Tampa Car Accident Lawyers

How Much Should I Settle For My Car Accident?

When it comes to how much you can expect from your car accident claim here in Tampa there is no quick answer and beware of anyone who gives you one because it takes a bit of research and is 100% based on different factors that are unique to your case. Generally speaking, there are 3 main factors when calculating a potential settlement from a personal injury case from a car accident. 

How Badly Were You Hurt?

The seriousness of your injury weighs heavily on your potential settlement amount. So, if you have bumps and bruises and didn’t need any medical treatment then chances are you aren’t going to qualify for a personal injury case. However, if you broke your leg or needed surgery then that would be mean you were badly injured in your accident and would mean a potentially bigger payout from the insurance company.

This is how a serious injury is defined by the Florida 2022 statutes

“Serious bodily injury” means an injury to a person, including the driver, which consists of a physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ. 

How Much Insurance is There?

Insurance coverage is where your settlement will come from. The reason you hire a car accident lawyer from Rebein Law is that we are experienced at finding ALL possible insurance coverage. Yes, there is car insurance but there is also different types of insurance and other people and even larger companies who are at fault and can be sued as well. Many times, there are insurance policies that our client didn’t even know existed or could be used that way.

Who Was at Fault For the Accident?

If you ran a red light and caused the car accident that you were hurt in, then you can’t sue someone else for the accident. That’s where fault comes into play in Tampa. If the other person is at fault for your accident, then they’re responsible for your damages.

However, it’s not that cut and dry because fault is not black and white. There is a degree of fault that can be given to all parties involved in your accident.

Florida has a pure comparative fault rule. That means that the state of Florida allows the plaintiff to claim damages for the exact percentage of the fault that is assigned to them by a court.

So, you can claim damages for 10% of damages even if you were assigned 90% of the fault of the accident. I could give you a complicated formula with unknown variables like insurance coverage and such. Instead, I will say that this is another reason you want to work with our lawyers. We deal with these complicated details every day, and it’s our job to handle them so that you can focus on your recovery!

The short answer is, Yes! Florida has a pure comparative fault rule. That law means that, even if you were found somewhat at fault for your accident you could still be eligible for compensation for your lost income, medical bills, and more.  

How the jury assigns fault to everyone involved in your accident is very important to your personal injury case. That’s how our attorneys can help. Once you’re a client of ours we will:

• Immediately begin working to collect evidence.
• Research all possible insurance coverage.
• If needed, hire an accident reconstruction specialist and other experts to help prove your case.
• Negotiate a settlement from the other party’s insurance company.
• If necessary, we’ll file a lawsuit and bring your case to court.
• Our legal team will be there to represent you during the trial.

The sooner the better. When it comes to car accident legal cases, it’s easy to do the wrong thing and accidentally ruin the chances of a large settlement.

For example, you don’t want to give a recorded statement to an insurance company about what happened during the accident without first talking to your attorney. The insurance company is not your friend. Those agents are highly trained to do everything they can to lessen the company’s payout. For example, they may ask you innocent sounding questions designed to get you to unintentionally admit fault little by little.

Getting legal advice about your car accident from our team doesn’t cost you anything out up front. We are here to help you and we don’t make a dime until we win your case. So, if you have questions then give us a call and we’ll happily get you started in a quick stress-free way.

Our car accident lawyers handle any and all types of accidents that involve any type of motorized vehicle. That includes:

• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Rental Car Accidents
• Rideshare Accidents involving a Lyft or Uber driver
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Motorized Bikes or Scooters
• Boating accidents
• ATV accidents

If it has a motor, we’re experienced in your type of case and are here to help!

The first step is to establish a solid personal injury case with our team, which is based on proving you were hurt because of someone else’s negligence. A lot of times this is easy, and the accident is very straightforward. Other times, it’s a very complicated process that includes accident reconstruction and expert witnesses.

During this process, you need to have completed your medical treatment and be recovered to the fullest you possibly can. Only then can we move away from the treatment option to the settlement option. That’s when we have a full grasp on all of your medical bills, the extent of your injuries and treatment and the amount of insurance we have to work with.

Then we use all of these facts to begin settling with the insurance company, which we’ll outline in more details below. Once the case is settled and your medical bills are paid will you be given your accident settlement compensation check.

You have four years to file a car accident lawsuit in Florida. That’s four years from the date of your car accident. If you try to file a claim after four years, then it will most likely get thrown out of court.

If we are pursuing a wrongful death claim, it is two years. 

This law is called Florida’s statute of limitations. Specifically, Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a) and it’s focused on suing someone because of injury due to negligence.

Your injuries are as unique as the accident itself. However, because there are a large number of the same types of accidents (your car was rear ended, t-boned because someone ran a stop light, hit while a car was changing lanes too close on the Interstate, etc.) there are large numbers of the same types of injuries. Some of them will be obvious and others not as well know.

The most common car accident injuries we see are broken arms, wrists, legs, and ribs. Depending on the severity of the break these breaks can need simple casts to repair or, if the break is very bad, then multiple surgeries and extensive rehab is required to make as full a recovery as possible.

Basically, there are two types of common car accident injuries:

1. Impact Injuries – this is when a part of your body hits, or is hit by, another object. Think of your face against the airbag or your arm against the inside of your car door. That impact can cause everything from a traumatic head injury (TBI) or fatal internal bleeding.

2. Penetrating Injuries – this is when something penetrates your skin and body to cause you harm. These injuries come from things like loose objects in your car embedding into your skin, broken class from the windshield cutting your eye or parts of your vehicle that have stabbed into your body.

Here’s a quick list of the car accident injuries that we see the most of:

• Broken arms, wrists, legs, and ribs
• Whip lash and other neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Small tissue injuries
• Concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and other head injuries
• Bruising, contusions, scrapes, cuts, and lesions
• Spinal cord injuries or paralysis
• Facial injuries
• Loss of limbs
• Post-traumatic stress
• Burns
• Scars and disfiguration
• Pain and distress

Rebein Law is a Personal Injury Law Firm that works on a Contingency fee basis, which means there are zero upfront fees and absolutely nothing until we win your case. If we don’t win – we don’t get paid. It’s that simple.

That makes it an easy decision to give us a call for FREE legal advice so we can help you understand all your legal options. There is no pressure to sign on as a client of ours. Just know, that once you are a client of ours, we will immediately start working to establish all the facts and evidence we need to get you the biggest possible settlement.

Overwhelmingly, study after crash statistic study, has shown the driver error causes as much as 94% of Florida car accidents. This comes at no surprise, considering how little respect many drivers give to the fact that they’re solely responsible for a machine that weights 2,200 pounds – at minimum.

Out of that 94% of accidents resulting from human error, 41% were caused by people who were driving distracted. They’re driving while doing things like texting, listening to loud music, talking or arguing with other people in their cars and so on.

The seven leading causes of Florida car crashes are dominated by human error and include:

• Driving distracted
• Driving too fast
• Ignoring traffic laws
• Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs
• Driving recklessly
• Bad road conditions
• Weather

PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection and it’s a policy through your auto insurance. Florida is one of just ten states that requires drivers to have personal injury protection (no fault) auto insurance. It was originally introduced to the state in 1971 and has been in effect ever since.

The goal behind making this insurance mandatory was to give injured drivers access a minimum of $10,000 to pay medical expenses quickly while they waited for an official personal injury claim to be settled. According to Florida state law, drivers must have $10,000 minimum PIP coverage as well as $10,000 minimum property damage liability (PDL).

How Does PIP in Florida Work?

A PIP insurance policy in Florida pays 80% of your medical bills tied to an auto accident up to the limit tied to your policy. It also pays 60% of any of your lost wages if you can’t work.

How do You File a PIP Claim?

If you were injured in an accident, then you file a claim with your own car insurance provider. To get started, just call your insurance agent and they will walk you through the process.

In Florida, there is currently no limit on the amount a person is allowed to seek in a car accident lawsuit. However, this is where the evidence for your car accident and the resulting injuries comes into play. You need to prove all of the damages you’re seeking and that’s why working with our experienced attorneys at Rebein Law is so critical to your big settlement.