If you have gone through a traumatic car accident and sustained serious injuries, property damage, emotional anguish, and lost wages because of your inability to work, you may be drowning in mounting hospital bills and other expenses. As an injured car accident victim, you have legal rights to get compensated. But you will need an experienced Lake Worth car accident attorney to ensure you receive fair financial compensation. With our combined 200-plus years of combined legal experience, Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa will make sure that you obtain maximum compensation for all your car accident-associated costs. Our Lake Worth car accident attorneys understand how overwhelming and stressful car accidents can be, so we handle all our client’s claims from beginning to end.
Types of Car Accidents Our Lake Worth Car Accident Attorneys Handle
It is essential to note that car accident cases will differ from each other, but almost all of them involve some kind of negligence. With car crashes taking place in Lake Worth all the time, the causes for each of them can vary greatly. The skilled Lake Worth car accident attorneys at Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa frequently handle all kinds of car accident cases that involve the following negligent driving behaviors:Distracted Driving
Unfortunately, it is common to see drivers doing something other than driving. Distracted driving behavior can come in various forms, such as speaking to someone on the mobile phone, texting, tinkering with a GPS device or the radio, speaking or arguing with passengers, eating, or drinking, and staring at something outside of the car.Driving Under The Influence of Drugs or Alcohol
Drivers who decide to drink alcohol or take drugs and then get behind the wheel put other road users’ safety and lives at risk. Drugged or drunk drivers have significantly slower reaction times, impaired vision, and reduced cognitive abilities, which can, and often, result in devastating car crashes.Speeding
Speeding is consistently ranked as one of the most common causes of car crashes in Florida. It’s considered negligent driving behavior whether a driver is only driving a couple or many miles per hour above the posted speed limit. Speeding is immensely dangerous because drivers don’t have adequate time to react and prevent an accident. Likewise, speeding usually makes a car crash worse and cause more serious injuries, like multiple broken bones, spinal injury, and brain injuries, among many others.Reckless Driving
Reckless driving behaviors can take various forms, such as excessive speeds, sudden lane changes, street racing, dangerous turns, and disobeying traffic signs and signals. Reckless driving is very negligent because reckless drivers place other motorists and pedestrians at risk by failing to drive safely as required by the law.Fatigued Driving
Falling asleep behind the wheel and driving while fatigued is a serious issue for all drivers. However, it is especially common among truck drivers who must complete their deliveries as fast as possible, so they often continue driving without proper breaks and rest. Truck vs. vehicle accidents usually lead to more severe or fatal consequences.Minor Crashes and Fender Benders
It’s crucial to note that even fender benders and other minor car crashes can result in significant damages. Depending on the injuries you suffered, you may be entitled to damages for delayed injuries, including concussions and whiplash, which do not always exhibit apparent symptoms after an accident.Common Injuries Caused by Car Accidents
Depending on the nature and severity of the car accident, you can suffer a wide array of injuries, which can include the following:- Cuts, scrapes, and bruises
- Whiplash
- Broken arms, legs, arms, ribs, shoulders, back, etc.
- Facial injuries
- Head and brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Internal organ damage
- Post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health disorders
- Amputated limb
- Wrongful death
Damages You Can Claim in a Car Accident Claim
The amount of financial compensation you can receive from a car accident claim would be dependent on the specific types of damages you can recover. In most cases, you can expect to recover economic or special damages and non-economic damages or general damages. Economic damages are quantifiable monetary losses that include all the tangible accident-related expenses you incurred, such as:- Lost earnings
- Medical expenses
- Lost or reduced earning capacity
- Vehicle and other property damage
- Emotional anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of companionship or consortium
- Disfigurement or permanent scarring
What You Should Know About Florida’s No-Fault Auto Insurance Law and Car Accidents
Under Florida’s no-fault auto insurance law, all vehicle owners must carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance worth at least $10,000 and property damage liability (PDL) coverage worth at least $10,000. That ensures that injured drivers can recover some compensation from their own insurance provider after a car accident, regardless of who caused the accident. But you may be surprised to find that your own insurance provider may make the insurance claims process difficult for you. Your insurer may make it hard for you to obtain the PIP benefits you need to pay for the losses covered under your policy and will make all sorts of demands when all you need to do is move on from the accident. You must also know that in cases where severe and life-changing injuries are involved, the PIP benefits are usually insufficient to cover the costs of the injuries. In such cases, filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party is the only way to receive the money that injured victims need to recover financially and physically. But you can only take this route if you sustained an injury that involves:- Death
- Permanent disability
- Permanent and significant loss of body function
- Disfigurement
- Permanent scarring
Do Not Trust Insurance Claims Adjusters
After suffering injuries in a car crash, all you want is to be treated fairly and get compensated for your losses. But the insurance claims adjuster assigned to your claim, whether by your own insurer or the at-fault driver’s insurer, may have different motivations. Here’s what you need to know before even talking to an insurance adjuster:- Insurance adjusters will do everything for a quick settlement. The main reason for this is that the insurance company might have to pay a higher settlement if your case heads to trial. That means that they will try to get you to accept a low settlement as quickly as possible, knowing that their offer is not nearly enough to cover all your losses.
- Insurance adjusters will use everything you say to them against you. When you speak to an adjuster, make sure to avoid self-incriminating statements. That is why it’s recommended to discuss your case with a Lake Worth car accident first before you talk to any insurance adjuster.
- Insurance adjusters must act in good faith during settlement negotiations as required by law. This legal duty means that settlement offers must be fair and justified, and they cannot withhold information and cannot tamper with evidence.