If you have been in a Lake City automobile accident or suffered personal injuries from the course of an accident, you might not be aware that you require an Lake City car accident lawyer. It’s possible that you feel that you’re in a position to take care of the case on your own.
While you can handle the case by yourself however, you’ll be missing many benefits from hiring a Lake City lawyer who handles car accidents for you.
A Florida attorney for automobile accidents is an expert in this area. Lawyers are trained for years in law school, followed with real-life practice, handling dozens or hundreds of similar cases.
This type of experience is extremely difficult to replicate and has huge benefits, such as knowing the intricacies of the intricate process personal injury lawyers work with.
Engaging a reputable personal injury firm and talking to a good Lake City car accident lawyer could be extremely beneficial. However, you must strongly consider having an experienced lawyer who is capable of taking some of the weight off of your shoulders.
An experienced Lake City car accident lawyer will assist you through the process without needing to keep track of deadlines, file documents, respond to inquiries and handle insurance adjusters and insurers.
Hiring a Lake City personal injury attorney means that an outside party is responsible for organizing every aspect of the claim process, which allows you to heal from the accident and move on with your life.
What Can You Do Following an Auto Accident?
Personal injury law firms handle automobile accidents on a daily basis. As you will see, accidents occur throughout the state of Florida.
Before you reach out to a Lake City car accident lawyer for a car crash, you need to decide whether you’d like to seek medical attention in the event that you’ve been involved in a car crash in Lake City, FL.
If the incident was at any time serious and you have even the smallest chance of being injured in any way, it is essential immediately seek medical treatment. This is vitally important because of a number of reasons.
The first is that seeking treatment fast can increase your chances of avoiding injuries and recovering faster. Additionally, you can record the injuries you suffer immediately and creates a paper trail that can be useful later on.
Finally, it prevents the other side or the other side’s insurance company from claiming your injuries occurred later or were result of anything other than the vehicle accident.
Even if your accident wasn’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the doctor, there are ways you can take in order to prepare for a possible future car accident claim. The first step is to exchange contact and insurance details with the other driver.
It is essential to exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver.
This will enable the insurance company you have to file an injury report that will let both you and your attorney to know who to reach. It is also important to collect the contact information of anyone who could be present at the time of the time of the incident.
They may be of help down the line if there is a dispute over what happened.
Photograph both vehicles and the scene of the accident If you can. Make a note of any information you are able to think of as quickly as possible after the accident.
If the driver in the other vehicle was distracted or on a cell phone or if they were speeding or if the weather was bad, all these details might be relevant later on, but can easily be forgotten after the rush of an accident.
It is a good idea to write down as many details as possible following a crash.
Photos are Crucial to a Lake City Auto Accident Lawyer
Many people believe that pictures are worth 1000 words or more. If the accident is later debated, and perhaps the other party claims that it wasn’t so serious as you think, pictures can be a great solution to end the argument.
A photograph of a vehicle that was crushed could give a judge or jury the details they require to know how serious the crash was. Photographs can also be extremely helpful in proving the severity of injuries, allowing people to know immediately and without lengthy detail about the extent to which a person was hurt.
If you are able to, try and take some pictures of the incident to show these to your Lake City car accident lawyer later. Photograph your car with your smartphone or camera and take photos as you go. It is also a good idea to take pictures of other cars involved in the crash.
Also, you can capture general shots of the scene. Security is the most important factor in the preservation of the accident site. Do not get out of your vehicle and snap pictures in situations where it’s unsafe to do so as this could make a bad accident much much worse.
How Does a Lake City Personal Injury Lawyer Determine Fault After a Car Accident?
It is essential to know that Florida treats car accident cases differently to other states if you are involved in a Lake City-related accident. In actual fact, Florida is one of just 12 states that have no-fault auto insurance laws.
These laws were implemented in the 1970s to make it easier and faster to collect the damages resulting from a car accident.
The law requires every driver in Florida to buy Personal Injury Protection (also called “PIP”) that provides coverage for medical expenses loss of wages, funeral expenses and other related costs regardless of the person responsible for the crash.
Your insurance company must cover your loss regardless of who was responsible for the crash.
What are the Factors that Affect the Value of a Car Accident?
For every Lake City car accident lawyer this is a common question, in fact, most lawyers representing victims of auto accidents, in general, will be asked this question. Many victims of car accidents are interested in knowing what the worth of their case could be.
It is difficult to answer this question in general terms since every case is unique.
That being said, there are some categories of harm which determine the value of a car accident case and, understanding the details of these categories will enable a lawyer to provide a more accurate estimation of what your case might be worth.
These include past medical bills and future medical expenses, time off from work or wages loss of future earnings capacity, pain and suffering.
In determining the amount of any settlement you might be entitled to there are a few factors to be taken into consideration.
These include your injuries and the circumstances of the crash (was the result of negligence or recklessness, or was it due to gross negligence? ), your degree of blame for the crash and your work history and your ability to earn a living, your lifestyle and even your life expectation.
These factors are all part of the complex mix of factors that are considered when deciding much compensation to award in a Florida car accident case. A Lake City car accident lawyer for car accidents is an invaluable resource.
What is the Standard Length of Time it Takes a Lake City Attorney Resolve Your Case?
This is yet another difficult question to answer without knowing the specifics of your particular case. A Lake City car accident lawyer might not be able estimate the time it takes to complete.
Because each case is different and will be based on the actions you take along with the insurance adjusters, as well as the party in opposition. There are a myriad of unknown factors that could delay your claim or make it more difficult to resolve.
Most claims for car accidents are resolved within a couple of months. However, they can be delayed for a long time when the case is going to trial.
What Happens When a Car Accident Case is Brought to Court?
Many believe that all cases involving car accidents will be heard by a judge and jury in a dramatic courtroom encounter which some people are nervous by and want to avoid. The best part about car accident cases in Lake City is that they are nearly all resolved before trial.
Negotiation is often a way to resolve disputes, which can help both parties save time and money.
Only a few claims will need to be presented to the judge. However, it is impossible to determine what claims will go to the court.
This is why it is crucial to choose a Lake City car accident lawyer that you are comfortable with regardless of whether your dispute ends up as a negotiated settlement, or in front of the judge.
What is the Time Required to Submit a Lake City Car Accident Claim?
It’s an unfortunate reality that those who suffer from car accidents are not given unlimited time to recover and heal prior to deciding how they want to handle their situation.
The reason for this is that the claims arising from car accidents are dependent on a specific state law that limits the time that a person can wait before they are unable to pursue a claim for damages.
This law is called the statute of limitations and it regulates the length of time a person is allowed to file a lawsuit after they are injured.
There isn’t a standard statute of limitations. It differs based on where you live and what kind of injury it is. Personal injury claims against the responsible party are required to be filed within four years of the date of the injury in Florida.
Individuals have four years after the date of injury to bring uninsured/underinsured claims against their own insurance company. For more information on this issue, contact an Lake City attorney for car accidents today.
Contact an Attorney for Car Accidents in Lake City, Florida Today
If you have been in a wreck, contact an experienced Lake City car accident lawyer at Florida Lawyers 360 to look over and manage your case. There are a number of important decisions to make within the next few months.