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.
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.
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.
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.