When you are seriously injured in a wreck, recovering your health should be your focus. Navigating the car accident claims process could be a drain on your limited energy. Working with a Kissimmee car accident lawyer produces better results than you can obtain on your own, allowing you to direct your efforts toward healing.
We are proud that local attorneys and law firms contact our personal injury attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright when they or their clients need representation after a wreck. They recognize our skills, professionalism, and commitment to our clients.
Common Causes of Car Accidents in Kissimmee
Car accidents can occur for any number of reasons, but driver error is the most common. Speeding, failing to signal before turning or changing lanes, rolling through a stop sign, or driving while distracted can all result in crashes. Many accidents are caused by drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Sometimes there are also other causes. Mechanical problems with one of the involved vehicles can lead to an accident. Poorly designed roads can be dangerous, and shoddy maintenance can lead to conditions conducive to accidents.
Our Kissimmee attorneys are adept at analyzing police reports of car crashes and other evidence to determine the cause and identify potentially negligent parties who might be liable for your injuries. In addition to the at-fault driver, these may include vehicle manufacturers, a driver’s employer, and local governments.
What to Do Immediately After a Car Accident
Your conduct after a wreck can impact your legal claim for compensation. Always contact the police, even if the crash does not seem serious. In addition, taking the following steps after a car accident in Kissimmee can be helpful.
Collect Evidence When Possible
Your immediate impressions can be helpful, so if you are conscious and nobody needs your help, make a recording on your phone. Note the time of day, the weather, your exact location, and what you remember about how the crash happened.
Lock the video on your dashboard camera and copy it to your phone. If you are able to move around safely, take pictures of all sides of all involved vehicles and the crash site.
Get an Immediate Medical Evaluation
If you are offered ambulance transport to a hospital, accept even if you do not believe you are severely injured. Otherwise, get a ride to the emergency room or an urgent care center immediately, regardless of whether your car is drivable.
Protecting your health is the primary reason to see a doctor immediately, but there is also an important legal consideration. When you make a claim, insurance companies will scrutinize your behavior immediately after the accident. A medical record produced the same day establishes that the accident impacted you and ties your injuries to the crash.
Communicate Carefully
Many people process traumatic events by talking about them, but do your best to avoid discussing the crash with other involved parties and witnesses. Keep your remarks as factual as possible when speaking with police, and do not talk to an insurance company representative before you have spoken with a lawyer.
You must also be extremely careful with social media posts. Insurance companies will review your profiles and posts and may use anything they find there against you. The best advice is to stay off social media or strictly limit your presence until your car accident claim is resolved.
Legal Help Is Necessary When Injuries Are Severe in a Car Wreck
Thankfully, people walk away from most car accidents with only scrapes and bruises or no injuries at all. The no-fault insurance process is designed so that when your injuries are minor you can manage your insurance claim without having to get involved in the legal system.
When you suffer serious injuries, however, working through the no-fault process and getting the compensation you deserve is complex. Your personal injury protection (PIP) will not be adequate to cover your expenses, and you may need to bring legal action against the other driver. Doing so requires you to prove that the other driver was negligent.
When you contact our Kissimmee car accident attorneys at The Florida Firm, we start building your case immediately by investigating the collision. We identify the parties responsible and collect evidence proving their negligence. We could also reach out to your health care providers and creditors to make payment arrangements so you will not be harassed about unpaid bills.
Do Not Negotiate Without Legal Advice
If you were seriously injured in an accident and it is clear that another party was responsible, their insurance company might contact you with a settlement offer even before you are released from the hospital. Do not speak with the representative and immediately contact a lawyer. When an attorney handles communication with the insurer, they could prevent you from making inadvertent admissions and force the insurer to negotiate in good faith.
How Negligence Impacts Car Accident Claims
The no-fault system in Florida requires crash victims to submit their claims for medical expenses and lost wages to their own PIP insurer, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. However, PIP may be inadequate to cover a significant injury.
In those cases, you must step out of the no-fault system to bring a claim against the other driver or other responsible parties. You must prove that the other party was negligent, meaning that they failed to use the degree of caution that the circumstances required and your injuries are a direct result of their failure.
Identifying all the potentially negligent parties in a car accident case and proving their negligence requires legal knowledge and skill. Our experienced attorneys understand how to find and present persuasive evidence of negligence in Kissimmee car accident cases to obtain excellent results. We have achieved outcomes exceeding $1 million for several of our car accident clients.
Types of Compensation Available to Car Accident Victims
If your injuries are serious or your expenses exceed your PIP coverage, you can bring a legal claim for damages. Doing so allows you to pursue comprehensive compensation, called damages, for all the losses you suffered in the crash.
You are entitled to the portion of your medical costs, incidental expenses, and lost wages that your PIP did not pay. You can also claim damages for your pain and suffering. These damages provide financial compensation for the impact the accident had and continues to have on your quality of life.
If you were the victim of a drunk or reckless driver, you might also claim punitive damages. Our team of Kissimmee car crash attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright can advise you about whether punitive damages could be awarded in your specific case.
Swift Action Is Important After a Car Crash
It is critical to seek legal representation as quickly as possible. If our lawyers can begin investigating soon after a car crash in Kissimmee, they could find and preserve important evidence before it is lost or eroded and interview witnesses before their memories fade.
Florida Statutes § 95.11(5) requires you to file a lawsuit within two years of your injury. Some circumstances can stop the clock temporarily, but in most cases two years is a hard deadline. If you wait too long, you could lose your chance to sue forever.
When a minor is injured, they have two years from their 18th birthday to sue. However, it is usually preferable for a parent or guardian to sue on the child’s behalf within two years of the crash.
Talk to an Attorney After Being Injured in a Car Accident in Kissimmee
If you have suffered severe injuries in a motor vehicle wreck, work with the law firm other lawyers trust to handle injury cases for themselves, their families, and their valued clients. At The Florida Firm, we have a well-earned reputation for supporting our clients with care and achieving excellent results. We offer free consultations to review your case and there are no up-front costs to work with us. Reach out today to set up a meeting with a Kissimmee car accident lawyer at Colling Gilbert Wright.