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What Should You Know About Catastrophic Traffic Accidents and Injuries?
If a negligent, reckless, or intoxicated driver injures you in a car or truck accident in Pinellas County, seek medical treatment immediately and then arrange to discuss your rights with a Clearwater car accident attorney.
In a Florida personal injury case arising from a car or truck accident, determining if a victim’s injury is “catastrophic” considerably influences the amount of compensation the injury victim may recover.
How do auto insurance companies in Florida process catastrophic injury claims? What is your recourse if an insurance company denies your claim? When will you need the advice and services of a Clearwater catastrophic injury attorney?
How Are Catastrophic Traffic Injuries Handled in Florida?
Florida is a no-fault insurance state for car and truck accidents. A Florida driver’s PIP (personal injury protection) insurance covers 80 percent of that driver’s medical costs and lost wages after an accident, but only up to a $10,000 limit and without regard to which driver was at fault.
However, personal injury protection coverage is not automatic. Florida drivers need to make sure they carry PIP coverage and that their payments are up-to-date. You should report any traffic accident and injury to your auto insurance company as quickly as possible.
With only a $10,000 limit, PIP insurance cannot cover the additional high costs of catastrophic injuries that require extensive long-term care. The good news is that, in many cases, catastrophic injury victims in Florida may take legal action to recover the compensation they need.
Which Injuries Are Considered Catastrophic?
To pursue a personal injury lawsuit arising from a car or truck accident, a catastrophic injury victim in this state must meet the serious injury threshold established by Florida law. That threshold includes injuries that cause:
- a permanent disability
- the permanent loss of an important bodily function
- significant disfigurement or scarring
Amputations usually satisfy the serious injury threshold because amputations entail a permanent injury, the permanent loss of a bodily function, and significant disfigurement.
What Compensation is Available to Catastrophic Injury Victims?
When you hear about seven-figure settlements in personal injury cases, that may seem like a lot of compensation. However, consider that victims in their 20s or 30s who are catastrophically injured may have to pay for round-the-clock care for the next four or five decades.
Medical costs pile up rapidly and unexpectedly, and these costs are constantly increasing. A catastrophic injury settlement (or a court’s verdict in your favor) helps an injury victim cover the following expenses and compensates a victim for the following costs and damages:
- Medical costs and projected future costs: Compensation for hospital stays, surgeries, rehabilitation and therapy, prescriptions, long-term nursing home or in-home care, special medical equipment (such as wheelchairs or ventilators), and home modifications.
- Lost wages and lost future earnings capacity: Compensation for lost income and projected future lost income.
- Personal pain and suffering: Compensation for the physical and psychological pain and trauma caused by the accident and injury, including anxiety and depression.
- Loss of the enjoyment of life: Compensation for the reduced quality of life when victims can no longer pursue the activities they enjoy. When an injury prevents marital intimacy, a married couple may recover compensation for the loss of consortium.
Take These Measures After a Car or Truck Accident
If a negligent, reckless, or intoxicated driver injures you in a Pinellas County traffic accident, taking these steps will put you in the best possible position to prevail with a personal injury lawsuit:
- Summon medical help or ask someone to make the call. If you don’t seek immediate medical care, an insurance company can claim you weren’t seriously injured. Under Florida law, you must be examined within fourteen days, or you cannot be compensated.
- If another motorist injured you, do not speak to that motorist’s insurance company or sign any documents. Instead, let your Clearwater car accident attorney speak for you and conduct any negotiations with the insurance company.
- Do not try acting as your own lawyer. Any mistake could be used against you. In most cases arising from catastrophic traffic accidents, a Clearwater catastrophic injury attorney can negotiate an acceptable and just settlement privately and outside of the courtroom.
Could Your Catastrophic Injury Case Go to Trial?
Trials are rare in catastrophic injury cases. However, if the other driver denies liability for your injury, or if that driver’s insurance company fails to make an acceptable settlement offer in the out-of-court negotiations, your Clearwater personal injury attorney will take your case to trial.
To prove a driver’s liability at trial, your lawyer will examine the police and medical reports as well as any videos or photos of the accident. Your attorney may contact witnesses and speak to them. Your attorney may also consult a medical authority or an accident reconstruction expert.
In most car and truck accident cases, if you are eligible to pursue a personal injury lawsuit, the deadline for filing that lawsuit is two years from the accident date. Don’t wait two years. In that time, evidence can deteriorate or be lost, and recollections fade.
Bring Your Catastrophic Injury Case to Idrizi Law Group
If you sustain a catastrophic injury in a car or truck collision, a personal injury lawyer should be handling your case at once. As soon as a medical professional has examined and treated you, call Idrizi Law Group to schedule a no-cost telephone consultation.
Idrizi Law Group represents clients on a contingent fee basis. This means you pay no lawyer’s fee upfront, and you’ll pay us only after we obtain an out-of-court settlement or a court’s verdict on your behalf. If for any reason you are not compensated, you’ll owe us no attorney’s fees.
Idrizi Law Group is a Clearwater law firm that knows how to resolve the most complicated personal injury cases. If a negligent or reckless driver injures you, one of our attorneys will fight aggressively and effectively for the compensation you are entitled to under Florida law.
At Idrizi Law Group, attorneys Shpresa Idrizi and Maryann Furman are committed to protecting their clients’ rights and ensuring justice is served. If another driver injures you, contact Idrizi Law Group immediately by calling 707-926-4924, and put our experience to work for you.
