Florida Negligence & Auto Accidents
Many automobile accidents are caused by the negligence or carelessness of other drivers. Most accident lawsuits are brought under negligence in tort law. Negligence is defined as the failure to use reasonable due care to avoid a foreseeable harm to a person, place, or thing. If a person’s negligence causes injury to another person to whom that person has a duty of care, he or she may be liable for damages resulting from the injury. Generally, a driver has a duty to other motorists to use due care when operating a vehicle on public roads. A person may be considered negligent if he or she did not use the level of “due care” that is appropriate to the particular situation. Generally, the law requires that individuals exercise the same kind of due care that a reasonable person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances. This is called the “reasonable person” standard. In a negligence suit, the judge or jury must determine liability, damages, and insurance coverage.
Liability
When a lawsuit is brought for damages caused by an accident, the judge or jury must decide who is at fault for causing the accident. Because more than one person may have been negligent in causing the accident, including the person who is bringing the lawsuit, each party’s liability must be determined. Florida law requires fact finders to determine the amount or percentage of negligence attributable to each person involved in the accident. This is called comparative negligence. Under comparative negligence, a judge or jury decides how much fault should be allocated to each person responsible for the accident, and then apportions the amount of damages accordingly. For example, if a person is found to be 40% at fault for causing his own injuries, then the other party or parties responsible will only have to pay 60% of the plaintiff’s damages. This is based on the percentage of fault assigned to each of them.
In automobile accident cases, the insurance company will argue that the injured victim is partially responsible for the accident, thus minimizing the percentage of the damages that the company will be required to pay. For example, the insurer may argue that the victim’s failure to wear a helmet makes him or her partially liable for the severity of the injuries. Our team of experienced attorneys will work to reduce your comparative liability and get you the best possible settlement in your case.
Damages
The judge or jury in a negligence suit must determine the amount of the victim’s damages. Your damages are the losses you have suffered as a result of the other driver’s negligence. Losses may include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, damage to your vehicle, loss of future earning capacity, and loss of the ability to enjoy life due to your injuries.
As you know, if you suffer a personal injury you’ll likely require medical attention and may need rehabilitation, all of which costs substantial sums of money. You may lose income because of the injury, and you may continue to lose income during your treatment and recovery. You may have sustained property damage to your automobile or other property as a result of the accident. If your automobile was your only means of transportation, you may have to rent a car while your automobile is being repaired. You may also lose the ability to perform various activities of normal daily living temporarily or permanently. You may also endure significant pain and suffering, as well.
The law permits you to seek recovery after an accident in order to “make you whole again.” The central concept is that you should be compensated in a manner that, as best as the law can arrange, places you back in the same position as you were in before the accident. In most personal injury actions, the plaintiff must have been injured in some way in order to be entitled to damages. If the judge or jury finds liability in your case, you may be entitled to recover compensatory damages, punitive damages, and/or attorneys’ fees. Compensatory damages are derived from the word “compensate,” meaning “to make up for” or “to make whole.” Generally, these damages can be broken up into two sub-categories - actual damages and general damages. Actual damages seek to reimburse a plaintiff for out-of-pocket expenses incurred or financial losses sustained as a result of the injuries. Examples of actual damages are loss of income, medical care and treatment costs, property damage, and the cost of substitute transportation. General damages include costs that cannot be precisely calculated in dollars spent, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress, loss of income in the future, cost of future medical expenses, disfigurement, loss of companionship, and lost opportunities.
Punitive damages are imposed as a way of punishing the defendant for intentional conduct or gross negligence - behavior that is so egregious that a penalty is warranted in order to deter the defendant from committing the same act again in the future. In Florida, there is a cap on the amount of punitive damages you are entitled to - punitive damages are limited to 3 times the amount of compensatory damages. However, if a judge or jury determines that the defendant had a specific intent to harm the plaintiff, there is no cap on punitive damages.
In addition to damages, a successful plaintiff may possibly recover court costs incurred. Court costs include the cost of filing fees, process server fees, deposition transcripts, court transcriptions, and translators. Attorneys’ fees are generally not included as part of a successful plaintiff’s recovery, though there are limited circumstances where procedural rules allow for the successful plaintiff to recover attorneys’ fees and expert witness fees.
The most significant issue to most people involved in a personal injury claim is the issue of damages. Obtaining fair and just compensation for injuries you have sustained is the primary concern at Lucas, Green & Magazine. By using our experience and the extensive resources available to us on your behalf, we focus on achieving the highest possible monetary recovery for you.
Insurance Coverage
The judge or jury must also determine which insurance providers are responsible for paying for the damages awarded to you and to what extent each provider is liable. Insurance companies make payments based on each person’s degree of fault in a particular motor vehicle accident. Although your personal injury protection (PIP) or “no-fault” insurance plan does cover injuries sustained in a automobile crash, your damages may exceed your PIP coverage limits. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which insurance policies will pay for your damages. Our team of experienced attorneys will investigate all insurance policies that may be responsible for your damages to ensure that you are getting the maximum recovery possible.
The Automobile Accident information offered by greater Tampa Bay area Automobile Accident Lawyers and contained herein, regarding Automobile Accident statutes and Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough County, Florida Automobile Accident claimants' rights, is general in scope. No greater Tampa Bay area Auto Accident attorney / client relationship with our greater Tampa Bay area Automobile Accident attorneys is hereby formed nor is the information herein intended as formal legal advice. See terms of use. Please contact Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough County Automobile Accident Lawyers at 1-800-4-INJURY regarding your specific inquiry if you are injured in Dade City, City of New Port Richey, City of Port Richey, City of San Antonio, Town of St. Leo, Zephyrhills, Bayonet Point, Beacon Square, Blanton, Crystal Springs, Dade City North, Elfers, Holiday, Hudson, Jasmine Estates, Lacoochee, Land O' Lakes, New Port Richey East, Odessa, Saint Joseph, Shady Hills, Trinity, Wesley Chapel, Wesley Chapel South, Zephyrhills North, Zephyrhills South, Zephyrhills West, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore, Clearwater, Dunedin, Gulfport, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Kenneth City, Largo, Madeira Beach, North Redington Beach, Oldsmar, Pinellas Park, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Safety Harbor, Seminole, South Pasadena, Pete Beach, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs and Treasure Island, Florida. |
|
