Car accidents often lead to significant property damage, bodily injuries, and emotional trauma. If another driver left you or someone you love injured, our Boca Raton, FL, car accident lawyers are here to help.
Since 1995, the Boca Raton personal injury lawyers at GED Lawyers have safeguarded accident victims’ legal rights and obtained over $26 million the rightful compensation they deserved. So, whether you were hit on Palmetto Park Road or in the parking lot at Florida Atlantic University, we’ll be there for you. Call GED Lawyers today and receive a free case consultation. We can listen to you and explain your legal options.
What Expenses Are Covered by an Auto Accident Claim?
The losses you suffered after a car crash in Boca Raton could be compensable. Though no two cases are exactly alike, there are certain damages consistent with most. Your damages following a car accident could include the following:
Medical Expenses You Incur After a Car Crash
The medical bills alone can be immense if you’ve been injured in a car accident. They often include such items as:
- Emergency care at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital
- Transportation
- Surgical care and aftercare
- Doctor, therapist, and specialist care and aftercare
- Physical therapy
- Prescription medications
- Adaptive physical devices
- Home health care
To complicate matters following a crash, the extent of your injuries may not be readily apparent at the outset. Your injuries from the accident could incur medical care costs well into the future. Your car accident lawyer in Boca Raton will work closely with your doctors to ensure your claim covers the full range of your immediate medical attention, recovery, and any future healthcare needs you may require.
Lost Wages Due to Your Inability to Work
In addition to your medical costs, a car accident injury will likely keep you off the job. If your injury is severe, you could face considerable financial losses, including:
- Lost wages while you recover from your injuries
- Diminished earning capacity for any permanent disability
- An altered career trajectory
If a car accident significantly alters your ability to pursue the career you’ve planned for and worked toward, it can be especially demoralizing and difficult. Calculating lost earnings for the rest of your life due to a permanent injury is a complex task. However, we can offer our legal assistance.
Pain and Suffering Can be Calculated Into Your Car Accident Claim
A car accident can leave you with significant financial losses, but there is also pain and suffering, and emotional distress to consider. While pain and suffering are naturally subjective experiences, their effects are very real and take a toll on your quality of life.
If you were seriously injured in a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you should not dismiss the pain and suffering you’ve endured. Pain and suffering are divided into two categories: physical pain and suffering and mental anguish.
The physical and psychological effects the accident and your injuries have on you are both compensable. For example, many accident victims experience lingering fear (some are afraid to get back behind the wheel), increased anxiety, bouts of depression, anger, and flashbacks due to the at-fault driver’s actions.
Damages Are Available in a Boca Raton Fatal Car Accident
If you lost a loved one in a car accident due to another driver’s negligence, we offer our condolences to you and your family. Wrongful death benefits can never compensate for the loss of a family member, but you could recover compensation for the financial losses you incurred after your loved one’s passing. This compensation can help cover the high costs you and your family may incur due to the death of your loved one.
Consequently, wrongful death benefits can compensate the family for damages like:
- Burial costs and funeral expenses
- Any outstanding medical or other injury-related costs for their loved one’s care necessitated
- The pain and suffering their loved one endured before their death
- Loss of financial support and future income the family would have relied on
- Loss of household services the family member provided
- Loss of the family member’s love, affection, support, and care
If your family lost a loved one in a car accident due to the negligence and recklessness of another driver, our Boca Raton wrongful death attorneys could recover compensation from the at-fault party on your behalf.
What Are Common Car Accident Injuries?
Every car accident case is unique, but certain kinds of injuries are common among car accident victims, including:
- Broken and fractured bones: Fractured bones are common in car accidents. A broken bone requires immediate medical attention and might even require surgery. A broken bone that heals improperly can lead to chronic pain and permanent physical disability.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI): When there is head trauma or when the head is violently jerked back and forth in the impact of a car accident, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can occur. These injuries can prove to be extremely serious and unpredictable. Many brain injury victims experience cognitive or physical impairments that can last for months or even become permanent.
- Burn injuries: In some circumstances, accident victims may suffer burns in their car accident. Burn injuries can leave the victim susceptible to infections, are excruciatingly painful to recover from, and can leave the victim with permanent scars and limited mobility.
- Spinal cord injuries: Traumatic damage to any part of the spinal cord can result in a spinal cord injury. The spinal cord and neck injuries can leave the victim permanently paralyzed below the injury site if the injury is severe.
- Cuts, lacerations, and abrasions: Many car accidents leave victims with cuts, lacerations, and abrasions. These injuries are often slow to heal and are vulnerable to infection. A severe cut or laceration can lead to permanent scarring that can be disfiguring, especially when on or near the face.
If you have suffered any such injuries in a car accident, our Boca Raton car accident lawyers are available to help. We can even meet with you for evening and weekend appointments.
What Should You Do After a Car Accident in Boca Raton?
If another motorist injures you in a car accident, you might have a long path toward recovery ahead of you. The compensation you are entitled to receive can help you reach maximum medical recovery, but the car crash itself can leave you feeling lost and unaware of what to do next or how to move forward.
You can do several things in the best interest of your health and the car accident case. These include doing the following:
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Even if you don’t think you were severely hurt, get your car crash injuries examined by a medical professional. Physical injuries can be asymptomatic until they become more serious and difficult to treat. Early diagnosis is closely associated with improved prognosis.
In addition, medical records can be used as evidence in a car accident claim or personal injury lawsuit. Furthermore, follow your doctor’s orders completely. If you miss appointments or skip sessions, the insurance companies can claim you were not as injured as you claimed.
Gather Evidence at the Car Accident Scene
If your injuries permit and you will not put yourself in any further danger, gather photographic evidence at the accident scene. If you can’t do it yourself, enlist a bystander to help. Also, obtain eyewitness testimony and contact information.
When you have a chance, jot down your recollection of the accident. The stress and shock associated with a car crash can make your memories hazy, and this written account will help you keep the details straight.
In addition to your notes from the accident, you can also keep a journal of your medical progress, which could also be used as evidence.
Consult With a Boca Raton Car Accident Lawyer
After a crash, having a car accident lawyer on your side can be beneficial. Car accident claims are complicated, and the insurance company is almost certainly more interested in its profits than fully compensating for your losses.
While you attend to the serious task of recovering from your injuries, your car accident attorney will advocate for your rights and rightful compensation by handling all aspects of your personal injury claim.
Florida Has a Deadline for Filing Car Accident Lawsuits
Many people do not realize there is a deadline for filing lawsuits to pursue compensation for injuries and losses in a motor vehicle collision in Boca Raton. Even if you do not plan or want to submit a lawsuit, you need to know the deadline.
After the statute of limitations passes, you can no longer file a lawsuit against the at-fault party, technically ending any right to compensation you may have had. Under Florida Statutes § 95.11, here are the most common statutory deadlines for auto accident lawsuits:
- Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is typically two years from the date of the accident.
- If your close relative died from a car accident, the deadline to file a wrongful death lawsuit is also two years, but the deadline begins on the die they died.
- If a city or town might be at fault in a car accident, you only have six months from the date of injury to file a written claim.
- If you cannot reach a settlement with your insurance company on an uninsured motorist claim, this lawsuit would fall under a breach of contract, and its deadline is five years.
The claims adjuster knows these deadlines and that Florida law can forever prevent you from seeking monetary damages for your losses after the statute of limitations expires. If your claim hasn’t been settled and the deadline is near, you must file a lawsuit in the Palm Beach County courthouse to protect your right to compensation.
Call GED Lawyers today.
Benefits of No-Fault Insurance and Florida Personal Injury Protection Insurance
Per the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), registered drivers must have minimum personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability (PDL) to cover injuries to themselves or their passengers, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. After an accident, a driver files a car accident claim with their insurance policy to seek benefits for their injuries.
While this is a convenient way for injury victims to recover benefits promptly without going through the at-fault party’s insurance, it also has disadvantages. The minimum coverage of $10,000 does not go very far after an accident.
The cost of emergency transportation, emergency room care, and hospitalization alone can quickly outweigh those benefits. As a result, you may have to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party to recover the losses your PIP insurance does not cover.
How Comparative Negligence Will Affect Your Case
You should also be aware of Florida’s modified comparative fault law. Under Florida Statutes § 768.81, if someone is more than 50% at fault for the accident that caused the injuries, they are not eligible for financial compensation.
We can investigate your accident and protect you from taking a greater degree of blame for the accident than what is merited.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Is More Important Than Ever
If your injuries exceed your PIP coverage, you could file a claim with the at-fault driver, but what do you do if they have no insurance? Sadly, this is a very real possibility you may have to face.
Florida has a very large number of uninsured drivers. According to a 2022 report posted by the Insurance Information Institute (III), 15.9% of the drivers on Florida’s roads do not have auto insurance.
In an instance where the other driver is uninsured, the injured party could file a claim with their uninsured motorist (UM) policy for additional compensation. Our car accident attorneys can explain the laws and how they apply in your case.
How Our Legal Team Can Help After Car Accidents in Florida
If you have been injured in a car accident in Boca Raton, you might be overwhelmed by medical bills and unable to work. While most of us hope to rely on our automobile insurance in times like these, the unfortunate reality is that PIP insurance benefits are often inadequate to cover all the costs of an accident.
Our lawyers can help you through the legal process by:
Negotiating With Insurance Adjusters
After an accident, you’ll likely have to meet with the negligent driver’s insurance company and your own. An unfortunate fact few people mention is that policyholders are frequently left fighting their insurance companies for the benefits they are entitled to receive under their policy.
You shouldn’t have to beg your insurer for coverage; we’re ready to help you negotiate so that you can get the maximum compensation possible. We can see through the insurance adjuster’s tactics and outmaneuver them.
If they try to trick you out of your settlement, we can fight back by showing concrete proof of your severe injuries. And, if they still refuse to compensate you appropriately, we’ll be ready to file an auto accident lawsuit.
Utilizing Our Years of Experience
Our lawyers are experienced, successful trial lawyers, so you can be confident in your case’s outcome when you choose our law firm. We’re constantly learning new trends and legal methods to get you the best results possible.
Our experienced car accident lawyers can provide the passionate legal representation you need. We can gather relevant evidence, bring in expert witnesses to testify, and even present evidence for your claim in court if necessary.
We have represented many injured victims, recovering fair compensation from all possible sources so they can heal and move forward with their lives. If you suffered injuries because of someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation for your losses.
What is the Average Settlement for a Motor Vehicle Accident in Palm Beach County?
When you’re injured in a Boca Raton car accident, you want to know how much your injuries and losses will cost and how much your car accident settlement is worth. However, there is no set settlement amount for a motor vehicle car accident case. There are varying factors that can affect how much you receive, such as the following:
How Severe Are Your Car Accident Injuries?
When you’re in an automobile accident, you’ll likely have injuries. The more severe your injuries are, the higher your settlement should be. Settlement amounts are meant to cover the losses and costs of recovering from the injuries you’ve sustained in the accident.
So, for example, if you were injured severely and sustained a spinal cord injury, the amount you receive in your settlement is supposed to be able to cover all the medical treatment you’ll require. Spinal injuries and other catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injuries typically result in a higher settlement.
For minor accidents, you won’t recover as much if you don’t have injuries that require significant medical care. However, we must also take into account the time you need to recover. You may have a minor injury, but you could need months to fully recover from that. A Boca Raton personal injury lawyer can review your treatment program with your doctors to clarify the severity of your injuries and the time needed to heal. From there, your attorney will understand what to demand in compensation for your claim.
The At-Fault Party’s Degree of Negligence
Another aspect of motor vehicle accidents affecting your settlement is how negligent the liable party’s actions were. In addition to comparative negligence, gross negligence is a term used to define an intentional and harmful action. If an attorney can prove that the driver deliberately hurt you, you could receive punitive damages.
This damage is designed to punish the defendant and discourage them and others from repeating the actions. While most damages are categorized as economic or non-economic, this damage is neither, even though you still get money for it.
Depending on the type of accident, this damage may apply. A car accident attorney in Boca Raton can review your case to determine if you may qualify for this damage. However, these damages are very rare because a judge or jury is the party that makes the ultimate decision.
Even though there is no average settlement, these are the most common contributing factors that can increase your settlement. Our auto accident lawyers understand the aftermath of a Boca Raton car accident is never easy, and that’s why we’re ready to fight for fair compensation and justice.
How Do Boca Raton Auto Accident Attorneys Get Paid?
When you seek the advice and representation of a car accident attorney, in most cases, you will pay for their services under a contingency agreement. This means the lawyer does not collect fees up front but takes a portion of the final recovery.
This way, you don’t have to worry about the added financial burden of paying a lawyer. And, if a settlement or financial recovery is unsuccessful, you pay nothing for the lawyer’s services.
GED Lawyers only works on contingency in car accident cases. This “no fee unless we win” agreement gives you peace of mind that your injury claim is entirely risk-free. If we cannot recover a fair settlement from the at-fault party’s insurance company, we will take your case before a court of law. If we cannot recover compensation for your losses, you pay nothing for our services.
Consult With a Boca Raton Car Crash Lawyer Today
If another motorist’s negligence caused your injuries, GED Lawyers are here to help. Our personal injury attorneys proudly serve the Boca Raton, FL, area and are committed to fighting for your claim’s best possible resolution.
Contact us to learn how a Boca Raton car accident lawyer can help with your legal claim.
