Category: Auto Accidents

Auto accidents are jarring, life-altering events. While physical injuries are often immediately apparent and rapidly receive medical care, the psychological impact of an accident can go unnoticed or untreated for an extended period of time.

Coping with feelings of depression, anxiety, and emotional distress is common after a traumatic incident, and auto accidents are traumatic events. You do not have to struggle alone, instead seek help for emotional struggles. And if you are worried about the expenses of mental health support providers, know that a Tampa personal injury attorney can fight for a full recovery amount that includes companion for all accident-related fees, including expenses connected to therapy and counseling.

In the aftermath of an auto accident, a wide swing of emotions is possible. Some report experiencing relief or gratitude while others report feelings of fear, guilt, anger, or sadness. A range of emotional responses is entirely normal after a distressing event. For some, upsetting emotions lift with time and selfcare, but for others these emotions intensify and become a more severe issue, such as depression.

Prioritizing the safety of children is essential. So when young kids are traveling in vehicles it is important for them to be secured in a child safety seat, and if you were involved in a Tampa car crash and a child seat was in the car at the time of the collision, understanding how the crash impact affected the seat’s efficiency needs to be analyzed. In most situations, purchasing a new child seat after an accident is advised.

After an accident, connect with a Tampa personal injury attorney to strengthen your future. A skilled lawyer can walk you through the monetary recovery process, including collecting the cost of a replacement child booster seat or infant car seat.

Car seats for infants, toddlers, and young children are designed to protect these tiny humans in the event of a vehicle collision. But it is important to realize that the force generated during a car crash can weaken or harm the structural integrity and effectiveness of a child car seat. This can be true even if there are no visible signs of damage when you or someone you know looks at the seat. This is because force can put stress on the materials, such as weakening stitches or loosening harness systems.

When it comes to Florida injury claims, a common cause is when drivers fail to make a complete stop when confronted with a stop sign or red light. Sometimes referred to as rolling stops, this behavior can have dangerous consequences and result in serious injuries and extensive property damage.

There are a variety of factors to review when it comes to rolling stop injury claims, such as why failing to stop is illegal, who is liable in the event of an accident, and how you can secure financial recovery. Having a conversation with a Tampa personal injury attorney is a path to resolving accident injury expenses.

Failing to make a complete stop at a stop sign or red light is illegal because it is a violation of Florida law. According to Florida Statutes Section 316.123, a driver must come to a complete stop at a stop sign or red light before proceeding, and failing to do so can result in a traffic ticket and points on your driver’s license.

The Tampa Bay area is a popular destination for motorcycle riders. For example, many Tampa motorcycle enthusiasts enjoy riding the Tail of the Gecko, a ride that goes from State Road 62 to County Road 672, or cycling around North Tampa. While there is a lot of enjoyment to be had, the increase in popularity among Florida residents and visitors has also led to more accidents and injuries.

While a range of injuries are possible, the most common motorcycle injuries in the Tampa Bay area are head injuries, which can lead to life-threatening outcomes. Many also sustain injuries to their legs, arms, or torsos. Motorcycles do not have the safety features that cars do, and injuries can be devastating, both physically and financially, for families. Connect with a Tampa personal injury attorney to access the financial support you need for medical treatments and care.

Medical bills and fees after a Tampa Bay area motorcycle accident victims can be substantial, especially if they require hospitalization or surgery. Having documentation of all the care you or your loved one has received is an important factor in connecting with a full and fair settlement. Additionally, if there will be future medical expenses or physical therapy costs, those can be calculated in order to be sure a recovery amount will cover all of your injury expenses, both current and upcoming costs.

Merging and changing lanes is part of driving and typically can’t be avoided, but sudden and illegal lane movements are risky and have led to accidents around the state of Florida. This can happen if another driver moves into your lane abruptly, without a signal, giving you no time to react. Or if you are in a situation where the number of lanes is reducing and a driver recklessly merges, putting others at risk of property damage and personal injury.

It is important for all drivers to safely assess their surroundings before merging or changing lanes because the risk of collision is high. One report by the National Highway Traffic Administration states around 10% of vehicular accidents are connected to lane changes.  After a collision due to an illegal lane change or improper merge into traffic, discuss monetary settlement options with a Tampa personal injury attorney.

Bad Weather, Blind Spots, and Distractions

Collisions due to driver distraction occur for a wide range of reasons. In Florida, as is true in a lot of US states, the majority of distracted driving laws focus on texting. It is well known that individuals who are handling their mobile devices while operating a vehicle are a hazard. Because of this, people follow hands-free driving laws in Florida. These laws are in place to promote safer travel throughout the state.

While you are permitted to talk on your cell phone through a hands-free option, you still need to be sure your attention is focused on safe travel. Being cognitively distracted, meaning your mind is elsewhere, possibly pulled into an emotional family call or participating in a heated work meeting while driving, is also risky. If you sustained an injury because a Florida driver was illegally using their phone manually or a vehicle operator was talking using a hands-free option but still behaved negligently, talk to a Tampa personal injury attorney about your compensation options.

Filing a personal injury lawsuit means understanding and following a number of procedural rules. Many of these rules are strictly enforced. This means that failure to comply can result in dismissal of your case regardless of the merits. 

One rule that fits within this strict-compliance description is the statute of limitations. This is basically the deadline to initiate a lawsuit under Florida law. In other words, if you do not file and serve a complaint within the limitations period, the court is legally barred from hearing your lawsuit. 

Four Years Is the Statute of Limitations in (Most) Negligence Cases 

The statute of limitations is determined by the Florida legislature, and different types of cases may be subject to different limitations periods. For personal injury claims–i.e., an “action founded on negligence”–the statute of limitations is normally four (4) years. But to give a contrasting example, if you file a lawsuit based on a breach of contract–say you want to sue your insurance company for not paying a claim–then the statute of limitations is five (5) years. 

If you own a car in Florida, you should know that you are required to carry a certain minimum amount of auto insurance. Florida is a “no-fault” state, your insurance is expected to pay for any personal injury that you sustain in an accident. But this personal injury protection (PIP) coverage is often insufficient to fully cover your medical expenses and other accident-related losses. PIP coverage does not address situations where your accident was caused by the negligence of another driver.

This brings up another issue. Even when you can prove that the other driver was responsible for the accident, they may have little (if any) insurance coverage of their own. So what do you do then? In many cases, your own insurance company may still be responsible assuming you purchased uninsured motorist (UM) coverage as part of your auto policy.

How UM Coverage Works And Why You Need It

UM coverage kicks in when you, or someone else covered by your policy, is injured by a driver with either no insurance or insufficient insurance to fully compensate the injured party for their legal damages. Keep in mind, an uninsured driver can also include an unknown party, such as a hit-and-run driver who flees the scene of an accident and is never identified by the police.

Florida has some busy roads, and we have a lot of car accidents here in Bradenton, FL. Understanding how auto liability works is important to protecting your rights, and you should talk to an auto liability lawyer quickly if you’ve been in an accident.

Florida has a no-fault insurance system. All drivers in Florida are required to carry personal injury protection insurance, or PIP. The law requires that this insurance cover 80% of your medical expenses, 60% of your lost wages, and provide $5,000 in death benefits to your beneficiaries if an accident should be fatal. PIP is supposed to cover drivers no matter who is responsible for an accident.This rule means that there are fewer liability claims in Florida, particularly with small accidents, but it does not do away with liability completely. When someone is responsible for an accident and there is property damage (which isn’t covered by PIP), the responsible person can be held liable. Their property damage liability (PDL) coverage would kick in at this point. This is also a requirement in Florida, and all drivers need to have at least $10,000 of PDL coverage.Bodily Injury Liability (BIL) coverage, however, is optional for most. BIL coverage provides liability coverage for causing injury to another person that exceeds what PIP can cover. That’s because ,when injuries are bad enough, victims in Florida are allowed to “step out” of the no-fault system and bring a liability claim against the at-fault driver.