Auto Accident Attorney, Tampa

During the free case evaluation with a personal injury lawyer from Morgan and Morgan, one of the first items on the agenda concerns determining the cause of the motor vehicle collision. One of the keys to proving negligence involves discovering what caused you to sustain one or more injuries. From our more than three decades of litigation experience, the personal injury attorneys from Morgan and Morgan have compiled a list of the four most common causes of motor vehicle collisions.

Distractions

Although the focus of a motorist should be on the road in front of the vehicle, as well as on each side, the sad truth is far too many drivers operate a motor vehicle with their eyes fixed elsewhere. Distractions make it nearly impossible for motorists to respond quickly to changing road and traffic conditions. From eating a meal to grabbing something out of a backpack, distractions can cause car accidents that produce serious injuries.

Texting and driving, which is illegal in Florida, has become the most common type of distraction that causes auto crashes.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol

Public service announcements have not made a dent in the number of car accidents that result from a motorist operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Driving while intoxicated dramatically slows down reaction times, which makes it difficult for an impaired motorist to stop suddenly when coming upon a backup on a road or highway. Impaired drivers also make poor decisions, as well as take unnecessary risks, such as speeding past other vehicles while moving in the far right lane of a highway.

Reckless Driving

The installation of traffic cameras at strategically located intersections and other high-volume traffic areas has not helped reduce the number of auto crashes caused by reckless driving. Speeding remains a problem not only on Tampa highways but also on the roads that take travelers across the bay into St. Petersburg. Another type of reckless driving that can leave behind carnage is running through red lights and stop signs. These types of accidents frequently involve one vehicle impacting the side of a second vehicle, which makes the driver of the side-impacted vehicle highly vulnerable to sustaining a serious injury such as brain trauma or spinal cord damage.

Poor Weather Conditions

Florida is known as the hurricane capital of the United States, but it does not take a hurricane to produce tropical rainstorms that make driving almost impossible. Slick roads as the result of heavy rain contribute to a high number of motor vehicle collisions around Tampa. Another issue presented by Mother Nature is the wildfires that develop as the result of extremely dry conditions in the deep vegetation that surrounds the city. High winds also cause car accidents, as do deluges of large hail.

You cannot sue Mother Nature for causing injuries, but you can file an insurance claim to help you recover financial losses.

At first glance, filing an insurance claim does not seem like a difficult thing to do. You simply complete and submit the claim form and then wait to hear back from the insurance adjuster processing the claim. However, much more goes into filing a successful insurance claim than submitting a claim form.

The auto accident attorney in Tampa that you hire from Morgan and Morgan provides several types of legal support for filing an auto insurance claim.

Submit Persuasive Physical Evidence

The heart of any insurance claim is the physical evidence gathered and organized by your auto accident attorney in Tampa. Photographs of the accident scene can capture tire tracks, as well as the damage done to stationary objects such as trees and guardrails. Your attorney also takes photos of the damage done to your vehicle, as well as requests the photographs taken of your injuries by the healthcare providers that treated you right after the motor vehicle collision. The official police report also includes detailed descriptions of the physical evidence collected, which helps your lawyer build a strong insurance claim.

Getting witness statements provides support for the physical evidence obtained by your personal injury attorney.

Calculate a Value for Compensation

One of the most common reasons why insurance adjusters deny claims concerns the submission of an unreasonable value for compensation. Calculating a fair value for compensation represents an important type of legal support offered by your auto accident attorney in Tampa.

Your lawyer calculates a reasonable value for compensation by first adding up all the tangible expenses, such as medical bills and the receipts generated by the repairs done to your motor vehicle. Then, your attorney comes up with a value for non-economic damages, which does not come with a price tag. Getting involved in a car accident can trigger the symptoms that commonly develop because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms develop in many auto crash victims because of the physical trauma they have experienced, as well as the emotional issues that include fear and acute anxiety.

Negotiate a Settlement

At any point during the insurance claim process, your auto accident attorney in Tampa can request to negotiate a settlement with the insurance adjuster processing your claim. Nonetheless, negotiations typically take place after an insurance adjuster denies a claim. Negotiating a settlement allows you to avoid the time-consuming appeals process.

Negotiations start when your personal injury lawyer submits an offer, which the insurance adjuster can accept or reject. If the insurance adjuster rejects the initial offer, you might receive a counteroffer or a letter explaining that the next step in the claim process involves filing an appeal. Several rounds of counteroffers can follow the initial offer until you reach an agreement or both parties decide to take your claim to the appeals process.

Act as an Intermediary

You have several responsibilities after a car accident, including recovering from your injuries and repairing all types of property damage. Instead of spending time trying to communicate with the insurance adjuster processing your claim, hire an auto accident attorney in Tampa to act as an intermediary between you and the insurance adjuster. Your lawyer answers every question the insurance adjuster has regarding your claim, as well as monitors your claim to ensure it receives the attention it deserves in a timely manner.

Most motor vehicle collisions do not end with one party assuming 100 percent of the blame for causing the accident. Because of the frequent number of shared-blame car accident cases, Florida has adopted the comparative negligence legal doctrine for assigning fault for auto crash cases. This means that even if another party caused the car accident, the judge hearing your case might find you legally liable for a percentage of the fault.

For example, let’s assume you receive a favorable legal ruling that awards you $50,000 in monetary damages. The defendant caused the motor vehicle collision by running a red light. However, the judge rules that you could have avoided the crash if you had paid more attention at the time of the collision. Instead of checking both ways before crossing into the intersection, you were sending a text to a professional colleague. The judge determines that you should assume 20 percent of the fault, which reduces your $50,000 in compensation to $40,000.

Florida grants plaintiffs four years to file a personal injury lawsuit, with the clock starting to tick for filing a lawsuit on the day of the car accident. However, you might receive an extension if you can show the court that you sustained one or more injuries that develop delayed symptoms. Although you have four years to take legal action, you should be proactive by filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages as quickly as possible after the car accident.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with Morgan and Morgan to start the journey toward receiving the compensation you deserve and connecting with an auto accident attorney in Tampa.