More than 400,000 accidents occur every year on roads across the Sunshine State. And these accidents don’t only involve cars. Trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and even pedestrians are involved in serious accidents each and every day.
Being involved in an automobile accident is a scary and anxiety-filled time. It is often a new experience as well as an uncomfortable, lengthy process. Yet, in the middle of all those crazy emotions, it is incredibly important to know what to do, and how to proceed with a Personal Injury claim in South Florida.
While it’s premature to answer, a victim of an automobile accident will invariably ask early in the early stages, “how much money is my claim worth?” We answer by saying there’s no way to know at this point. First and foremost, it would be wrong to assume a number and then ultimately settle the case for far less, leading to a disappointed and unhappy client. But the reality is that there are a number of variables to an automobile accident which lead to the value of a case. Many of these variables will be unknown in the very beginning of a case, and because of that, the final value is unclear.
This is the next most common question. If you are injured in an accident, you have a right to seek compensation for your injuries. The good news: hiring a Personal Injury Attorney after being the victim of an auto accident costs you nothing up front. In Florida, all Personal Injury cases are handled on a “Contingency Fee” basis, meaning you don’t pay anything unless and until your attorney recovers money for you. Your attorney will front the costs of litigation and their fees will be deducted from the final settlement. Most Personal Injury cases are settled outside of the courtroom. In such instances, your Personal Injury Attorney will usually command a fee of 33.33% (one third) of the settlement.
Just because you got hurt doesn’t necessarily mean you have a claim. To put it simply, to bring a Personal Injury claim, you need to be hurt because someone else did something they shouldn’t have done. You will not have a successful claim if it was you who caused the auto accident. The other party must be responsible.
As with many things in life, it isn’t necessarily what happened, but what you can prove happened. If you got into a car accident and can’t prove that the other party was at fault (even when they were), you will not have much luck pursuing a Personal Injury claim. Similarly, even if you got into a car accident, and can prove that the other person was at fault, but can’t prove the type and extent of your injuries, you won’t have a successful Personal Injury claim. Your attorney needs to prove both the fault of the other driver and the extent of your injuries in order to receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
