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How Can You Recover Compensation After a Traffic Crash?
Can you sue the at-fault driver if you’re injured in a Broward County traffic accident? It depends. If you’ve been injured in a traffic collision, and if the other motorist was at fault, ask a Broward County car accident lawyer to explain your rights – particularly your right to compensation.
Florida is a no-fault state for car insurance. Drivers in this state must carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, and in some cases, PIP insurance will cover an injury victim’s medical expenses and partially compensate lost wages, no matter who caused the collision.
But even if you can prove that another motorist’s negligence is the reason you were injured, crash victims in Florida face other challenges when they pursue additional compensation. That’s why you must have the help that a Broward County personal injury attorney can provide.
When May You Bring a Claim Against a Negligent Florida Driver?
If you require more compensation than your PIP coverage offers, you should know that Florida law establishes a medical “threshold” for personal injuries in traffic accidents, which means that your injury must meet some qualifications in order for you to take legal action.
You may pursue compensation by bringing a personal injury claim after a traffic accident in Florida only if you have suffered:
- the loss of an important bodily function, and/or
- a permanent and significant disability, and/or
- permanent and significant disfigurement or scarring
What is the 14-Day Rule?
Additionally, Florida’s “14-day rule” requires you to undergo a medical exam within the first 14 days after the accident, or you won’t be allowed to file a personal injury claim. If you are not treated at the scene or taken to a hospital, schedule that exam immediately after the collision.
Even if you feel fine after a traffic accident, you may have suffered a latent or difficult-to-detect injury. If you do not submit to a medical examination, it’s quite possible that after several days or weeks, you could develop a serious medical condition, and it may be too late to take legal action.
What Does PIP Insurance Cover?
Florida PIP insurance covers 80 percent of your “reasonable and necessary” medical costs after a traffic crash, and it partially reimburses lost wages. However, to receive that coverage, the 14-day rule applies, so you must have a medical examination in the first 14 days after an accident.
If your injury is severe and meets the qualifications for bringing a personal injury claim, your Broward County car accident lawyer will immediately begin negotiating with the at-fault driver’s insurance company for a settlement that provides the full compensation you need.
Particularly if you have sustained a catastrophic injury (such as a traumatic brain injury, a severe spinal cord injury, or an injury that leads to amputation) or if you’ve been permanently disabled, you could require medical care that, in some cases, costs several million dollars over a lifetime.
How is a Personal Injury Claim Handled?
If you are allowed to file a personal injury claim, and if that claim prevails, you may recover compensation for your pending and projected future medical expenses, your lost wages and projected future lost wages, your personal pain, suffering, and related damages and losses.
In Florida, personal injury claims based on traffic accidents are almost always resolved when the attorneys for both sides negotiate a private, out-of-court settlement. However, if the other side denies liability, or if no acceptable settlement amount is offered, your case will go to trial.
At a personal injury trial, your Broward County personal injury attorney will explain to jurors how (and how seriously) you were injured and why the other driver should be held liable. Your lawyer will then ask the jurors to order that driver’s insurance company to compensate you.
What Else Should Injured Traffic Accident Victims Know?
In order for your injury claim to prevail in private negotiations or at trial, you and your attorney must show that the other motorist was negligent, and you also must show how that negligence directly caused the accident and your injury.
Negligent driving behavior may include distracted driving, drowsiness while driving, driving under the influence, speeding, rolling through stop signs or traffic lights, texting while driving, or weaving from lane to lane.
While most accidents are caused by negligent drivers, some accidents are caused by the negligence of a vehicle manufacturer or parts manufacturer. If negligent road design or negligent road maintenance caused the crash, a government agency or contractor may have liability.
Is There a Time Limit for Taking Legal Action?
After you’ve been injured by negligence in a Broward traffic accident, if you qualify to file a personal injury claim, in most cases, you have two years from the date you were injured. Exceptions to the two-year deadline are rare in cases arising from traffic accidents.
However, you can’t wait for two years – and you shouldn’t wait for even two weeks – before taking your case to a Broward personal injury attorney. Your attorney needs to see the evidence before it can be lost or altered and needs to speak to any witnesses before their memories fade.
If you’re involved in an accident, take plenty of photographs of the damage to the vehicles, the accident site, and your own injuries. Ask witnesses for their contact details. Photos and witness statements that confirm your claim are persuasive evidence that may lead to a quick settlement.
Which Lawyer Should Handle Your Injury Claim?
Bozanic Law is a Weston law firm known for fighting and winning difficult personal injury cases. If you are injured by another driver’s negligence in Broward County, attorney Zeljka Bozanic will advocate aggressively and effectively for the compensation you deserve and need.
Attorney Zeljka Bozanic has dedicated her career to defending her clients’ rights and to making certain that justice is served. She has established a reputation in the Broward legal community for extraordinary client service and legal excellence.
If you are injured by a negligent driver – now or in the future – and you need to learn more about your rights, or if you’re ready to begin the legal process, contact Bozanic Law by calling 954-800-2864, and let attorney Zeljka Bozanic put her legal skills and experience to work for you.
