As a lifetime resident of Florida and a vehicle accident attorney in Tampa, FL, I cannot stress enough the importance of obtaining proper motor vehicle insurance coverage.
Shockingly, the minimum coverage required in Florida to purchase and maintain a valid license plate is $10,000.00 in Personal Injury Protection coverage (PIP) and $10,000.00 in Property Damage Liability coverage (PDL), according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
There is a lot to consider after you’ve been in a car accident, but retaining effective, experienced Tampa personal injury counsel should be one of your top priorities after someone injures you in a car crash. Call Diaco Law’s car accident attorneys at (813) 221-7978 today to schedule your free consultation. You can also reach them online at Diacolaw.com.
When Should I Hire a Tampa Car Accident Lawyer?
In the aftermath of a car accident, it can be difficult to determine if you need legal help. The reality, however, is that in most cases, the answer is that you do. An attorney can help you navigate the process of making a claim to ensure you get full and fair compensation.
It’s important to remember that insurance companies want to pay you as little as possible, so it is up to you to protect your rights. This means that, in almost all situations — unless you were involved in a minor fender bender with no injuries and minimal property damage — it’s important that you have an advocate on your side.
Specifically, some examples of situations when you should hire a Tampa car accident lawyer include:
- If you or someone you love was hurt or killed
- If another driver was to blame for the accident and is denying liability
- If you sustained substantial property damage and your insurer, or the other driver’s insurer, is not making you a fair offer of compensation
- If an insurance company is asking you to sign a settlement agreement but you don’t understand the document or the full scope of your losses.
Insurance companies know the law, and they have professionals and legal teams looking out for them. It’s up to you to protect your interests by getting a legal advocate on your side as well.
We Handle All Types of Auto Accidents in Tampa
If you have become involved in an auto accident, you need an attorney familiar with the type of damage that you have endured. Diaco Law handles all types of auto accident claims, so we can help you in the aftermath of any accident.
Some of the different kinds of auto accident claims we handle include:
- Car accident claims
- Truck accident claims
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Uber accidents
- Lyft accidents
- Delivery driver accidents
- Side-swipe accidents
- Rear-end accidents
- Drunk driving crashes
- Distracted driving accidents
- Reckless driving accidents
- Fatigued driving accidents
- Hit-and-run accidents
We have the specialized knowledge you need for all of these types of claims. For example, after a DUI accident, we can obtain and understand toxicology reports, while in a distracted driving crash, we can help you to take the necessary steps to obtain cell phone records and prove the other driver put your life at risk by taking their attention away from the road.
Common Injuries From Car Accidents
Car accidents are a leading cause of serious and fatal injuries. This isn’t surprising, as when two heavy vehicles collide at high speeds, it is inevitable that damage will be done. Still, certain types of injuries are far more common than others.
Here are some of the most common types of injuries that crash victims experience:
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injury
- Internal injuries
- Back injuries
- Burn injuries
- Bone fractures
- Amputation
- Disfigurement
- Lacerations
- Whiplash
- Knee injuries
- Foot and ankle injuries
- Wrist injuries
- Soft tissue damage
- Crush injuries
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
Many of these injuries will forever change your life, and some you cannot recover from. A spinal cord injury, for example, could leave you fully or partially paralyzed while a brain injury can affect your cognition, memory, mood, personality, or even ability to perform routine daily tasks.
When you suffer physical or mental injuries, it is important to document them carefully as you mist show the extent of the damage that you endure in order to be fairly compensated for car accident losses.
Bodily Injury Liability (BI) Coverage Is NOT Required.
Bodily Injury Liability (BI) coverage is NOT required. BI liability coverage pays for serious and permanent injury or death to others when you cause a crash involving your automobile.
If you have BI coverage, you will be provided with liability coverage up to the limits of liability you have chosen, and you will be provided with a legal defense if an injured party sues you.
As an experienced vehicle accident lawyer in Tampa, FL, I am dedicated to helping you defend against lawsuits and get the compensation you deserve if you have been sued after a car accident.
What Does PIP Insurance Cover?
Drivers must have personal injury protection (PIP) coverage in Florida. PIP coverage is intended to pay for more minor losses after a motor vehicle accident happens.
In fact, because PIP is required in Florida, Florida is considered a no fault state. It gets that name because regardless of who is at fault, PIP will cover less serious consequences from a crash. In contrast, in fault states, the driver who was to blame for the accident must cover the victim’s losses even when a more minor collisions occurred.
PIP only pays for specific kinds of auto accident losses, though, and it only covers a percentage of them. Specifically, your personal injury protection coverage will pay for:
- Medical bills resulting from the crash: PIP covers 80% of the cost of medical bills made necessary as a result of the accident, such as X-rays, surgeries, ambulance rides, and hospital stays. Only medically necessary treatments are covered.
- Lost wages: PIP pays for up to 60% of lost wages if you are not able to work as a result of the injuries that you sustained in the auto accident.
There is a $10,000 limit on PIP coverage, so you can only get losses covered up to that amount. However, PIP will also pay a $5,000 payout in the event of a wrongful death.
A Cheaper Rate May Seem Like A Great Deal
Unfortunately, when people try to find the best price for automobile insurance, they often ask for full coverage, not knowing that they are NOT obtaining BI coverage in Florida for injuries they cause.
While a cheaper rate may seem like a great deal at the time, you may put yourself and your family at financial risk if you negligently injure someone while driving. As a Tampa car accident attorney, I recommend checking your policy to see if you have BI coverage. If not, seriously consider obtaining it to add another layer of protection for you and your family.
One In Eight Drivers Are Entirely Uninsured
According to the Insurance Research Counsel, one in eight drivers are entirely UNINSURED. That means they don’t have PIP, PDL, or BI coverage. What if one of those drivers was to cause an injury to you or a family member? What if that collision caused severe, life-altering injuries, rendering you or your loved one unable to work while medical bills began to pile up?
What would you do if that genuine possibility became a reality? Thankfully, you can obtain Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage (UM) to protect you if someone with no BI coverage or insufficient BI coverage for your injuries injures you.
Review Your Policy
Please review your policy to determine the exact types of coverage you have and make the adjustments needed to protect you and your family. If you have UM coverage, you can prepare for the worst. If an uninsured or underinsured driver strikes you, it will cover medical bills and lost wages.
If you would like further information about an automobile injury claim or any other type of injury claim issue, call Diaco Law at (813) 221-7978, or you can reach the Tampa car accident lawyers of Diaco Law online at Diacolaw.com.
How Does Florida Determine Fault?
In Florida, the law of negligence is used to allocate fault to one driver or another. An injured driver suing another driver for negligence in Florida must prove four elements:
- The other driver had a Duty of Care;
- The other driver breached that duty of care;
- The other driver’s breach of the duty of care caused the injury; and
- The injured driver suffered damages as a result of the other driver’s breach of his duty of care.
Let’s apply this abstract law to a hypothetical situation. Imagine a situation in which a driver is crossing through an intersection. As the driver does so, a drunk driver runs a red light, causing a crash, and thereby injures the first driver.
The first driver could then sue the drunk driver under a theory of negligence because the drunk driver had a duty not to drive drunk and to stop at the red light, which he breached in this situation. The drunk driver caused the crash and therefore the other driver’s injuries when he drunkenly ran the red light. As a result of the crash, the injured driver incurred medical bills and lost time at work–all of which is compensable under Florida law.
What Happens if Both Drivers Are At-Fault?
On March 24, 2023, Florida enacted a new scheme known as “modified comparative negligence” when it added a provision to Section 768.81 of the Florida statutes. This new law will change the way Florida courts handle car accident litigation in a big way.
Under the previous system of “pure” comparative negligence, a person injured in a car accident was allowed to sue the other driver even if the injured person was at-fault in the accident. His damages would be reduced by the percentage of fault allocated to him by the jury. Under this system, a driver who was mostly at-fault could sue another driver who was less at-fault.
Let’s go back to the earlier example. This time, imagine that the sober driver was texting while driving when the drunk driver runs the red light and hits the texting driver. At trial, the jury awards $100,000 but finds the texting driver to be 20% at fault and the drunk driver 80% at-fault. So, the comparative negligence system would reduce the $100,000 jury verdict to an $80,000 verdict due to the 20% fault allocated to the texting driver.
Now let’s fast-forward to March 2023 and examine the new system of “modified” comparative negligence. The Florida legislature added a new section to the statute that says “any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own may not recover any damages.” This new damages scheme effectively closes the courthouse doors to negligent drivers who wish to sue their fellow motorists even though the accident was mostly their fault.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Car Accident Victims?
In the aftermath of a car accident, you will need to turn to your PIP coverage to get paid for your medical bills and lost income if the accident was more minor. You’re limited to getting coverage for medically necessary treatments and partially lost wages, up to the $10,000 PIP limit.
However, if you were involved in a serious accident, then things are different. When your injuries are serious enough, you can file a lawsuit against the driver who caused the accident to occur — and you can often recover more damages. Specifically, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical bills: This includes all past medical care costs for treatment you needed because of the accident, as well as any ongoing medical care that you will need as a result of injuries you suffered.
- Lost wages: You should be compensated for any missed work. In the future, your earning power may be reduced by your injuries. If that’s the case, then you should be compensated for the wages that you lost out on because of your ongoing impairments.
- Pain and suffering: Accident injuries can cause significant pain. You should be paid for the hurt you have endured. Keeping a pain journal is often necessary in order to obtain payment for the discomfort of your physical injuries, as you can record what you are enduring to prove the extent of your loss.
- Emotional distress: Many people develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or other mental issues after an accident. You should be compensated for this mental damage.
- Wrongful death damages: If your loved one is killed in a collision, you are entitled to wrongful death damages including compensation for costs they experienced before death, funeral expenses, loss of their wages for life, and lost companionship.
You need to demonstrate the extent of your damages in order to get paid the full amount you deserve.
How Long Do I Have To File A Car Accident Lawsuit in Florida?
There is a two-year statute of limitations for filing a car accident lawsuit in Florida. This means if you do not act to pursue your claim within two years, your claim will be time-barred. It will be too late for you to file a suit to recover compensation from those who hurt you.
Contact a Tampa Car Accident Attorney Today
You need an experienced Tampa car accident attorney on your side after being injured in a car accident in Tampa. At Diaco Law, we understand how difficult this time can be and are ready to help provide clarity, explain your options, and help you move forward with your life. You can rest easy knowing our Tampa car accident lawyers are handling your case.
Legal services can be expensive, but you don’t have to worry about that when you hire the car accident attorneys at Diaco Law. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. Under a contingency fee, our firm works to resolve your case, and then you pay us a percentage of the settlement or jury verdict after the case is over. If we don’t win then you don’t pay.
To schedule your free initial consultation about an automobile injury claim or any other type of injury claim issue, call Diaco Law at (813) 221-7978. You can also contact the personal injury attorneys of Diaco Law online at Diacolaw.com.