In lively Florida, there over 14 million registered car owners. Every time a diver steps behind the wheel of a car, they are taking the risk of getting into an accident on busy roads. A car accident can occur quicker than a flash, and in moments, the victims involved could suffer injuries that could change their whole life forever.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV), there are a recorded amount of 400,000 accidents in Florida every year. These collisions are responsible for causing 250,000 injuries a year, with 3,000 of them resulting in a fatality. With such an alarming number of accidents occurring each year, you might feel as though your claim is irrelevant or unlikely to be heard in court.
Here at The Law Place, we believe that all car accident cases involving a soft issue injury deserve attention. Using our free consultation, you can gain helpful opinions and professional legal advice from a personal injury lawyer today. With experience in a range of practice areas, including soft tissue injuries, there is no claim that our injury lawyers are not willing to listen to. Contact us now for free at (941) 444-4444.
What Is a Soft Tissue Injury?
Following an incident that has caused you to suffer an injury or pain, it can be difficult to determine the type of injuries you have attained if you have no medical knowledge. Typically a soft tissue injury is when there has been damage caused to the skin and normally doesn’t include broken bones or severe injuries resulting in amputation. However, if you have suffered a fracture, for instance, there may have also been some tissue damage caused to the skin also.
You might not feel the extent of your injuries from the car collision straight away if you are still full of adrenaline from the accident. Therefore you might not think about seeking medical attention immediately after a car collision, but it is best that you do if you wish to gain any compensation at all. Once you have sought medical attention, you need to contact a personal injury lawyer to take back control and fight for a settlement you deserve.
What Are the Most Common Types of Soft Tissue Injuries?
The world can be a dangerous place in this day and age. On the busy streets of St. Petersburg and the rest of Florida, there are endless ways in which a member of the public may be involved in an incident that has caused them to attain a soft tissue injury.
A soft injury itself can cover a range of injuries. Therefore if somebody has suffered a soft tissue injury, as an accident victim, they might be suffering from:
Contusions
These types of injuries occur when there has been a damaged vessel or vein that has leaked blood into the surrounding area, causing the surface of the skin to turn blue, purple, or green in color. If you notice a bruise is taking a long time to heal, it is likely to be a contusion, and it is best to get this checked over by a doctor or medical professional.
Sprains
If somebody has suffered a sprain due to a slip and fall, it means they have overstretched or torn a ligament which can be very painful. The effects of a sprain can result in swelling, bruising, tenderness, or limited movement.
Strains
The term strain refers to the exceeding of the maximum potential or tearing of a muscle or tendon, as caused by too much exertion. This type of injury might require somebody to take an x-ray to look at the extent of the damage.
Whiplash
A whiplash injury is one of the most typical car accident injuries. It is common in rear-end collisions where a driver is shunted from the back, causing the head to jolt back suddenly. Some of the usual symptoms of whiplash consist of headaches, neck and back pain, blurred vision, and sometimes dizziness.
Lacerations
Commonly a car accident victim may suffer cuts or sometimes deep lacerations. It is important to seek medical attention to get stitches and to clean the cut properly. It is important to get your cuts seen to prevent complications such as infection or loss of blood.
Burns and Abrasions
In serious auto accidents, there could be a spark or leak of oil which starts a fire resulting in burns for accident victims. There could be deep grazes called abrasions to the victim. In both cases of burns and abrasions, the patient could require a skin graft.
What Should You Do Immediately After Being Involved in a Florida Car Accident?
After being involved in a car accident that has caused you to attain injury, then it is absolutely essential to take particular steps if you wish to gain any compensation for your injuries or damages at all. By taking these particular steps, you are essentially building up your claim by gathering evidence that can be later looked at by your injury lawyer. You must:
- Get to safety – This means getting as far away from any vehicles that might be letting off smoke from the crash or out of the way of the road as soon as possible.
- Alert the authorities – So that the incident can be recorded properly by the police, law enforcement officers should be called to the scene to record witness statements and judge the situation.
- Collect details – It is vital to collect all the relevant details of any driver, pedestrian, or passengers involved, such as recording their full names, telephone numbers, addresses, and registration plate numbers.
- Never admit fault – Upon an accident, you may automatically feel a sense of guilt regardless of whether you were at fault. However, it is extremely important that you do not admit fault straight away, as your attorney may later be able to prove that you are not to be held liable for the accident.
- Take photographic evidence – It is important to take any relevant photos of the crash, such as skid marks, damaged vehicles, injuries, or damages caused to surrounding property such as a knocked-over wall.
- Contact your attorney – By reaching out to an accident lawyer, you are increasing your chance of receiving any compensation massively. We can offer you valuable advice on your situation and offer you a helping hand at this frustrating time.
- Alert your insurance company – If you were involved in a car accident, then your insurance company will likely require you to give over details of the crash within a particular time frame. However, it would be best if you seek advice from an accident lawyer before giving over too much information concerning the crash.
- Seek medical attention – If you or anybody else involved in the accident is hurt or injured, then it is best if you phone for emergency assistance as soon as possible so that any injuries can be recorded by a doctor.
How Long Do I Have to Seek Medical Attention?
In Florida, the law requires anybody that has suffered a personal injury to seek medical attention within 14 days from the date that the accident occurred, as found in Florida Statute 627.736. If you fail to have your injuries looked at by a medical professional within the 14-day time frame, then your claim will unlikely be ever heard by a judge.
Statutes of limitation are usually set in stone, and there is very little room for error or exception within the law. However, in rare cases when an accident victim was unaware of the statute, then there might be a chance that a judge could make an exception for you by extending the 14-day time frame. If you stand any chance of having the statute of limitation extended, then you will need to seek the help of a St. Petersburg personal injury lawyer, as this can be difficult.
What Damages Are You Entitled to in St. Petersburg, FL?
If you attained a serious bodily injury, whether this is due to assault or a car accident, you might be able to claim for negligence. You can find more information on the duty of care owed to the public and the laws on negligence in Florida Statute 768.81. This statute gives you the right as a personal injury victim to seek compensation for any injury or damages you have attained.
- Medical bills – Including hospital room fees, ambulance fees, physiotherapy, x-ray bills, etc.
- Lost wages – For time spent off work recovering from your injuries.
- Loss of earning capacity – Your injuries might prevent you from performing certain job roles in the future.
- Disfigurement or severe scarring – This includes loss of limb or scarring from stitches or burns.
- Canceled plans – If you missed a vacation or had to cancel plans such as tickets to an event, you could be compensated for it.
- Pain and suffering – Your injuries might go beyond physicalities. You could be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), causing you to have flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, or depression
- Loss of enjoyment of life – Prevention of being able to take part in your usual activities can completely ruin your fault routine
What Is the Timeframe for Making a Claim for Soft Tissue Injuries?
In Florida law, there is a statute of limitations for soft tissue injury claims that are detailed in Florida Statute 95.11. This statute of limitations states that you have up to four years from the date of the incident occurred to file a claim before your claim is waived completely. If you fail to make a claim within this time frame, then your claim will never likely be heard by a judge, and there will be little your criminal defense lawyer can do to help you file a claim in this instance.
In cases where a client is completely unaware of the state of limitations, then a capable attorney may be able to convince a judge to make an exception for your case in order for your claim to be heard. However, you will not be able to wiggle around this statute without the support of a criminal defense lawyer.
How Will I Afford to Hire a St. Petersburg Personal Injury Lawyer?
All of our contingency work is monitored by the Florida State Bar Association. This means that unless your claim is successful and you receive or compensation, then you will not have to pay our attorneys a thing. Only if you receive a settlement will our accident lawyers take a small percentage of your payments to cover all legal fees.
The Law Place also prides itself on showing complete honesty and transparency on all of our legal fees and being upfront with you from the get-go. So you don’t have to worry about coming across any catches or hidden fees with our law firm.
Contact The Law Place for a Free Consultation
If you were unfortunate enough to have suffered a soft tissue injury that you believe was out of your control or due to the negligence of another party, then it would benefit you greatly to get a second opinion. With over seventy-five years of combined experience in a range of personal injury cases, there is no claim that we are not willing to listen to and offer advice. Most of our lawyers have been rated 10.0 by the AVVO, which is the highest-ranked on this site
Using our helpful free case evaluation, we can offer you our valuable advice and allow you to ask us any questions or queries you might have which has been playing on your mind. The law can be complicated and in-depth, so you aren’t expected to know all of the ins and outs of the law. That is your injury lawyer’s job to guide you through all the complicated jargon of the law and our legal processes.
Our phone lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for you to call us for free. Contact us now at (941) 444-4444. Remember, the longer you wait, the less time out soft tissue injury lawyers have to work on building up a strong claim on behalf of you.