Florida Car Accident Lawyers Blog

I see many individuals who do not realize that their Uninsured Motorist coverage can pay them for an out of state injury. This is true even if you are not in your car. I want to give you an example of this:

I recently settled a case for over $200,000 where the gentleman had been injured two years earlier while traveling out of state. He was standing outside his friend's vehicle while his friend was attempting to move an object with his truck. The object struck my client, resulting in serious injuries. He never thought he would be eligible for Uninsured Motorist benefits because he was not in his car and in fact, his car was in another state at the time of his injury.

An Uninsured Motorist claim can cover you under many familiar scenarios, such as: if you travel to another state, or when you are walking across the street and suffer a hit and run knock down injury. This means you get money from the uninsured motorist insurance when a car knocks an object into you or knocks you over and leaves. Or let's say your daughter is away at college and suffers injuries after being hit by a car that leaves the scene. In all of those examples, your family's Uninsured Motorist coverage will pay money for injuries. Florida has hit and run laws that let you collect Uninsured Motorist money. Another example is if you are walking in a parking lot and a car knocks you over, and then leaves, your Uninsured Motorist coverage pays. Perhaps most surprising, even if you are riding in someone else's car and you are hit by a car that leaves the scene, your Uninsured Motorist coverage will pay for your injures.

So remember, always make sure you have Uninsured Motorist coverage -- it can help any time you or your family is injured in a car accident -- whether you are in that car or not! Even though your PIP (Personal Injury Protection) may not pay because you're "out of state, out of car, out of luck;" with Uninsured Motorist coverage, you are still in luck and can get benefits when you are out of state.

The Florida Supreme Court on April 21, 2011 decided Vargas v Enterprise Leasing Company, ___Fla. Sup.Ct.___, SC 08-2269, which decision confirmed that a rental car company only has to have a limited $10,000 liability policy to pay for injuries caused by the renter and the RENTAL CAR COMPANY AS A VEHICLE OWNER. What does this mean to you? This means your injury attorney or agent will want to advise you to buy uninsured motorist coverage in the amount of your bodily injury liability coverage. Selecting stacking of your uninsured motorist coverage is better for you because it allows you to increase the amount of your uninsured motorist coverage by the number of autos in the household. So, if you have four autos in your household, each with a $10,000.00 policy of uninsured motorist coverage, then multiply the $10,000.00 by 4 and you now have $40,000.00 available to protect YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

Why is it important to protect yourself and your family by buying UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE in view of the Vargas case? Many renters are from foreign countries and are unfamiliar with our Florida roads and tolls. These drivers can cause injuries and then fly back to their homeland, leaving the Florida resident injured. The uninsured motorist coverage protects the injured Floridian by adding the uninsured motorist coverage on top of the $10,000 liability policy.

Here are some examples of how wide reaching your uninsured motorist coverage is and how it will protect YOU AND YOUR FAMILY:

1. If your daughter leaves school and walks across the street and is struck by a car that leaves the scene, your uninsured motorist coverage pays for your daughter's injuries.

2. Your husband goes with his college friend to Alabama to participate in a sporting event. The friend accidentally runs over your husband and breaks his leg. The friend has only a $10,000 policy of liability insurance. If you have uninsured motorist coverage that stacks on top of the liability coverage, then your husband can then recover the full amount of your uninsured motorist policy.

3. One more example is you are at your office and everyone is going to go to lunch to celebrate a coworker's birthday. You're in the vehicle with your coworkers and you are rear-ended by a drunk who leaves the scene of the accident and drives away. Yes, you are right - your uninsured motorist coverage would pay for your injuries!

The Florida Supreme Court decided Vargas v Enterprise Leasing Co., __Fla.Sup.Ct.___, SC 08-2269 from a case coming out of Palm Beach County on appeal from the Fourth District Court of Appeals. It held that the Federal Graves Amendment, which requires all the rental car companies to carry only $10,000 in liability insurance, is valid and enforceable in Florida. Our Florida Statute 324.021(9)(b)(2) does not preempt or overcome the Federal Graves Amendment.

In a personal injury case; especially in a car accident case; there seem to be a lot of differing opinions as to what kind of doctor you should see for treatment. Also, there are a lot of people that have strong opinions pro and con as to both specialties. Almost everyone will be giving you advice. When people hear that you had a motor vehicle accident, they will naturally try to give you advice. You should of course politely listen to your neighbor, your aunt, your co-workers, the guy behind the counter at your favorite coffee shop, etc., etc. And then, you should do a little research and form your own opinion.

The purpose of this article is to give you a little baseline information to help you determine what is best for you. First of all, a chiropractor and an orthopedist share similar professional interests. They both deal in accident cases involving trauma to the musculoskeletal system. Neither deals with urinary problems, skin disorders, cancer, or cardiac disease. They both handle injuries arising from a car accident, a slip and fall, premises liability, etc.

Orthopedists (also spelled orthopaedists) are medical doctors who have completed a four year college program, then earned a four year +/- medical school degree, and then completed an internship and a residency in a teaching hospital for their specialized training. They treat spinal injuries (cervical/neck, thoracic/mid-back, and lumbar/low back) as well as all of the other joints and bones in the body. They have sub-specialties in hand injuries, spinal injuries, leg/lower extremity injuries, hips, knees, etc. Orthopedists perform surgery and can prescribe medication. Sounds impressive? Well, it is!

However, orthopedists can only afford to spend a very short time with their patients because of the nature of their practice. Once diagnosis is performed (figuring out what your problem is), most orthopedists will prescribe medication, therapy, or surgery. Chiropractors, on the other hand, will usually spend a lot more time with the patient. They do something orthopedists don't; they will directly render physical therapies to the patient. They do not simply issue a prescription for therapy and send you on your way, hoping that the therapist does what is prescribed and does it well. The chiropractor will perform adjustments and directly render physical therapy to you themselves.

Chiropractors are also Doctors! They have a four year college degree and three to four years after that to secure their Doctoral degree in Chiropractic. Plus, they have internships and post doctoral programs as well. While the men and women who have become Chiropractors have devoted their lives and careers to treating physical injuries may not be able to prescribe medication, they instead give their patients extraordinary relief from pain by providing hands on healthcare.

If you sustained a broken bone or need a surgery for a damaged joint, then you need an Orthopedist. If you have back, shoulder, neck, or related spinal injuries, then both fields offer benefits to injured patients. In our practice, we limit ourselves to injury cases and we often are asked these types of questions. Our philosophy is to make sure that our clients receive the best of care and each case is different. Because we have been representing the injured in South Florida during four decades, we are well acquainted with many Orthopedists and Chiropractors. An experienced personal injury lawyer can guide you in these matters. We cannot practice medicine, of course, but we can make sure that you get the care and treatment that you need!

Last Friday night, April 1, 2011, on Interstate 95 (I-95) a tragic event occurred that left a teenager dead and at least one family devastated. According to Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Sgt. Mark G. Wysocky, the 15 year old boy, identified by The Miami Herald as Lukeson Lemorin, was helping to push a stalled car on I-95, south of Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Broward County, and north of the Dade County line. The young man was struck by a 35 year old man who was operating a Ford Taurus. Sadly, the teenager was so seriously injured that he was pronounced dead at the scene. Instead of an ambulance to take him to a local hospital or a Trauma-Hawk helicopter to take him to the trauma center at Hollywood Memorial, he was taken, instead, to the morgue.

While alcohol abuse or use was not implicated in the accident, it remains under investigation. Driving under the influence or DUI was investigated at the scene and determined to have not been the cause of the fatal accident. Two aspects of the case, however, are important for every Floridian. And they were certainly important to the young man who is now dead and the family and friends that will mourn his very untimely loss. First of all, when your car stalls (or the car in which you are a passenger as was the case here), try to get it out of the travel lanes (while everyone is in the car!). When the engine even begins to falter, don't push your luck. Get off of the road entirely or pull over to shoulder while the car is still moving and slowing down. Don't get out of the car while any of it is in the travel portion of the travel lanes. Get it off of the road as safely as you possibly can. Obviously, if your car stalls on the Florida Turnpike, I-95, I-595, I-75, the Dolphin Expressway, the Palmetto Expressway, etc., you are having a really bad day. A fatal accident or a car crash with severe injurieswill only make your day a whole lot worse!

Call the police. Wait for help. They have police lights, signal flares, traffic cones, etc., and can secure the area to make sure that there is not a second or a third accident. They can call the Road Rangers or another licensed tow truck to get you off of the highway. The embarrassment, expense, inconvenience, and annoyance of your car dying on the road is nothing compared to a potentially fatal car crash.

The second issue that affects Florida drivers is potential inattentiveness while operating a car on one of our superhighways. You must pay attention to the road, the drivers around you, and hazards ahead of you. Some people get into a fast lane and then just sit back and relax. The car you are in is doing 55 to 65 +/- miles an hour. The cars around you are doing that or more. There might be an accident just around the bend, a stalled car just ahead, a pedestrian just over the hill, etc. We know this sounds like you are in Driver's Education (Driver's Ed.) back in high school, but the advice is just as valid now as it was then; perhaps even more so. Now, we do not know yet exactly what happened this past Friday on our highway and the Florida Highway Patrol is doing their job to figure that out, but we do know that you have to be incredibly careful if you experience car trouble and always very vigilant in the operation of your motor vehicle. We here at Attorneys Jo Ann Hoffman & Vance B. Moore, P.A. extend our heartfelt sympathies to the family and the friends of the young man who sadly perished on I-95 on Friday.

O.K., you just had a car accident. Great! What a way to start the day! You are already late for (work, school, breakfast). Should you call the police? The short answer is a resounding, "Yes!" You need to know why and how to handle it. First of all, check on any injuries that you or your passengers may have. Then call the police. Be patient. The "911" operators are often overworked. The police are also overworked and are often busy on another call. Be sure to tell them where you are located and what vehicle you are in. You will later need to document the accident and the best way to do that is to have a police report. Plus, they can give the other driver a traffic ticket if the accident scene and/or the witnesses make it clear that the other driver was at fault in causing the accident. If you or someone else in the accident is in serious pain, ask the 911 operator for an ambulance. The police, upon their arrival, may also call for an ambulance. Please see our earlier article on going to the hospital.

If you are sufficiently O.K. (shaken up, but not very injured), you might want to check on the people in the other vehicle. Remember what they say and get their information. Try to get the names, telephone numbers, and any other information you can from any witnesses. An independent witness can be very helpful in the long run. People will occasionally come up to check on you. Get their names and telephone number as they may or may not stick around to talk to the police officer. Give the police officer the information on any witness and ask them to stay to at least have a brief discussion with the investigating officer.

Get pictures. Use your cell phone if that is all that you have and get pictures of your car, the other car, and the scene. At the very least, get pictures of the other car and yours to show how the motor vehicle accident happened and the extent of the impact. The property damage is an important component in your personal injury case. You want to get your car fixed, of course, but the property damage to the vehicles in the accident is evidence of the severity of the impact. That will be important in proving your case later on.

When the police officer arrives, have your driver's license, registration, and insurance card already available. Speak politely and clearly to the investigating officer. Screaming at the police officer or the other driver does not win points! Clearly describe how the accident took place. Make sure that the officer has your correct information and the identity of any one in your vehicle. It is far easier to have the police officer take down your passenger's information at the scene rather than having to go to the station to amend and supplement the report. Be sure to ask for the case number. Some road patrol cars are equipped with printers and they can give you either a report or a printed driver exchange of information. At least, get the case number. We can always get the complete police report, but it is helpful if you can get the case number. The next thing you need to do is decide if you are going to a hospital (see our earlier article) and then call an experienced attorney regarding your personal injury case.

The M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) ad campaigns have raised consciousness through the U.S. and here in South Florida about the dangers of drunk driving. Of course, the penalties for a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) are pretty significant and loss of a driver's license, steep fines, and potential jail time also have a way of raising public awareness. We well know the dangers of drunk driving; the serious injuries, the death cases, and the criminal records. How can using a nice harmless cell phone even get mentioned in the same article as the evils of drunk driving?

The National Safety Council, in recent statements, estimated that about 200,000 car crashes occur each year where a driver was texting. Accidents throughout the country and certainly here in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties take place every day due to texting. The television ads for cell phones are constantly telling us wonderful they are, how many things they can do for us, and how well connected we can be with our friends and family. How can cell phones and texting be so bad if a dozen companies are on the TV every day happily selling their products and services.

The key to this problem is called "distraction." The driver may be perfectly alert and competent, not impaired (no drugs or alcohol), and conscientious, but if he or she is looking at a cell phone or other mobile device, they're not looking at the car ahead where you are minding your own business. That driver will not see your child on a bicycle crossing the street. That driver can't see the light change.

Communications are important. Communicating with your friends, your co-workers, or your family is very important. Avoiding a crash, avoiding causing an injury to someone, and avoiding causing a fatal injury is even more important! Please save your texting for when you are stopped, when you are getting a nice delicious coffee, and when you are not driving a three thousand pound weapon.

If you are injured in an accident where the other driver was texting, you definitely need an experienced personal injury lawyer. While you are on the scene and talking to the investigating officer, ask if they see any evidence that the other driver had been texting. Ask them to put it in their police report. Also, in litigation, your attorney can subpoena the cell phone company records as evidence of that driver's negligence. Our advice is to quickly call your car accident lawyer if you get injured in a motor vehicle crash and don't be the one to cause it.

Well, you had a car accident. It happens! Now, you are sitting at your computer or your mobile devices and reading this blog. Your accident already happened. The ticket was either issued or not, so why bother reading this? It is important because you may be able to do some damage control if necessary, important to understand what did happen, and this is very important if you get into an accident in the future. It is important for your friends and family members to know this as well.

The investigating police officer (Sheriff's Officer, Policeman, Policewoman, or Community Service Aide) has multiple responsibilities when responding to an automobile accident. They first have to find out if anyone is injured and call for an ambulance or Emergency Medical Services (EMS) if needed. They then have to look out for the safety of other motorists and if the accident is blocking traffic or creating a hazard, it has to be cleared, traffic has to be detoured, and the hope is that the accident doesn't cause more accidents. Then, the officer's next priority is to make sure that the driver's and passengers in the accident are identified, that their information and the vehicles' information is recorded in an official police report. Part of that process involves figuring out who was at fault in the accident and documenting as well as possible what had happened.

That involves talking to the drivers, the passengers, and any neutral witnesses. Also, the position of the cars and where the damage is located on the cars has to be considered. Most police officers put the at fault driver in Section #1 of the report. If the officer is confident based on the testimony of the people involved and the physical evidence that one driver was clearly at fault, they usually get a ticket (traffic citation). That ticket is not proof of liability in a personal injury case (some exceptions can occur), but it usually helps convince the defense adjuster that they should pay on the claim. While that ticket or citation isn't the final word on liability it is very helpful! If you were injured in a vehicle accident in Florida due to the negligence of the other driver, be polite to the officer, but come right out and ask them to give the other driver a traffic citation. Remember, always be polite to the police officer and get a case number from them before you leave. Some officers can give you a Driver Exchange of Information then and there and others will give you a card with a case number on it. Don't lose the information! It will be extremely helpful in letting your attorney hunt down the parties responsible to pay for your personal injury case.

There is so much conflicting information regarding car accident cases. There are firms that advertise constantly, but then they have so much advertising expenses that they cannot give the personal service to clients that they need. Those firms try to tell you your rights and make outrageous promises in thirty seconds. Then there are firms that have been taking care of their clients for decades and guide them through the process and keep them fully informed. Our philosophy is simple. We don't want anyone to have an accident. Talk about bad karma! But, if an accident does take place, then you need to know what to do.

Knowing who to talk to and when; giving a statement; can make quite a difference in the ultimate outcome of your case. First of all, call the police. Don't just exchange information with the other driver. Call the police and be sure to talk to the officer in a rational manner and do not get obnoxious or argumentative. Tell the officer what happened. Be sure to give the officer the names and information of anyone who was in your vehicle. Try to listen to any discussions the other driver (or passengers) have with the police, but if you are told to wait by your car, then do that. If the other driver apologizes or otherwise admits fault, be sure to write it down and remember it!

Go to the nearest hospital emergency room (ER) if you are seriously injured and be sure to tell everyone there ALL of your symptoms/injuries. At that stage, you do not know which ones are serious so it is best to document everything. If you are injured (stiff, sore, in pain, limited in range of motion, etc.) then go to your own orthopedist or chiropractor. Again, advise them of all of your symptoms and injuries. Call your lawyer! Make sure you have legal protection. Remember, attorneys that have decades of experience in personal injury cases can help you maximize your physical recovery and your financial recovery.

You need to also call your own insurance company to alert them to the accident. Give them just general information. Try not to give them a formal recorded statement or something called an EUO (Examination Under Oath) without first having retained a lawyer. Get a lawyer first.

Now, you may get calls from the adjuster for the other driver's insurance company. You may get letters that push you to call them. They can be very pushy! Let your lawyer handle communications with the defendant's insurance company and guide you through the process. Remember, the adjuster works for a company that keeps what money they don't have to pay out on claims. They might be very polite, very friendly, but there job is to find some excuse to either not pay you on your claim or minimize your claim. That is their job! Get experienced legal counsel very early in the case to protect you from the beginning and avoid such pitfalls as giving too much information (or the wrong information) to an adjuster.

We can't tell you how many times we have talked to our clients and asked them what kind of auto insurance they have and got an answer like, "I've got full coverage!" We also contact defendants (the at fault party) and are told, "We've got full coverage!" Well, what is this full coverage and does it cover you (or anybody) fully?

Full coverage is a misnomer and we suggest you carefully review your policy. It usually just means "fully compliant" with the state minimums. And that, is not full coverage. Most people are unfortunately poorly informed about the realities of automobile insurance. Television commercials depicting a rather perky brunette, an animated super sleuth, or a charming little British sounding lizard are entertaining, but not informative. When in doubt, don't rely on the television. Contact a personal injury attorney ; regarding a car accident, truck accident, or motorcycle accident case.

The State of Florida minimum for cars, SUV's, and pick up trucks, is PIP and property damage liability. PIP is also known as Personal Injury Protection or No-Fault coverage. It pays for medical care up to $10,000.00. It may pay for some lost wages, but most of that money usually goes for medical care and treatment. The property damage liability pays if you damage someone else's property. It does not pay to fix your car, however. You may ask; if that is full coverage, then what about fixing your car, money for pain and suffering, money for future medical bills, etc., etc.

What the cute little lizard and others may fail to tell you as you save those few premium dollars is that you are giving up incredibly important benefits. Some of these are:

1.) Bodily Injury Liability: protects you and your property (assets) if you are at fault.
2.) Comprehensive & Collision: pays to fix your vehicle regardless of who is at fault and whether or not the car that hit you even has insurance.
3.) Med-Pay (Medical Payments): pays for your medical care over and above the $10,000.00 PIP monies. Very useful in any serious accident.
4.) UM/UIM (Uninsured Motorist / Underinsured Motorists): pays for your bodily injury claim; pain and suffering, economic losses, and future medical bills, etc.; where the defendant (the at fault party) has no insurance or substandard insurance.

We recommend shopping around with various insurance companies for the best rates and don't just call the ones that advertise a lot. Determine what you can reasonably afford. Secure the best policy that you can for your money; including the coverages listed above. Try hard to get some Uninsured Motorists (UM) coverage because unfortunately there are a lot of drivers in Florida without auto insurance, so you need to protect yourself from them.

Remember, full coverage is not what they tell you in the marketing brochures or on television. Do not give up valuable benefits needlessly and consult with legal counsel when you are uncertain about what insurance you may need.