As a road user, you are subject to facing accidents. Most of them are unforeseeable, and by no means your fault. However, the effects could leave you with a lot of hardships to deal with, including personal injury. Authorities record numerous road accidents yearly, they range from car and motorcycle accidents to pedestrian and bus driver accidents.
Additionally, most of these recorded accidents often occur in a related way. For example, a bus accident can involve a pedestrian as well if the driver hits him or her. Both parties may incur damages, but the pedestrian will foreseeably sustain more personal injury.
If you are a victim of a personal injury sustained from a road accident, you need to make an application for a compensatory lawsuit. However, dealing with road accident compensatory lawsuits without legal representation is tough. The help of the Clay County Personal Injury Attorney can quickly enable you to seek redress and compensation for your violated rights. We give our clients professional advice and propositions relating to what claims to raise, as well as the types of compensable injuries to include in the application. Furthermore, we represent you in all hearings and strive to attain compensatory orders from defendants.
You could fall victim to any different type of road accidents. Each accident differs from others, depending on the circumstances around the causation of the incident. The most common accidents in Ponte Vedra Beach are:
1. Car Accidents
Similar to any other region in the state of Florida, car accidents make up the most significant percentage of all road accidents. A typical case involves two vehicles that collide because of various reasons. Drunk driving is the leading cause of these kinds of disasters. DUI accidents mostly arise because the driver is too intoxicated to coordinate the vehicle properly. Moreover, car accidents also happen because of negligent actions of drivers on the road. Most drivers are susceptible to:
- Texting while driving
- Driving at high speeds
- Drowsiness on the road
- Failure to observe traffic regulations
If a motorist does not actively remain alert while driving, he or she immediately poses a risk to himself/herself and any other passengers on board as well.
If a compensatory suit moves to court, the judge tasks himself or herself with establishing whether any negligence led to the occurrence of the accident. Once the matter is well determined, the No-Fault law applies accordingly, if both parties are undeniably at fault. The fault, in this case, is a direct action that caused or contributed to the causation of the accident.
2. Truck Accidents
Truck accidents, just like car accidents, occur mainly because of distracted driving on the road. However, they cause more chaos and injury to the victims affected. Increased aftermath is because of the bigger size of a truck compared to average personal cars. For example, most drivers succumb to distracting factors like using their phones while driving. The result of the loss of concentration, even for the shortest time, could lead such a driver into a horrible truck accident.
Additionally, maintaining a truck, mainly if it transports transit goods, is a crucial step to prevent accidents. The reason is that most of these vehicles are prone to brake failure. If such a truck happens to be on an inclining road, gravity may pull it downhill. Such an event leads to a domino effect, where multiple cars collide and crash into each other. The consequent accidents are because of the force from the truck.
The Florida Department of Transport and Transit Office is responsible for formulating regulations to govern truck drivers, as well as stipulate standards of truck maintenance. The department has set a rule stating that a truck driver should not operate the vehicle for more than 16 consecutive hours in a day. The law has an easily detectable preventive aim. It seeks to protect drivers and other motorists on the road from fatigue-induced accidents.
Once the truck accident has already happened, surveillance cameras on the road often come in handy. Most of the camera footage, when introduced in court as evidence, makes it easier to establish what party was at fault. Despite the difficulty in settling such claims, the party at fault has to ensure that he or she covers what is required by law. If a liable truck driver cannot afford to pay compensation to the victim, the judge may order him or her to compensate through specific performance. The remedy is always in favor of the victim.
3. Wrongful Death
Statistics indicate that most road accidents result in fatalities. The cases of deaths from accidents recorded are even higher where victims are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcycle riders because they do not have any metallic structure to shield them from the force of oncoming vehicles. The death of a victim does not have to happen immediately after the impact of the accident. Most victims succumb to their injuries during or even after seeking medical treatment. The kind of injuries sustained from road accidents could quickly advance and cause irreversible effects on the patient’s body and, in this case, death.
Aggrieved persons who lose loved ones because of car accidents have several claims to bring forth. For example, they can seek damages for the harm caused by death. Such compensation mainly entails monetary payment to the family of the deceased. The money they receive helps make funeral arrangements, as well as coverage for any future economic losses like loss of wages.
The time limit for bringing forth a lawsuit against the wrongful death of a loved one usually is two years, according to Florida law. However, under particular circumstances, the timeline can be extended following section 95.11 (4) (d) of The Florida Statutes. Therefore, if you have a claim of wrongful death to raise against a party involved in an accident, you should get in touch with your Ponte Vedra Beach Personal Injury Attorney. He or she will guide you on how soon to take the matter to court. Conversely, in the case of a late application, your attorney will help you access the proper legal procedures and ensure that the issue is heard in court.
4. Pedestrian Accident
The state of Florida has numerous regulations to prevent the occurrence of pedestrian accidents. One such example of law is found in section 316.130 of the Pedestrian Regulations. The rule states that a pedestrian must use sidewalks if available. Where they are unavailable, he or she should exercise extra caution and stick to the designated side of the road used by pedestrians in Florida-the left-hand side. Moreover, when pedestrians are using a marked crosswalk, drivers should yield and give them a right of way. Therefore, if a pedestrian accident happens where a pedestrian rightfully uses the designated crosswalk, the driver will inevitably bear liability. However, when walking or any other road sections, the pedestrian must yield to any oncoming vehicles. It is also important to note that a pedestrian should always proceed with caution even on marked crosswalks because a driver’s state of mind is not always predictable. Your Ponte Vedra Beach Personal Injury Attorney could undoubtedly help you win a compensatory suit. However, you still have to suffer all the pain and suffering caused by the injuries from the accident.
5. Bus Accidents
Bus accidents also have a high ranking, when comparing vehicle accidents that cause the most harm and damage. The most outstanding factor that alleviates bus accidents is that most of the buses in operation do not have functional seatbelts. Consequently, passengers have no safety belts to protect them from injury in case of a bus accident. Besides the lack of seatbelts, most buses have a high capacity of passengers to carry. The result will be that if an accident happens, there will be more victims that would be in a car accident, whereby less than ten passengers may be involved.
There are regulations set in place to reduce the risk of bus accidents from happening significantly. In Florida, there is a driving limit that prohibits bus drivers from operating the vehicle for more than 12 hours in a day. Similar to truck drivers, bus drivers may face intense fatigue because of the commercial nature of work. Therefore, the regulation ensures that fatigue as a causative factor is eradicated.
Should the judge find a bus driver is liable for an accident, his or her insurance company has to pay for any damages caused. Engaging with your Ponte Vedra Beach Personal Injury Attorney is useful in following up with the payments to be made to you by such an insurance company. Your lawyer makes work easier because dealing with insurance agents can be detrimental. They often conceal exclusion clauses in their settlement documents that end up short-changing you. Subsequently, you receive a significantly lower amount of money than expected.
6. Motorcycle Accidents
There are many causes of motorcycle accidents, some resulting from negligence on the rider’s part, while in other cases, the blame is entirely on the other motorist. Common causes include:
- Defective side mirrors on the motorcycle
- High speed
- Unsafe lane changing
- Sharp turns on roads
Mostly, all these factors ultimately contribute to the occurrence of the motorcycle accident. For example, if a car driver is at high speed, he or she may fail to see you, the motorcycle rider. At the same time, you could change lanes without adequately observing oncoming vehicles from behind because of the ill-fitted side mirrors. If you collide with each other, the accident could be highly damaging to you. The case is worsened if you had no helmet on, as your skull is exposed to traumatic injury.
After the accident, the courts apply the comparative fault analysis to determine if both parties were negligibly liable for the accident. Using the report, any liability on either party, therefore, becomes proportionate to the fault of each motorist. Thus, having your Ponte Vedra Beach Personal Injury Attorney lawyer present in court enables your innocence to be correctly proven. Consequently, if your lawyer succeeds, you will have no costs to bear. Instead, the liable defendants will have to compensate you adequately.
7. Types of Compensable Injuries
After involvement in any kind of accident, the victim will suffer significant harm from the injuries sustained. The degree of the severity of the damage depends on the type of accident a victim has been involved in as well as the events leading to it. The underlying principle in court, however, is always that an injury must be medically established for the claim of compensation to suffice in court. Additionally, the application of negligence that caused the accident must be directly related to obtaining the injury. The following are the types of compensable injuries acceptable in court:
Traumatic Brain Injury
The injury affects the head and causes a lot of varying effects on the patient. In mild cases of brain injury, the patient experiences headaches or sudden concussions. Additionally, he or she may experience constant dizziness. However, if the injury sustained was severe, an accident victim could suffer from amnesia, whereby he or she has no recollection of any past events. Such a state could be temporary or permanent. If a victim recovers well enough to seek compensation, he or she should find the services of a Ponte Vedra Beach Personal Injury Attorney, who will help you present the lawsuit in court.
Bone Fractures
Regardless of whichever road accident you survive, you are likely to suffer bone fractures, even if they are minor. Fractures mostly affect the:
- Humerus bone-on your arm
- Femur bone-on the leg
- Pelvis bone-on your hip
- Ribs-on the chest area
However, many other bones in your body are susceptible to fractures from an accident, and can also warrant a compensatory suit in court. Compensation sought may be to cover all medical expenses spent by the victim as he/she seeks medical attention to promote recovery.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spine is also a very delicate part of the body, which harbors most nerve endings. It also maintains our upright body posture and enables our limbs to move accordingly. Therefore, spinal injuries are very detrimental to the victim, as they may cause paralysis, loss of sensation, or even body dysmorphia. Consequently, a victim of spinal injuries arising from accidents has a rightful claim of compensation to cover medical expenses as well as the pain and suffering brought by the damage.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The mental condition arises after accident victims are severely scarred by graphic and traumatizing scenes from a road accident. Victims of the disorder are often restless, as they relive the events of the accident. Most of them find it hard to cope without professional therapy to help calm their minds and reinstate their healthy way of thinking. A valid medical report will warrant the courts to grant people living with PTSD the rightful compensation they deserve.
Medical Malpractice
Some medical practitioners may issue treatment that falls below the expected standard of the duty of care. Doctors hold a noble profession, and, therefore, are entrusted with the lives of numerous patients. Florida statute requires that the level of standard of care should always be reasonable and appropriate to a patient’s needs. The provision is enshrined in section 766.102 of the Florida statute. If they act in a negligible way that your attorney can prove in court, you can receive compensation for harm done. For example, if you face further injury from a botched surgery, you can sue your surgeon. Other malpractices include misdiagnosis and the mistaken use of wrong lab results to prescribe treatment.
Contact a Ponte Vedra Beach Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
At the Clay County Personal Injury Attorney, we understand the stressful and draining process of determining what to do after suffering a personal injury from an accident. We endeavor to provide our clients with the best possible legal services and ensure that you receive compensation for any injury and harm caused by the liable party. Contact us today at 904-494-8242. We will be happy to hear from you and help you get started with your litigation journey.
