to have secure records to detail the impact of the injury on your life and wellbeing.
Bone Fractures and Tissue Damage
The sheer force involved in a high-speed collision is enough to fracture bones and tear muscles and ligaments. Simple bone fractures can take months to heal and result in lost wages. Multiple or complex fractures, muscle tears, and ligament damage often require surgery and extensive physical therapy, which will be a more significant financial burden on you and your family. Your chances of suffering serious bone fractures or ligament damage increase significantly in head-on collisions, sideswipe or “T-bone” crashes, and in high-speed accidents.
Psychological and Emotional Injuries
Unless you have suffered a serious car accident before, you may not fully appreciate the range of psychological and emotional effects such an experience can have on a person, especially children and young adults. In fact, a recent meta-analysis of previous studies concluded that over 22% of car crash survivors develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These psychological harms won’t be immediately obvious like cuts or fractures; they may take days or weeks to manifest. And you can be sure the insurance company or at-fault driver will fight tooth and nail to avoid paying for such damages.
Recoverable Damages from Car Accidents
It’s difficult to give exact figures for how much a car accident victim can recover from a car accident case because each victim’s losses and damages are different. The better question to ask is “What types of damages can I recover?” Approached in this way, accident victims can recover both economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic or Special Damages
Economic damages are your compensation for the out-of-pocket expenses related to the injuries you sustained in the accident. They may include:
Medical Expenses
The cost of your medical treatments could be massive. Emergency room visits, hospitalizations, surgeries, physical therapy, prescription medications, and assistive devices (e.g. wheelchairs) can all be necessary to help you recover from a serious accident. As long as you have seen a doctor within the required 14-day window, the medical expenses you incur (and are likely to incur in the future) as a result of an accident are recoverable damages—including mileage to and from appointments!
Lost Wages
There are 80.4 million hourly workers in the U.S. Simply being in a serious accident and receiving medical treatment can result in fewer working hours and lost wages. Certain injuries can further prevent these employees from returning to work while they are recovering. In this case, future lost wages may also be recoverable damages.
Property Damage
The damage done to your vehicle will depend on the circumstances of the accident and the other vehicles involved. For example, rear-end collisions will likely do far less damage than most truck accidents. Sometimes items inside or on your vehicle can also be damaged, such as laptops, bicycles (on racks), or cell phones. If an accident is caused by the negligence of the other driver, you can make a claim against the various parties involved for the physical damage to your car or items inside your car.
Funeral and Burial Expenses
If someone you love has died from the injuries sustained in a car or truck accident, the funeral expenses may also be covered. However, after a person dies, their spouse, family, or personal representative must bring a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf, which is a somewhat different undertaking than a personal injury lawsuit.
Non-Economic or General Damages
Non-economic damages are a fuzzy category that are hard to quantify. They often include future harms or injuries that lack specific dollar values. You and your lawyer will assign values to these items by their impact on your quality of life.
Loss of Capacity of Earn
In the worst case scenario, very serious injuries may result in a long-term absence from work or even a permanent inability to work or to return to a current job. This is known as a loss of “capacity to earn,” and accident victims can be compensated for this loss of future earnings.
Loss of Consortium
Consortium is Latin for “partnership” or “close connection.” These damages are recoverable when an injured party can no longer provide the same love, affection, companionship, parenting, care, or sexual relationship due to their injuries. Spouses and close family members of accident victims can be compensated for the loss of consortium.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages are usually the most highly compensated damages, but they come with caveats. Florida law allows accident victims to recover damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience only if there are permanent injuries. Furthermore, Florida follows the “impact rule,” which means that even though serious car wrecks can be emotionally traumatizing, emotional damages (generally) can’t be recovered unless emotional distress is proven to be a direct result of physical injuries. Regardless of whether you deserve them or not, the insurance company will do everything it can to prevent you from being compensated for your emotional damages.
How Strong Is Your Car Accident Case?
Are you unsure if you have a legitimate car accident case? Stop wondering! Take our car accident quiz to find out how strong your case is.
Why You Should Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
If you are here, chances are that you or someone you know has already been hurt in a car accident and you need help. We are truly sorry that you have suffered an accident for which you need to seek out the help of a personal injury lawyer. We sincerely hope that you recover from your injuries and that you can return to your normal life as soon as possible.
We also want to help you make smart decisions about your case so you can choose the right lawyer and get on the path to full recovery—both physically and financially. The effects of a serious car crash can be devastating, and without a dedicated personal injury lawyer on your side, victims often don’t recover the full amount of damages to which they are entitled. When thinking about your car accident and hiring a lawyer, keep a few points in mind:
Insurance companies see it as their job to avoid paying you
They have teams of highly trained adjusters and lawyers—and very deep pockets—all focused on keeping your claim as small as possible. You need someone in your corner, who also has experience and training, to take on the insurance company.
The insurance company’s bag of tricks is ineffective on a legal expert
Your peace of mind is critical for recovery
If you have suffered any major injury in your car accident, you need to seek out an experienced Florida accident and injury attorney who will guide you through the claims process.
The personal injury lawyers here at Personal Injury & Accident Law Center would love to speak to you about your case and tell you how we can help you get on the path to recovery. Call us today at (561)372-3800 or click the button below to schedule a free case evaluation.
Call 561.372.3800
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