Passenger Rights in Florida
Passenger Rights in Florida
Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyers
When you enter a vehicle as a passenger, you are essentially handing your entire life into the hands of the driver in that car and the other drivers on the road. It is a difficult position to be in when you anticipate an accident but have little to no ability to avoid or reduce the damage. As a result, you may end up injured, traumatized and suddenly facing high costs for medical treatment.
Negligent Drivers And Injured Passengers
Passengers injured in car accidents have the same rights to compensation as the drivers involved. However, since most passengers have some sort of personal connection with the driver of their car, claiming injuries and expenses from them for accidents they caused can be intimidating. As a result, many injured passengers are left with inadequate means of facing the expenses incurred from the accident because they wanted to protect friendships and relationships.
If this explains your situation, the Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys at our firm want you to know you do not need to pay for the damage that this accident had on you. Out of all possible car accident victims, passengers are some of the most innocent and at risk of injury. That is why the drivers have responsibilities acquired the moment they sit behind the steering wheel.
Get Free Advice From An Experienced Car Accident Lawyer.
Remember:
- Drivers have the responsibility to protect their passengers at all times
- Drivers have the responsibility to operate vehicles safely
- Drivers are to take reasonable measures to prevent accidents
- Passengers have the right to seek medical treatment for any injuries caused by the accident
- If the driver was responsible for the car accident, a passenger has the right to sue them for negligence in order to claim compensation for the losses.
It is completely natural for you to feel an inclination towards protecting the driver of your car, especially if you know they were acting outside of the law when the accident occurred. However, you owe it to yourself to seek qualified legal representation that can help you claim back the money you deserve.
Great guys who take their job seriously. They took care of me when I had my accident and made sure I was walked through 100% of the way.
– Joshua M.
Determining Who Was At Fault
Car accidents can be complicated and understanding why and how they happened can be difficult. As a passenger, you may not have a clear understanding of who was at fault for the accident and this may be another reason keeping you from pursuing compensation. Having a legal representative looking out solely for your best interest will be beneficial to you during this time.
It is likely that the other individuals in the accident have plans to file claims as well, which means that the insurance companies will doubtless be involved. That is when a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney representing your needs and interests can step in to the discussion to ensure that the at-fault insurance company, whoever they represent, compensates you to the fullest extent.
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Call Ace Your Case Today!
At Ace You Case, our personal injury lawyers want to help you obtain the compensation you need in order to recover and move on from this difficult time. We understand how emotionally trying and financially draining it can be to be involved in a car accident claim and we would like to offer our services to you so that the burden is lifted off of your shoulder.
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Contact our office today to discuss your case with a member of our legal team and learn more about how we can help you recover the damages you deserve.
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Plantation Personal Injury FAQs
When Is It the Right Time to Call a Personal Injury Lawyer?
The right time to call is as soon as possible after your accident. There are many reasons why you need to begin the legal process as quickly as you can. The legal process may even begin without you, with many calls from the insurance company trying to either rush you or to pressure you to give a statement. They may try to catch you unaware and trick you into compromising your legal rights. Hiring an attorney could prevent this from happening.
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Equally important, as time passes from the time of your accident, the evidence that could help your claim can become harder to find. People might quickly clear the scene of the accident, and you may lose the ability to contact witnesses. The witnesses that you have may begin to lose their recollection of what they saw. When you hire a personal injury lawyer, they will get to work immediately to gather the evidence before it is lost.
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Calling a lawyer to get started on your case is a crucial step in the legal process. Knowing that you have someone on the job with the experience and tenacity to fight for you can give you at least some peace of mind during an undoubtedly difficult time.
How Do Insurance Settlement Negotiations Work?
An insurance claim is just like any other negotiation. You have a number in mind for what you think that you should receive for your injuries, and the insurance company has a much lower number in mind for what it wants to pay. Your insurance claim begins when your Plantation personal injury attorney files a demand letter with the insurance company. This is when the adjuster goes to work to try to save money for their bosses.
The insurance adjuster may outright deny your claim or question liability. They may come back with a settlement offer. When the number seems low, and it will, know that this is just their opening offer. Your Plantation injury attorney will likely reject the offer and respond with your own demand.
Eventually, you will lower your number, and the insurance company will raise theirs, and you could meet somewhere in the middle. This is a time-honored dance that personal injury lawyers have been doing with insurance companies since the advent of courtrooms. Even when you seem very far apart from the insurance company, most cases eventually will settle.
What Happens After I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Filing a personal injury lawsuit is an early part of the claim process. Most cases will never go far enough to see the inside of a courtroom. Statistically speaking, a vast majority of personal injury cases are settled out of court. However, if your case does make it to court, you should expect going into it that the trial process may take one to two years to complete. The legal system is far from rushed, as courts and judges have busy schedules and full dockets.
In the short term, you can expect motions and attempts to obtain evidence. Many people associate a lawsuit with a trial, but that only happens after many months of the nuts and bolts of the legal system. The phase of your case that will take the longest time is discovery. This is when the two sides obtain evidence that the other has in their possession. At this point, you may even need to sit for a deposition.
Filing a lawsuit will not cut off settlement negotiations. As was previously mentioned, most cases will settle without a trial. If anything, litigation may give each side more incentive to settle. The two parties usually continue negotiating right up until the point when the jury is seated.
What Evidence Can Prove My Injury Claim?
Negligence is the basis of every personal injury claim. When you file a lawsuit in court, you have the burden of proof. It will be up to you to show that what you say is more likely than not to have happened. You need to back your claim up with evidence.
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Your Plantation personal injury lawyer will work to gather things that can backup your side of the story, including:
— Witness statements from people who say your injury or accident
— Pictures of the scene of your accident
— Security camera footage
— Expert witness testimony that could reconstruct the accident
— Maintenance logs of the area or vehicle involved
— Medical records that can help prove damages
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These are things that can be difficult to get on your own and piece together to tell the story of what happened. Injury lawyers in Plantation, Florida, know how to both get the evidence and use it to prove that someone else was responsible for your accident.
What if I Cannot Work Due to My Injuries?
Your personal injury damages include both economic and non-economic compensation. Economic compensation aims to pay you back for the actual money that you lost. This includes bills that you paid and earnings you lost. This specifically pays you back for lost wages from your job when you are unable to work. Since you would have worked, this is money out of your pocket.
Lost wages in a personal injury settlement are much broader than you think. Of course, this includes the time that you have already missed from work. It also encompasses time that you will miss from work in the future. You do not need to outright miss work to receive compensation for this. For example, if you were qualified for a promotion but cannot get it now because your injury limits you in the type of work that you can do, you can get compensation for the reduction in your earning capacity.
Lost wages are often a very contested part of your personal injury claim because you can bet that the insurance company will see things differently to try to lower its bill. They may dispute what your possible earnings are or use a lower rate of inflation to calculate what they may be in the future.
Hear It From Our Clients
“Ace Your Case Excellent Attorneys”
Personal injury attorneys Craig Posner and Eric Feingold are both excellent attorneys, but more importantly, they are excellent people. I have seen first hand their hard work and dedication to clients. I would not hesitate to recommend their services to others.
“Great Guys Who Take Their Job Seriously”
Great guys who take their job seriously. They took care of me when I had my accident and made sure I was walked through 100% of the way.
“Pleasure And Blessing To Have Ace Your Case Represent My Family”
It has been a pleasure and blessing to have Ace Your Case represent my family. They always kept me updated on our case. The staff was excellent they always got back to me on questions I had. I highly recommend them and will continue to use them if needed.
“Not Only Very Efficient But Caring As Well”
These lawyers are not only very efficient, but caring as well. I would not hesitate to refer them to anyone.
“I Highly Recommend Them!”
Big thanks to Eric and Doug for doing a great job with the handling of my auto accident. I highly recommend them!
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