Where Can I Find the Best Golf Cart Accident Attorneys in Big Pine Key, Florida?

The personal injury lawyer from Morgan & Morgan who handles your case needs to discover the cause of the golf cart accident that harmed you. Determining the cause of a golf cart accident represents the first step toward proving negligence.

Moving Violations

Since golf carts have transformed how Floridians and visitors get around, many cities in the Sunshine State have passed laws that regulate the operation of vehicles. Golf courses also establish rules on how visitors should operate golf carts. Operators of golf carts that speed, fail to yield, and do not indicate upcoming turns put themselves and others in harm’s way. The serious implications of the same dangerous moves made by the drivers of motor vehicles also apply to the operators of golf carts. If you sustained one or more injuries caused by the reckless behavior of a golf cart operator, you might have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Distractions

Another similarity between cars and golf carts is operating either type of vehicle while being distracted can lead to a collision with another vehicle. Distractions such as eating, applying makeup, and texting while driving are all considered acts of negligence whenever the distractions cause a golf cart accident. The key to proving that distraction caused a golf cart accident is getting the accounts of witnesses of the crash. Florida enacted a law in 2013 that prohibits texting and driving, which also covers the operators of golf carts that use government-maintained roads.

Too Much Gear

Golf carts have a limit for how much cargo they can carry. For a standard two-seat golf cart, the maximum weight for both cargo and passengers is around 600 pounds. This does not leave much weight left over after accounting for the weight of two passengers. Exceeding the weight capacity of a golf cart becomes especially dangerous when making sharp turns at a high speed. The fault assigned for an overloaded golf cart typically falls on the shoulders of the individual who loaded the golf cart.

Lack of Protection by Seat Belt

A golf cart seat belt is designed to prevent an occupant from falling out of a golf cart. A seat belt that fails to secure an occupant can toss the occupant out of a golf cart and onto the ground. The result can be serious injuries that require emergency medical care. The negligent party for a faulty seat belt usually is the manufacturer of the golf cart. Poorly designed seat belts installed in golf carts also can tighten too much, which can crack a rib or dramatically reduce the flow of oxygen to the lungs.

During the free case evaluation with one of our golf cart accident attorneys in Big Pine Key, FL, you should present medical evidence that demonstrates the seriousness of your injuries. Although golf cart accidents cause a wide variety of injuries, a few types of injuries happen more often than other types of golf cart accident injuries.

Brain Trauma

The impact of a motor vehicle against a vulnerable golf cart can result in the worst types of injuries, including brain trauma. From hitting your head on the front of a golf cart to getting tossed from a golf cart and hitting your head on the ground, brain trauma can take years to heal, if it heals at all.  Symptoms of brain trauma can be as mild as a concussion to as severe as bleeding in the brain.

Broken Bones

Bracing yourself right before impact can fracture bones in the hand, wrists, and arms. You also can sustain a broken collarbone because of the strong impact made by a motor vehicle. If you were tossed from a golf cart, the hard impact on the ground can fracture a hip, leg, and/or ankle. Fractures run in severity from clean, simple breaks that heal on their own to complex broken bones that require surgery and months of physical therapy sessions to rehabilitate.

Whiplash

You might be wondering, “How can I get whiplash if a golf cart moves slowly?” It does not take much speed for the neck and spinal cord to be severely impacted by a golf cart accident. Moreover, modern golf carts move much faster than their predecessors. A sudden impact can trigger symptoms such as strong headaches and constant neck pain. Whiplash can also damage the spine by causing a fractured vertebra or herniated disc.

Lacerations

Deep lacerations caused by contact with debris on the ground or sharp objects in a golf cart can take several weeks to heal. Golf carts offer little protection, and the lack of safety features and protective gear can lead to lacerations produced by a golf cart accident. Deep lacerations can result in a visit to the nearest emergency room for immediate medical care.

One of the benefits of hiring one of the Morgan & Morgan golf cart accident attorneys in Big Pine Key, FL is filing a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Florida has set the statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit at two years. Although two years may seem like plenty of time to take legal action, you should act with a sense of urgency for several reasons.

First, with rapidly mounting medical bills, you need to find a source of income to pay off your healthcare debts. The monetary damages awarded to you by the judge hearing your lawsuit can help you stay financially afloat. Second, waiting too long to file a civil lawsuit diminishes the positive impact made by witness accounts of the golf cart accidents. Witnesses tend to remember events most accurately when they talk to your personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible after a golf cart accident.

If you fail to file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, expect the court clerk to dismiss your case.

Conducting research plays an important role in selecting one of the best golf cart accident attorneys in Big Pine Key, FL. The experienced team of personal injury lawyers at Morgan & Morgan offers a few tips that help you make the right decision.

Knowledge of Healthcare Terms

Medical bills are by far the most substantial expense that monetary damages cover. Every lawyer on your shortlist must be familiar with medical terms because there might come a time during a trial when your legal counsel puts one or more medical expert witnesses on the stand to provide support for your case.

Experience Handling Golf Cart Accident Cases

Although golf cart accident cases share many of the same types of legal issues as other types of personal injury cases, golf cart accident cases also present a few unique elements that require the expertise of a personal injury attorney who specializes in litigating similar cases. Your attorney must have a thorough understanding of Florida golf cart safety laws, as well as know the mechanics of what makes a golf cart operate safely.

Skilled Negotiator

The golf cart accident attorneys at Morgan & Morgan try to negotiate favorable settlements for our clients before taking a case to the trial phase of the litigation process. We have established a reputation for making fair settlement offers and even if the lawyer representing the other party does not agree with the initial offer, we work hard to find common ground to avoid participating in a costly and lengthy trial.

To gain more insight into the positive reputation of the personal injury lawyers at Morgan & Morgan, we encourage you to read the reviews left by our clients on sites such as Yelp and Google. More than 30 years of litigating personal injury cases have allowed us to build a large number of client reviews. You should notice several common words used to rate our legal service, such as “trust,” “integrity,” and “transparency.” The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has awarded us its highest reputation rating of A+.

Schedule a free case evaluation today to learn more about what makes Morgan & Morgan the best golf cart accident attorneys in Big Pine Key, FL.