According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 102 people died each day in car accidents throughout the United States in 2017, and approximately 7,523 people were injured in car accidents each day during the same period. In Florida specifically, there were 254,873 people injured and 3,147 fatalities caused by car crashes in 2018 according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
As you can see, car accidents occur every day both in the state of Florida and in the United States, and in most cases, being in a car accident is an event that is unexpected and that can place a serious strain on your finances, health, and professional life. Consequently, if you are like most accident victims, the primary question on your mind is “What should I do next?”
At Peck Law Firm, our auto accident attorneys understand how stressful and frightening being injured in a car accident can be. There are three primary things that you should do following a car accident: seek medical attention, speak with an attorney, and once you have spoken with a lawyer, establish a claim with your insurance company.
The first thing you should always do after being involved in a car accident is seek medical care. This does not necessarily mean you have to go to the hospital. For example, you can get evaluated at a walk-in clinic or go to see your primary care physician (PCP), but the point is that you should get evaluated by a doctor who can determine the full extent of your injuries. Unfortunately, many people often have some misunderstandings about which insurance company pays for their medical care following an accident.
For example, in Florida, we are considered a “no fault” state with respect to medical treatment, and this means that your medical care will initially be paid for through your insurance even if you were not at fault in causing the accident or were simply a passenger in someone else’s vehicle. Your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance will pay for your medical bills at a rate of 80% up to the policy limit. Meaning, if you incur a medical bill costing $100, your PIP insurance will pay $80, and you will be responsible for the difference assuming you don’t have med pay insurance, which is a type of auto insurance that pays the 20% of medical bills not covered by your PIP insurance.
As you may be aware, Florida law, specifically Fla.Stat. § 627.736, requires all drivers in Florida to carry $10,000 worth of PIP insurance, but most accident victims will discover very quickly that $10,000 in PIP insurance is often not enough to cover any major injuries you may sustain in a car accident. However, you can use your health insurance to pay for your medical bills after your PIP insurance has been depleted, but keep in mind that your health insurance carrier will likely place a lien against any money your recover from the at-fault driver as part of a settlement or an award of damages by a jury following a trial. Also, you need to make sure that you establish a claim through your PIP insurance within 14 days following an accident or else your insurance company might try to deny coverage pursuant to the “14 day rule” found under Fla.Stat. § 627.736, which requires all drivers or passengers that have been injured in a car accident to establish a claim through their PIP insurance within 14 days following an accident.
According to the American Bar Association, there are over 1.3 million lawyers in the United States, and over 78,000 of these lawyers are located in the state of Florida. In one sense, this concentration of lawyers has a positive effect one the population of each state, because many people have access to legal representation that otherwise might not be available in a state with a smaller population of lawyers. However, in another sense, the concentration of attorneys in Florida can have a negative impact on the population, because when a person is involved in an auto accident or a slip and fall accident, the accident victim is so bombarded with attorney advertising that it can become difficult for them to choose a lawyer that meets their needs.
This becomes apparent when you consider how you evaluate an attorney. For example, one area people often focus on is a lawyer’s ability to successfully recover large settlements in the past, which is an important factor to consider, but it is not dispositive when you consider that a law firm that has made large recoveries has terrible reviews online from their previous clients, which could be indicative of a practitioner that is a talented litigator but has very poor customer service skills. This, in turn, can cause the average client to have a negative overall experience due to poor communication.
As such, it's important for you to look at the reviews a lawyer has received online. At Peck Law, we are proud of the fact that our firm has maintained a 4.9 out of 5 star rating on Google.
The next thing you should always consider is how much experience your lawyer has in practicing law. In case you are unaware, The Florida Bar and the Florida Supreme Court requires each person admitted to practice law in Florida to have a Doctor of Jurisprudence (doctorate in law) degree from an ABA approved law school, but while attorneys generally have the same level of education, the factor that often separates one auto accident attorney from another is each attorney’s level of experience. A common misconception that many people often have is that a lawyer can effectively practice law so long as he or she has finished law school and received a bar license, but this common belief overlooks the fact that learning legal theory and the ability to think like an attorney is very different than practicing law in the real world.
A seasoned litigator learns the finer points of legal practice over time such the personality of local judges, what arguments are likely to persuade a judge or a jury, and the appropriate manner to present a case at trial. This information can only be gained through experience. The owner of our firm, Attorney Richard Peck, has litigated hundreds of cases in both federal and state court rooms throughout the state of Florida, and the auto accident attorneys at Elkin-Peck PLLC take great pride in the fact that our clients know that they will receive legal representation from an accomplished, experienced litigator.
Once you have found an auto accident attorney that you are interested in hiring, the next step is to both contact the lawyer for a consultation, which should always be free in an auto accident claim, and gather any documents that your lawyer will need to properly evaluate your case. Common documents that you should bring to or have available during a consultation include:
Once you have spoken with an attorney, you and your lawyer can discuss how, when, and where you should contact your insurance carrier. The correct approach often depends on the specifics of the accident. Insurance companies will often ask you to give a recorded statement, and your lawyer may want to be on that call with you to ensure that your recorded statement is given in a manner that protects your legal interest. Also, if you are contacted by the other driver’s insurance carrier, you should not nor are you required to give them a recorded statement. In this situation, simply refer the adjuster or representative to your lawyer.
Being in an auto accident can be a stressful event that leaves you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, but you don’t have to face this difficult time on your own. At Peck Law Firm P.A., our auto accident attorneys are dedicated to helping you obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries while providing you with the legal advise needed to navigate the complicated claims process, so if you or a loved one has been involved in an auto accident, contact our office today for a free, confidential consultation.