A car crash can change your life, leaving you with a future for which you are unprepared. If you or someone you love is the victim of another driver’s carelessness, our Palm Beach Gardens car accident lawyer will help you fight for the compensation settlement you and your family deserve.
Our Palm Beach Gardens personal injury lawyers at GED Lawyers are fierce advocates for injured Floridians. For 30 years, we’ve stood for justice on behalf of our clients.
Over the decades, we’ve built a formidable legal team that has made ours a law firm with a history of winning. Call today for a free consultation. We have the answers you need.
Recovering Compensation for Damages Can Help Rebuild Your Life After a Car Crash
The bulk of the financial cost for a serious injury usually comes from your medical expenses. These compensable damages may include but aren’t limited to:
- Ambulance transportation
- Emergency care
- Hospital care
- Specialist care
- Surgeries
- Prescriptions
- Rehab
- Physical therapy
- Diagnostics
- Medical and assistive devices
- In-home or assisted living care
- Future medical costs
Other financial costs can include:
- The replacement or repair of your damaged vehicle and other personal property damaged in the crash
- Loss of wages during recovery
- Loss of future earnings if you are unable to return to work
- Assistance with life skills such as home maintenance, shopping, or childcare
- Modification of your home and vehicle to meet your needs
Not all your losses arrive with a bill for payment, but they are losses just the same and may merit compensation. Non-economic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering caused by your injury
- Emotional trauma
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of enjoyment in life
- Loss of or change in relationships
- Inconvenience and daily impact of a disability or disfigurement
Your accident and the damages you sustained are unique and may not match those listed. Please speak with one of our Palm Beach Gardens car accident attorneys to get assistance completing and filing a compensation claim.
Recovering Compensation If You Share Blame for the Crash
Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule allows you to collect compensation for your losses if all the blame for the crash rests with other drivers. You may also collect some but not all of the compensation due if you are found to be 50% or less at fault for the crash.
Your percentage of fault you carry reduces the amount you may recover. If you’re 10% at fault, you may recover 90% of your final damage award.
If you are found to be more than 50% at fault, you may not recover any compensation for your losses.
Our Palm Beach Gardens Car Accident Lawyers Can Help Break Down How Insurance Impacts Your Claim
Florida requires that all registered vehicles be insured with Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage Liability (PDL). However, if the owner chooses and qualifies, they may have a certificate of self-insurance instead. PIP and PDL are the minimum insurance coverages required, although car owners may carry policies that cover more than the minimum.
If the crash caused severe injuries, the cost of making you whole again, which is the purpose of compensation, may exceed the at-fault driver’s policy limits. You may have to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover full and fair compensation. However, you may find that the at-fault driver does not have the means to meet your compensable damages.
If the negligent driver is not insured and you carry uninsured motorist insurance, you can file a claim with your insurance company for losses not covered by PIP.
If your insurance company does not want to pay for your losses or offers less than the cost of damages, you may choose to file a breach of contract lawsuit against your insurer. Our Palm Beach Gardens car crash attorneys can clarify your options for you.
Remember the Statute of Limitations to File a Personal Injury or Breach of Contract Lawsuit
If you choose to file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent driver or their insurer, you have two years after the crash to begin legal action. Should your insurance company fail to fulfill the promise of your policy, Florida allows you five years from the date of the accident to file a breach of contract lawsuit against your insurers.
Taking an insurance company to court is a complicated legal action. It’s one that our Palm Beach Gardens car accident lawyers will thoroughly discuss with you before the decision is made to move forward.
Proving the Elements of Negligence for a Car Accident in Florida
Before you may file a compensation claim against the other driver, you and your attorney must prove that the following four elements of negligence were present:
Duty of Care
As the plaintiff, you must prove that the defendant owed you a duty to act with reasonable care and not cause harm.
Breach of Duty
You must prove that the defendant did not act with the care that a reasonable person would in similar circumstances. For instance, the defendant was speeding or otherwise behaving negligently.
Causation
The defendant’s actions must be shown to have caused the accident and your injury.
Damages
You must show that you suffered losses due to the accident and your injury.
Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Car Accident Lawyer at GED Lawyers for the Help You Deserve
Call our office and talk with our legal team about your rights. If you have a case, one of our Palm Beach Gardens car accident attorneys can sit down with you and help to develop your case. We have a no-win/no-pay policy. We work on a contingency fee basis—if we don’t win your case, you won’t pay our fees.
We believe that everyone in our diverse community deserves access to legal representation.
We offer our services in Russian, Spanish, Creole, Portuguese, Arabic, Greek, Turkish, and English. If we can help you, we will.
