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Understanding Tampa Car Accident Claims & When to Hire Tampa Auto Accident Attorneys
Why The Insurance Company Is Not Your Friend
Sure, Flo seems nice. The General is cute. Mayhem entertains. And what Tampa, Florida resident does not like lizards? They advertise on buses, tv, and sporting events throughout Tampa Bay.
But cute advertising aside, insurance companies exist to maximize profit.
And to do that they need to pay you as little as possible for your claim.
Insurance companies will:
An accident attorney deals with insurance agents all day long. He or she will keep the insurer honest and help you get a fair result.
For example, Progressive insurance has ramped up efforts in the Tampa Bay area to try to catch accident victims before they speak to a lawyer and trick them into settling their case for mere pennies. A potential client contacted us recently with a claim that we easily valued at six figures. Upon review, the insurance adjuster met our client and wrote him a check for less than $2,000.00. The poor person did not realize that by cashing the check and signing some paperwork he had released the insurance provider from all claims related to the wreck.
Even if it is your insurance, you can expect to be lowballed. They do this routinely in uninsured motorist claims as well as first-party damage claims.
At least chat with a Car Accident Attorney before signing any documents from an insurance company.
Recognize the insurance company needs to lowball you to maximize its profits. Always discuss your care with an injury lawyer that handles car accidents in Tampa before taking any money or signing any documents.
Why Fault Matters in Car Accidents
The heart of a Tampa car accident claim is a fault. Specifically, that another person or corporation violated safety rules and caused damage to you.
Cars are violent and dangerous. Every driver must be super cautious on the road to protect the motoring public. We call this a duty of care.
When a driver violates safety rules on the road we call that being negligent. If a driver is negligent and causes a crash, then that driver is responsible for any damages caused.
That means to have a vehicle accident case you should not be the faulty person. Your claim is against the other driver who did drive negligently.
Sometimes it can be more than one driver. And sometimes you might be partially at fault, but the majority of the blame for the wreck may fall on another driver.
In those cases, you will still have a claim, but any settlement amount will be reduced by the percentage of fault that you had in the car crash.
Exception: Type of Tampa Car Accident Claim Where Fault Does Not Matter
One exception to the fault rule we see in Hillsborough and around Tampa is when a driver goes through his own insurance to fix his vehicle but his insurance tries to lowball him.
For example, you are in a collision and your vehicle is totaled. You have full insurance so you ask your insurance to pay you fair value for your vehicle. But your insurance company lowballs you.
In this case, your own insurance coverage is trying to screw you over. This is called a “first party” car accident claim. You need an experienced accident lawyer to bring a claim against your insurance company to make sure you get justice. The good news is that under Florida law, your law firm can often get paid fees and costs directly from the insurer. Florida has a specific attorney fee provision when an insurer screws over its own insured.
Policy Limits In Auto Claims… And Exceptions
When determining how much a settlement claim is worth, we need to pay special attention to insurance policy limits.
Florida, like most states, is reliant on the insurance system to make sure car accident injury and property claims are paid. So very shortly after a collision, we look to insurance policies to learn the limits. Specifically, we are looking at the following insurances:
Bodily Injury Insurance:
This is insurance purchased by either the at-fault driver, the owner of the vehicle driven by the at-fault driver or both. This is a primary source for an accident lawyer to seek damages for pain, suffering, and other injuries. Unfortunately, bodily injury insurance is not required in Florida, at least not yet. Therefore the auto lawyer will determine this existence asap at the onset of a lawsuit.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage:
Uninsured Motorist coverage is purchased by you, the accident victim, a resident family member, or the owner of the vehicle you are in assuming another vehicle was at fault. This coverage “acts” just like bodily injury coverage. It can be very helpful when the bad driver has little or no bodily injury insurance.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance:
This is like $10,000.00 of health insurance specifically for people seeking medical treatment after a car wreck. it helps pay some of your medical invoices. This is required in Florida and applies in most auto situations, but not when you are on a motorcycle or a bus.
Property Damage Insurance:
This is insurance specifically to fix or pay for a total loss of a vehicle. The bad driver’s damage insurance will also cover the diminished value of your car and fair value for the time you are without a vehicle.
In general, when we value your claim (see below) the policy limits act as a “ceiling” to your claim. You can’t squeeze water out of a rock!
But there are exceptions in certain auto accidents. Insurance firms are not allowed to act in “bad faith.” They are not supposed to be allowed to screw over their insureds. When they do, in certain circumstances we can argue bad faith to get “excess” coverage made available.
On the flip side, there is a time limit to claims. Also called the Statute of Limitations, you need to bring your claim to Florida in a timely manner or you cannot recover compensation.
How to Value Your Tampa Car Accident Claim
How to value your Tampa insurance claim like a lawyer:
Note: It is often impossible to determine the full value of your injury claim until you have reached maximum medical improvement. That’s because until the doctor determines you have healed as much as possible you do not know the extent of your permanent injuries. Likewise, you will not know what medical attention you will need in the future. Because of this, you don’t have the total amount of medical bills you’re responsible for paying. That’s why higher value cases can take months before settlement negotiations begin, and sometimes years to come to a conclusion.
Related: Florida Car Crash Laws Guide
Factors That Influence The Value Of Your Car Accident Settlement
Some of the biggest factors that can influence your case include:
Your Treatment Plan in Tampa, FL
Your job is to get better. The more you listen to your doctors and do everything you can to get better, the better arguments we can make on your behalf. After all, it would not make sense for us to argue to a jury that the accident greatly impacted your life when you are not trying to heal through the best medical treatments that are available.
The Nature Of The Tampa Car Wreck
Know your attorney law rights in Florida.
The degree of impact is important for you to determine the value of your settlement claim. Certain types of accidents are known in the medical community to cause more permanent and serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and internal injuries.
The Extent To Which Liability Is Clear
The clearer it is that the other side caused the accident, the higher the value of your claim. If the other driver is found to have engaged in drunk driving or otherwise impaired driving, reckless driving, or distracted driving, it will be easier to prove negligence on the part of the other parties involved. The police report will contain valuable information for your car accident lawsuit.
With Florida’s contributory negligence laws, you cannot recover a settlement for injuries that were your fault. So if you are 20% at fault for your injuries, expect the value of your claim to be reduced by 20%.
The Severity of the Injuries Caused by Tampa Car Accident
You should always seek medical treatment for your accident injuries if even they seem minor. Naturally, if your treatment is chiropractic in nature because your injuries are less severe, then the value of your case will have a certain cap. But if you need injections or even surgery because you are really, really hurt and in serious pain, then expect the value of your claim to naturally increase with the seriousness of your treatment. If you sustained a serious injury or even life-threatening accident injuries, your car accident case has more value.
That’s why a free consultation with attorney matters.
Examples of Car Wreck Settlements and Verdicts
Let’s look at some settlement examples for our accident claims from our law firm.
Related:
$100,000 Car Accident Settlement For West Tampa Driver By Our Personal Injury Attorney
We recently settled a rear-end auto accident claim for the $100,000 policy limits for a client in West Tampa.
It was a severe impact. Our client was in pain. He needs some injections in his back to help with his pain, which added to his medical bills.
We sent a demand for the policy limits. As usual, the insurance company did not tender the policy limits.
So Tampa Accident lawyers Christian Denmon and Lee Pearlman filed a lawsuit. At mediation, the insurance company tendered the policy limits.
Our client was happy to resolve the claim.
Common Types of Car Accident Cases
When You Need a Car Accident Lawyer… and When You Do Not
When do you NOT need an accident attorney for your wreck?
In general, if you have no injuries or soreness, you were in a minor wreck then you do not need an attorney unless your insurance company or the other insurance company is being unfair.
However, do recognize that you may have additional damage claims besides just fixing your vehicle. You may have a claim for the diminished value of your car. You also may have a claim for having to come out of pocket for a rental or even just for not having a vehicle for a period of time.
If your soreness or injury gets better in a few days and you have less than $500 dollars worth of medical bills and no need for additional treatment, you may wish to skip the accident attorney process and settle your own claim.
In any other case, discuss with experienced Tampa car accident lawyers how they can help you.
In general, car crash attorneys get 400% more in accident settlements then unrepresented people. That means you get much more money in your pocket without having to deal with the stress of talking to adjusters just by hiring a lawyer.
The simple truth is that Tampa car accident victims with legal representation get 400% more on average than unrepresented people. And of course, that data (from an insurance report) represents all attorneys even those who dabble in auto claims. Naturally hiring a law firm that handles auto claims day in and day out with personal injury attorneys who focus exclusively on auto injury cases will increase the settlement amounts even more.
Why Hiring Tampa Auto Crash Attorney Makes All The Difference
You may think you are tough, and everything will be fine. But human beings have not evolved enough to withstand the traumatic force of two cars colliding. You don’t feel like you’re going fast when you are cruising along the road at 50 miles per hour. But you are. And if your two-ton vehicle collides with another two-ton vehicle at a high speed, your soft tissues will suffer trauma.
These soft tissues are delicate. We’re talking about ligaments and tendons. The stress from a high-speed car impact can cause a disc to tear. Or a herniation. Or a disc bulge. These injuries hurt. Medical treatment is necessary for these injuries to heal. Ironically, soft tissue injuries can have more long-lasting implications than hard tissue injuries like broken bones, which actually heal back stronger than before.
If you have been injured in a car accident, then the bodily injury you have suffered may have economic value (we call this “settlement value”) according to the law. Get legal advice from a Tampa car accident lawyer.
Why Denmon Pearlman Accident Injury Lawyers
We help clients all over Florida, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, Clearwater, Carrollwood, Trinity, and Pinellas park.
We go for the win:
Unlike some of our competitors, we believe every case is unique. Every human is special. And that leads to higher settlement numbers.
We make it easy:
Text information directly to your dedicated text line that goes right into your file for the team to see. Leverage zoom so you can communicate with your accident attorney from the comfort of your home.
Here is how it works!
Pick Up Your Phone & Call Our Office
Pick up the phone to reach out to our law firm. We have staff available 24 hours a day to take your call. If it’s after regular office hours, we have legal assistants who will take a message and forward your information to an automobile accident attorney. You can always expect a call back within 15 minutes.
Set Up A Meeting With One of Our Lawyers
Set a meeting with one of our intake specialists or car crash lawyers. We can do this in one of our offices, which are conveniently located throughout the Tampa Bay area. Or we can come to see you. We can meet you at the hospital, at your doctor’s office, or at another location that you choose. In today’s digital world, we can even set up a Skype or a Google Hangout video call for our initial consultation.
Sign an Engagement Letter
If you wish to proceed, by law you simply sign an engagement letter that allows us to work on your behalf. We’ll also have some authorizations and releases for you to sign so that we can speak with your doctors and representatives of your insurance provider as well as hire third-party experts (if necessary for your case).
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Expertise
We have your back. Whatever you might be suffering from, accidents, injuries or medical malpractice, we have you covered throughout Florida
Let’s get in touch!
The initial consultation is absolutely FREE
Denmon Pearlman
Law
Tampa Office
2504 W Crest Ave
Tampa, FL 33614
(813) 554-3232
Denmon Pearlman
Law
St. Petersburg Office
520 2nd Ave South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 493-5610
Denmon Pearlman
Law
New Port Richey Office
5703 Main Street
New Port Richey, FL 34652
(727) 753-0049
Denmon Pearlman
Law
Brooksville Office
1790 E Jefferson St.
Brooksville, FL 34601
(352) 309-7354
Denmon Pearlman
Law
Seminole Office
5290 Seminole Blvd. Suite D
St. Petersburg, FL 33708