One of the many ways an auto accident can be caused on the roads of Florida is by loose objects coming free from the cargo of a vehicle. While this type of accident is more common with large cargo-carrying trucks, it can still easily occur in a regular car. Loose objects do not only pose a risk from direct impact. They also litter the road and cause further accidents down the line. It is not uncommon for loose objects of this kind to cause auto accidents involving multiple vehicles.
If you have been involved in an auto accident in the last four years, one of our experienced car accident lawyers can help you to both make and maximize your personal injury claim. We have a total of over 75 years of experience across our team of lawyers and can offer our legal knowledge immediately through a free consultation. Every consultation is undertaken on a no-obligation basis, and your details will remain confidential as per the attorney-client relationship.
Auto accident victims should call our Port Charlotte office as soon as possible. An attorney can help you to begin your claim. Our number is (941) 444-4444!
The Correct Process After Experiencing a Florida Auto Accident
There are a number of things that any car accident victim should do in the minutes immediately following their accident, both for their own safety and to ensure they maximize their claim amount.
These things are as follows:
- Ensure yours’ and others’ safety – Immediately get to a safe position if possible and try to ensure other people involved in the car accident are in a similarly safe position.
- Call 911 – Call the emergency services to the scene of the accident. Within the terms of Florida Statute 316.062, this is a legal requirement.
- Collect evidence – Take thorough pictures of the scene once it is safe to do so. This includes all vehicles involved (from multiple angles), the surface of the road (focusing on tire skid marks), damage to the scenery, and any injuries you have incurred as a result of the car accident.
- Collect contact details – Ensure that you get the contact details of not only those involved in the accident but also any witnesses. You should aim to collect full names, telephone numbers, driver’s license numbers, and registration plate numbers. You will also need the insurance company details of anyone actually involved in the accident.
- Get medical treatment for any injuries – Not only should you address injuries for your own safety, but Florida Statute 627.736 also means that if you do not seek treatment within a two-week period, you risk losing your ability to make a personal injury claim.
- Do not accept blame – You may be a polite person, but you should still not apologize for the auto accident. Many people will take this as an admission of fault, and this can impact your claim.
- Contact a personal injury attorney – This should be your number one priority once you have left the scene are received medical care. Your personal injury lawyer will talk you through the next steps, and by acting quickly, you stand the best chance of maximizing your final settlement amount.
Loose Objects From a Large Commercial Motor Vehicle
While these types of vehicle accidents can occur with any kind of motor vehicle, they are most commonly caused by large freight trucks and other commercial trucking vehicles.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration puts laws, limits, and rules in place to attempt to reduce the amount of Florida personal injury cases that occur as a result of trucks shedding their cargo.
Unfortunately, many large trucking companies fail to comply with these rules for reasons of their own greed. An overloaded commercial vehicle makes more profit per mile, no matter what the risk it puts other drivers in.
If you have been involved in a vehicle accident that was the fault of a large trucking company, the speedy acquisition of quality is even more important than usual. Large trucking companies often have specialized legal teams specifically for fighting against these types of claims.
We’re here to serve you. Our phones are open 24 hours a day.
Common Injuries Resulting From Loose Object Vehicle Accidents
As mentioned briefly above, loose object car accidents can commonly involve multiple vehicles. This means they tend to be even more dangerous than regular car accidents.
Common injuries seen by our personal injury and accident attorney team include:
- Lacerations, cuts, and abrasions.
- Broken/fractured bones or sprains.
- Injuries to the spine or back.
- Burns or scalds.
- Head or brain injuries.
- Disfigurement, scarring, or even amputation.
- Crush injuries.
- Damage to the internal organs or cases of internal bleeding.
- Disabilities and impairments.
If any of the above describes your injuries, or even if your specific injuries aren’t listed above, you should schedule a free legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer from our law firm. We can help you unlock the level of compensation you deserve.
We’re Florida’s top litigation team with over 75 years of combined experience
What About Non-Physical Injuries Resulting From Car Accidents?
Physical injuries are not the only consequence of car accidents. The psychological trauma of being involved in a motor vehicle accident can be as bad as the physical trauma, if not worse.
Common psychological consequences of car accidents seen by our accident lawyer team include:
- Sleep issues such as insomnia, broken sleep, and night terrors.
- Generalized or acute anxiety.
- Inability to be around roads or vehicles.
- The loss of enjoyment of things you once loved.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder.
If you have experienced any of the above, you are entitled to include them in your personal injury claim. Your accident attorney from The Law Place will be as compassionate as they are determined to ensure that achieving your compensation will not further your trauma.
From the initial call to updates on your case status, we are here to get you answers.
For Which Damages Can You Seek Compensation?
Your Florida attorneys will be able to unlock different types of compensation, depending on the details of your accident claim. These damages will also fluctuate in value, depending on the specifics of your circumstances and the consequences your accident has had on you.
The most common types of compensation available are:
- Property damage – Your physical and psychological health aren’t the only things at risk in road traffic accidents. If your primary form of transport is destroyed, this can put you in a position of financial precarity. Property damage claims exist to combat this.
- Medical bills – If you have been involved in a car accident, you don’t only risk physical harm. Medical bills resulting from accident injuries are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States of America today. If you retain a copy of your medical bill, your accident lawyer can fight for you to be reimbursed for the cost.
- Lost wages – Another way accidents can quickly become financially devastating is time spent off work recovering. Often people are not paid for this. If you keep hold of your correspondence with your employer, our law firm will help you to recoup this money.
- Pain and suffering – These appropriately named damages calculate an economic amount by looking at the duration and pain level of your recovery process. Additional compensation for pain and suffering would be available if your injury was life-changing in any way, such as resulting in a disability, disfigurement, or permanent lifestyle change.
- Wrongful death – If you have lost a beloved family member to a car accident, we know that money will be the furthest thing from your mind. Unfortunately, many people are taken by surprise by the cost involved in their loss. This is where filing a wrongful death claim comes in. These claims are designed to reimburse you for burial and funerary expenses, the projected lost family income, and the loss of your companionship and consortium.
The best way to find out which of the types of damages apply to your specific situation and the best way to go about maximizing them is to get in touch with a car accident attorney from The Law Place as soon as possible.
We will outline the full process in your free consultation, and an experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to provide you with free and impartial legal advice immediately.
How Long Do You Have Following a Car Accident to Make a Personal Injury Claim?
All personal injury claims in the State of Florida are governed by something called the statute of limitations. What this means is that there is a time limit for you to be able to seek compensation, which is laid out in Florida Statute 95.11.
The statute of limitations for all road traffic accidents in the State of Florida is 4 years. This period of time begins to expire on the exact day that you had your accident.
One thing that catches many grieving families unaware is that the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim is different. This period of time is only two years and once again begins on the exact date of the accident.
When Should You Begin Your Florida Car Accident Injury Claims Process?
You have exactly four years in which to raise your claim and seek compensation for the injuries, damages, and complications you suffered as a result of your accident.
This may seem like a long time. However, we would strongly advise contacting your attorneys and beginning the process as soon as possible. This will stand you the best chance of having a successful case and the best chance of maximizing your compensatory amount.
One of the reasons for this is because evidence tends to disappear or become otherwise unavailable over time. The best way to ensure that you have all the evidence your attorneys will need is to strike while the iron is hot.
Another incredibly important reason concerns your insurance company. Insurance companies like to say that they are on your side, but nothing could be further from the truth. Think about it, the less money your insurance company pays out for your injuries, the more money their business has.
Insurance companies have dedicated teams of attorneys and claims adjusters to help them with this. Therefore it is imperative that your legal team gets started straight away, compiling the most evidence and the strongest argument for your case that is possible.
So, what are you waiting for? Give The Law Place in Port Charlotte, Florida, a call today.
The Things You Can Do to Ensure Your Case Goes Smoothly
While with a lawyer from The Law Place, you are in safe hands, there are a number of things that only you can do to ensure that your case goes as smoothly as possible and that your receive the maximum amount of potential compensation.
We have mentioned some of these things elsewhere, but they bear repeating as they can have a substantial impact on your final settlement amount.
These things are as follows:
- Photograph the scene – Your personal injury lawyers will be able to use photographic evidence only available to you at the scene of your accident to bolster your case. You should photograph all vehicles involved, any injuries you sustained, any environmental damage, and the surface of the road.
- Collect details – You should get as much contact, personal, and insurance information from everyone at the scene of the accident as possible.
- Retain bills and correspondence – In order to stand the best chance at successfully claiming for lost wages and medical bill reimbursement, you should retain all bills detailing costs as well as any relevant correspondence with your employer.
- Obtain a full medical history – Many insurance companies will attempt to pin complications from your accidents on pre-existing medical conditions. The best way to fight this is with a full copy of your medical history.
- Be aware of insurance company tricks – On the subject of insurance companies, you should only disclose the absolute minimum amount of information to them. They will often try to goad you into revealing information that could damage your claim amount. For the same reason, never sign anything from your insurance company without a lawyer present.
How Much Will an Experienced Lawyer From The Law Place Cost You?
It is understandable that a lot of Florida accident victims are put off searching for a worthwhile lawyer to fight for their compensation due to the reputation that lawyers have for being expensive. Typically, following an accident, victims experience a time of financial hardship due to property damage, medical expenses, and lost wages.
The good news is that here at The Law Place, we believe that nobody should experience any level of risk when claiming for an accident that wasn’t their fault. That’s why all of our personal injury and accident cases are conducted on a contingency basis.
What this means is that there will be absolutely no upfront costs to you. All legal fees will only be taken once your final settlement is achieved. This also means that if your case is unsuccessful for some reason, the whole process will not cost you anything at all.
Here at The Law Place, there is nothing we value more than transparency, honesty, and trust. That’s why all of our contingency work is monitored by the Florida State Bar Association. That way, all of our clients and prospective clients can be sure that there are no nasty surprises, extra costs, or hidden expenses waiting for them further down the line.
Contact The Law Place Today
If you have been involved in a car accident in the last four years, you need to contact a lawyer near you as soon as possible to stand the best chance at making a worthwhile claim.
Here at The Law Place, our team of attorneys have a combined level of 75 years of experience and are just waiting to use their knowledge, wisdom, and skillsets to help you. Our telephone lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for you to arrange a free consultation and case evaluation. All calls will feature free legal advice, a roadmap of what lies ahead of you, and will be at absolutely no obligation. Furthermore, there are no upfront costs and absolutely no cost if your case is unsuccessful.
For more information and to speak to a qualified legal professional about maximizing your compensation, call our Florida office on (941) 444-4444!