What If I Was A Passenger During An Accident?
Yes you can. As long as you are not married to the driver of the vehicle. You can be a relative. You can be a friend. You can definitely recover damages if the accident is the result of the driver.
What If My Friend Was Driving My Car?
If you loan your car to a friend, and the friend took your car with your consent, then the injured party of the non-at fault vehicle does have a right to go after the driver of the vehicle as well as the owner.
What Are Florida’s Laws About Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages are available in Florida in all auto accident cases. The most common reason they are awarded is when the at-fault driver is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
What If I Wasn’t Wearing My Seat Belt?
Yes, you are able to still sue the driver and the owner of the car, if you were injured in an accident while not wearing your seat belt. However, keep in mind, that because of comparative negligence, the jury could place a percentage of liability on you for your injuries and the verdict could be reduced by that percentage.
What If I Was Partially At-Fault?
Car accident cases are not always black and white. Sometimes it’s clear 100% liability and sometimes its a percentage of liability. Someone is 50% at fault and the other person is 50% at fault. Sometimes it’s a 60/40 split. When there’s a comparative negligence case, for example, if you’re awarded a $100,000 settlement and the jury finds you 20% at fault, your settlement is reduced by the percentage you are found at fault. So, in this case, you would only get $80,000.
What If I Was Rear-Ended?
There are many different circumstances where you can be found liable if your car is rear-ended. For example, if you pull out and cut someone off, you can be found liable. If you have witnesses stating that you are brake checking or you are purposely slamming on your brakes in front of people, then you could be found liable as well.
What Documents Will I Need?
We like you to bring the driver’s exchange of information that the police officer gives you at the scene. We also like you bring any photographs of damage at the scene. Also bring your health insurance cards and your auto insurance cards or declarations page, so we can review the coverage available to you.
Will I Recover Monetary Damages?
It depends on who was at fault for the accident. If you were at fault, your insurance company will pay for the damage to the vehicle. If you were not at fault, the at-fault driver’s or owner’s insurance policy will pay for the damage, and if they do not have enough coverage to cover the damage to your vehicle, your collision coverage (if purchased) would pay for the damage to your vehicle.
How Do I Know Who Was At-Fault?
Fault is determined by the evidence collected during the investigation. We look to many things to determine fault in the case: we look to the police report, we look to witness statements, we look to the property damage to the vehicles, skid marks, layout of the cars, etc. Sometimes we even have to refer to accident re-constructionists to do a professional examination of the all the evidence to do a recommendation for us, but that does not happen in very many cases.
Will I Have To Go To Court?
Actually, most cases, or a large percentage of the cases are resolved pre-suit, which means the cases never go to court. We work with the insurance companies before filing suit to try to find a fair resolution for the client, which save money on expenses, court costs and attorney’s fees.
