With so many people on the road, car accidents are an inevitability in St. Augustine. From tiny fender benders to fatal crashes or wrongful death, a number of collisions and injuries can take place on the road. To add to the stress of it all, sometimes there’s a dispute over whose fault it is and how much the accident victim deserves in compensation for the accident.
St. Augustine car accident lawyers are available to explain how these matters are settled in court and what can be done to strengthen your auto accident case. Whether you’re a car accident victim or a loved one, the right injury lawyer can be the key to giving you the upper hand in a difficult situation.
Florin|Roebig understands how personal injury and property damage claims work in St. Augustine. If you have been involved in a car accident, we’re here to provide a free case evaluation before getting to work and filing a claim.
Common Causes Of Car Accidents In St. Augustine
Car accidents generally occur for one or more of the following reasons:
- distracted driving: Car accidents can happen in a matter of seconds—it only takes a text message to endanger an entire stretch of highway.
- speeding: Going even a few miles over the limit adds precious seconds to the time it takes a motorist to slow down or stop.
- weather: From sprinkles to hurricanes, the weather in the state of Florida can be unpredictable and dangerous.
- impaired or drunk driving: Alcohol and prescription drugs will impair the driver’s ability to make good decisions on the road. Even a severe lack of sleep can qualify as impaired driving.
- visibility: Not every driver is able to drive at night, especially if their vision is beginning to deteriorate.
You’re encouraged to look into filing a claim if your auto accident was caused by the above factors. Even drivers who make honest mistakes on the road need to be held accountable for their decisions. For example, just because someone didn’t realize their eyesight was beginning to fail, doesn’t mean they didn’t have a responsibility to the other drivers in the city.
Reasons To File A Car Accident Claim
There are many assumptions in the legal world when it comes to car accident claims and it helps to dispel those rumors. One of the biggest myths is that car accident victims only file claims for money. While many people will file as a means to receive sufficient compensation, this is not always so. When drivers are held accountable for their actions, it creates a ripple effect that extends far past St. Augustine.
Many people file because they feel they have a greater responsibility to the community. An insurance company has to follow certain Florida laws, but they can’t prosecute a dangerous driver the way the courts can.
Holding the party responsible can be all that stands in the way between safety on the road and another tragedy. When drivers are held accountable for their actions, it becomes more likely that every driver will make smarter decisions to avoid a serious claim against them.
Factors That Affect Car Accident Cases
Your car accident claim should weigh the following factors of your case:
- injuries: Serious injuries can impact your body for the rest of your life. Your compensation amount will be based on the care you need to make a recovery as well as incidental expenses that resulted from your recuperation.
- fault: A car accident claim in St. Augustine is decided based on comparative negligence. The state of Florida acknowledges that two drivers can be responsible for the same accident, even if one is 99 percent at fault while the other is only 1 percent at fault. Your degree of fault (if any) will be taken into account when the settlement offer is calculated.
- type of claim: There are two major types of car accident claims, including personal injury and property damage. A property damage claim is generally easier to file because the costs can be calculated based on hard numbers.
- finances: A person who faces serious injury when they have thousands of dollars in school debt will have fewer resources than a professional at the top of their field. Financial compensation will be based on the relative disruption to a victim’s finances.
- goals: A motor vehicle accident can impact both short- and long-term goals. If the entire course of your life is thrown off track based on your injuries, this needs to be taken into consideration before determining the final compensation for the claim.
- statute of limitations: You have up to four years to file your claim after the car crash occurred. If it took several years for your injury to manifest, you may still be able to receive compensation.
How Much Compensation Can You Win?
There is no way to determine exactly how much your settlement offer will be until it goes through the court system. However, a qualified St. Augustin car accident attorney can help you estimate what you may receive based on the facts of your case. It all comes down to how much you were affected.
The right auto accident attorney will ask questions and interpret the answers before compiling your case, like:
- Were you forced to pay for emergency childcare for six months?
- Were you unable to continue on your career path after your accident?
- Did missed time from work cause you to be overpassed for a promotion?
- Was your partner unable to keep up with daily household demands following an absence?
An attorney can dive into the big picture of your life so you can file for all relevant expenses caused by the accident.
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Types Of Damages Awarded In Car Accident Claims
Damages vary according to the car accident, severity of injuries, individual financial circumstances, and more.
Here are the most common forms of damages, including both economic damages and non-economic damages, filed in car accident claims:
- medical expenses: From surgery bills to routine checkups, you can include all of your medical expenses in your claim.
- aftercare: Physical therapists, chiropractors, at-home aides, live-in nurses: all aftercare should be accounted for.
- pain and suffering: Pain and suffering damages are based on the mental stress and emotional anguish you may have endured after the collision.
- loss of consortium: These damages can only be filed by and awarded to your spouse or partner. They include direct expenses and pain and suffering experienced by the loss of support after an accident.
- wages: You can file for immediate lost wages if you need to miss work for several weeks and future lost wages if you’re out of the workforce for an extended period of time.
- punitive: These damages are essentially a financial punishment for the at-fault party and not based on your expenses. These damages are rare in a car accident claims because you need to prove the other party was acting maliciously.
Auto Accident Rates In St. Augustine
St. Johns County, where St. Augustine is located, and Florida have shared the following statistics regarding car accidents:
- In 2017, there were 12 fatalities on Interstate 95 in St. Johns County.
- The age range of 21-24 is the most statistically dangerous age for a driver, with 66,378 accidents in 2017.
- Carelessness and negligence was the number one cause of fatal accidents in 2017.
List Of Car Accident Lawyers Serving St. Augustine
Florin|Roebig was founded to give people the means to secure financial compensation for injuries they sustained that were out of their control. We serve many areas throughout the Northeast Florida coast, as well as the rest of the state.
Whether you experienced an accident or you’re fighting on behalf of a loved one, the following personal injury attorneys on our legal team, as well as many others, can give you an edge:
- Wil H. Florin, B.C.S.
- Tommy D. Roebig, B.C.S.
- Matthew L. McMullen (MN)
- Nicholas S. Costantino
- Luca G. Esposito
We Are Nationally Awarded Lawyers
Find A St. Augustine Car Accident Lawyer Near You
There’s more than one reason to file a claim, and the law offices of Florin|Roebig can help you understand what’s at risk if you choose not to. It’s not strictly necessary to hire an auto accident attorney for a car accident case, but it is recommended for anyone who wants to have the best opportunity to secure just damages for what they lost in an accident.
Contact Florin|Roebig today for a free consultation to get a better sense of what will happen if you choose to file a car accident claim and how much you may stand to win.
