Tucked roughly halfway between Orlando and Miami on Florida’s Treasure Coast, Port St. Lucie is known for its quiet neighborhoods and relaxed atmosphere compared to some of the larger cities in Florida. However, car crashes are still an unfortunate daily reality for the Atlantic Coast city. Port St. Lucie is the largest city in St. Lucie County, which, in 2023, reported 5,678 crashes, causing 3,318 injuries and 47 deaths.
If you’re a car accident victim in Port St. Lucie, you may be able to file a claim to seek compensation. Costs resulting from auto accidents can build over time. You also have legal rights if you’ve been in an accident, and car accident lawyers can explain them to you. Read more to find out how the process of filing a claim works in Port St. Lucie and how an auto accident attorney can help.
The Car Accident Claim-Filing Process
Typically, you’ll need to take the following steps to file a car accident claim in Port St. Lucie.
- Document injuries and damages by taking pictures of damage to your vehicle and of the accident scene. Get medical care as soon as possible to document your injuries.
- File a police report by calling the cops and cooperating with their investigation. They will file an accident report that you can request from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
- Notify your insurance company that you were involved in an accident within 24 hours, if possible.
- Gather evidence, including photos taken at the accident, your accident report, and medical documents, to file in support of your claim.
- Seek legal advice before filing a claim by contacting a car accident attorney. You can usually get a free case review to discuss your case and whether you should work with a lawyer.
The Importance of Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer
Hiring a Port St. Lucie car accident lawyer can potentially result in far more compensation depending on the circumstances of your case and can help you relax during your recovery as a professional does the heavy lifting.
Hiring an experienced car accident lawyer can help you:
- Navigate complex legal issues
- Maximize compensation
- Help negotiate medical bills
- Protect your legal rights
Most car accident claims are filed against insurance companies, which have an incentive to pay out as little as possible. Beyond the difficulty of negotiating with these insurers’ lawyers, it can be difficult to know how much compensation is reasonable for your claim.
Triple board-certified attorney Tommy D. Roebig advises, “It never hurts to reach out for a free consultation, even if you think your car accident case is straightforward, but if you were badly injured or your case involves complications like disputed facts or the involvement of a company, it’s highly advisable to hire an attorney to help with your claim.”
Florin|Roebig’s seasoned attorneys have won their clients an average of over $1 million in compensation per case. If you have questions about a car accident you were involved in that wasn’t your fault, reach out to our legal experts today for a free case evaluation.
State Laws For Car Accident Cases
Port St. Lucie follows Florida, St. Lucie County, and city laws, which can all play a part in shaping how a local car accident case plays out.
Traffic Laws
From blood alcohol thresholds to local speed limits, traffic laws are usually at the heart of determining who’s eligible for compensation after an accident. If you can prove (through witness testimony, traffic cameras, and other evidence) that another driver broke a traffic law and caused the accident, you greatly strengthen your grounds for successfully filing a claim against their insurer and collecting compensation for your losses.
Insurance Coverage Requirements
Under the no-fault law, all Florida-registered vehicles must have the following car insurance coverage:
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): PIP covers 80% (up to $10,000) of all “necessary and reasonable” medical expenses for an injury covered under the plan.
- Personal Damage Liability (PDL): PDL covers $10,000 of another driver’s vehicle or property damage in an accident if you’re at fault.
The No-fault System
Florida’s (and by extension, Port St. Lucie’s) no-fault system not only requires certain insurance coverage—it requires accident victims to use that coverage (a first-party claim) to pay for damages, regardless of who was at fault in a car accident.
However, if your policy doesn’t cover all of your monetary losses or you were seriously hurt in an accident, you may have grounds to seek compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurer (a third-party claim).
Third-party car accident claims require injuries that cause at least one of the following:
- Severe and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Permanent injury
- Severe and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Death
Legal Remedies Available To Accident Victims
Port St. Lucie car accident victims can seek compensation in a few ways.
- First-party personal injury claims: These claims are helpful for less expensive injuries and for quick coverage.
- Third-party personal injury claims: Filing a claim against an at-fault driver can help cover big hospital bills, car damage, and non-monetary losses like pain and suffering, but are usually harder to win and take longer.
- Personal injury lawsuits: If you can’t reach a compensation agreement with an insurer, you may need to file a lawsuit with the St. Lucie County court to get the insurance company to come to the table. If an agreement can’t be reached, a lawsuit will eventually go to trial, where your compensation amount, if any, will be decided by a judge or jury.
Fault In Car Accidents
Despite Florida’s “no-fault” status, the state still recognizes fault—that is, whose fault the accident was. Furthermore, parties can share a percentage of fault in Florida, which can have big implications for how much compensation you ultimately receive and whether you can collect compensation at all.
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Liability In Car Accident Cases
In car accident cases, liability describes who is legally responsible for compensating someone who was harmed in a crash.
Car accident cases in Port St. Lucie may consider the following to determine liability:
- Negligence: In most cases, a great degree of negligence will make someone liable for compensation.
- Strict liability: In some cases, a party is liable even if they weren’t negligent and didn’t intend harm. This usually applies to car accidents caused or made worse by a defective car part, like a brake cable or airbag. The manufacturer may be strictly liable for compensation in such cases.
- Vicarious liability: Vicarious liability describes an entity like a business that must pay compensation due to the actions of someone else, like an on-the-job employee who causes a car accident and injures someone.
Understanding Consideration Of Negligence And Degree Of Fault
Florida implemented a modified comparative negligence standard on March 24, 2023, which means:
- More than one person can be at fault for a car accident.
- Your compensation is decreased based on your percentage of fault.
- If you’re over 50% at fault, you can’t collect compensation.
Attorney Tommy Roebig explains, “If you were determined to be 20% at fault for having a headlight out while driving at night and you were awarded $100,000 in damages, you could only collect $80,000.”
Insurers may try to pin as much of the fault on you as possible to decrease the compensation they pay out, but an experienced attorney will do everything they can to make sure the at-fault driver is held accountable and you collect the compensation you’re owed.
Ways The Accident Can Impact Your Life
A car accident in Port St. Lucie can come as a shock in such a relaxed city, potentially upturning your life for months, years, or even a lifetime with chronic pain, disability, steep medical bills, and psychological and emotional struggles.
Some common struggles after a car accident include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Loss of intimacy with a spouse or partner
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Death of a loved one
Car accident resources in Port St. Lucie may include:
- St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
- Emergency services
- Medical care providers
- Insurance companies
- Therapy and support groups for accident survivors
- Victim advocacy services
- Government agencies
- Nonprofit community safety organizations
- Car accident attorneys
Recovering from a car accident can be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done, but the lawyers at Florin|Roebig are here to lift some of the burden by helping you file a successful car accident claim. Reach out at any time for a free case review, where our legal experts can discuss your situation with you and help you make the most informed choices possible.
What To Do After A Car Accident
Directly following a car accident, the most important action you can take is getting yourself and your loved ones the medical care they need. However, if you’re able, taking a few actions can lead to a smoother and potentially more successful car accident claim later.
After a car accident in Port St. Lucie:
- Check for injuries and seek medical attention immediately if you need it.
- Contact law enforcement to start the process of having an accident report filed.
- Gather information that may be hard to get later, like witness contact details.
- Document the accident scene by taking pictures and video.
How Florin|Roebig Can Help With Your Car Accident Claim
Florin|Roebig’s caring, experienced Port St. Lucie car accident lawyers have led to the law firm’s selection as one of the “Best Law Firms in America” by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in America since the honor began in 2010. They are here to help you file the most successful car accident claim possible.
Florin Roebig car accident lawyers offer many services, including:
- Case evaluation
- Legal representation
- Negotiation with insurance companies
- Litigation support
Remember: when you sign your case with Florin Roebig, you are hiring attorneys who have secured some of Florida’s highest jury verdicts, like the $42 million verdict that involved an overserving drunk driving accident.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an attorney charge for a car accident in Port St. Lucie?
Car accident attorneys usually charge between 25% and 40% of your compensation and do not charge if you don’t get compensation.
How much can someone sue for a car accident in Florida?
There is no cap on how much someone can sue for in a car accident case in Florida. How much compensation you get is generally tied to the extent of your injuries, how negligent the other driver was, the quality of your argument for compensation, and other factors.
Should I hire an attorney after a car accident in Port St. Lucie?
It’s a good idea to hire an attorney after a car accident in Port St. Lucie, especially if your injuries are serious, the facts of the accident are in dispute, or other factors make your case more complex, like the involvement of a business.
List Of Car Accident Lawyers Serving Port St. Lucie
When you’re ready to file a claim to recover your losses following a car accident, you’ll want experience and knowledge on your side. The law offices of Florin|Roebig have been helping accident victims in Florida seek the compensation they deserve for more than three decades.
Our car accident lawyers serving clients in Port St. Lucie include:
- Wil H. Florin, B.C.S.
- Tommy D. Roebig, B.C.S.
- Luca G. Esposito
- Michael L. Walker, B.C.S.
- Michael A. Ossi, O.C.
We Are Nationally Awarded Lawyers
How to Get Help from Florin|Roebig Attorneys
If you are interested in seeking legal advice from our legal team, you can contact our offices to schedule an appointment.
- Our website, florinroebig.com, has an option for requesting more information.
- You can call our phone number 24/7
- For more information regarding our services and free consultations, you can email us at [email protected]
- Or you can reach us at an office near you below.
Palm Beach Office
777 South Flagler DriveSuite 800 – West Tower
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
If you live in Port St. Lucie and have been in a car accident, you should seek compassionate and qualified legal advice. The auto injury lawyers at Florin|Roebig have experienced board-certified trial attorneys with an outstanding track record since the firm was founded in 1985.
If you have been in an auto accident, learn your legal rights and the next best steps for filing a car accident claim in Port St. Lucie by contacting Florin|Roebig for a free case evaluation today.
