Fort Myers Car Accident Lawyers

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Being in a car accident is a terrible experience, and we can understand how you would prefer to put off any stressful processes until you have recovered to 100%. For this reason, in this post, we will walk you through everything right from your plan of action right after an accident, all the way down to how you can pick the best car accident attorney in Fort Myers to represent your case.

After you have been in a car accident, we highly recommend alerting law enforcement officials and getting yourself examined by a doctor. After doing so, you should book a free consultation with Fort Myers car accident lawyers. This needs to be done as soon as possible to win fair compensation against medical bills, lost wages, and feel as if justice is served.

With decades of experience, car accident lawyers are well-versed in helping their clients navigate through insurance claims and their litigation process. They have stood up to major insurance companies in the past and know exactly how to maximize your car accident claim. Besides, they are also not afraid to take your case to the court of justice, so that a fair jury can decide how much compensation you deserve.

With that said, if you or your loved ones are now dealing with the aftermath of a car crash, your immediate plan of action should be as follows:

• Call 911 and gather as much evidence of the 'crime scene' as possible.
  
• File an official police report without accepting any percentage of the blame.
  
• Visit your doctor (this should be your first priority depending on your injuries)
  
• Record whatever you can recollect about the incident in a journal/diary.
  
• Schedule a free consultation with our car accident lawyers in Florida.
  

Motor vehicle accidents are known to occur almost every day along the Southern Gulf Coast. In 2016, Fort Myers had a population of 70,000 people, and city officials had reported a little over 12,000 car crashes. These resulted in 100 wrongful deaths and 7500 injuries.

Just last year, Lee County alone had collected official reports of 5961 accidents in the first quarter. That being said, the following are some of the most common causes of car accidents in Fort Myers:

• Human error
  
• Medical conditions/medication
  
• Unfamiliarity with an area
  
• Unorthodox road conditions
  
• Distracted driving
  
• Reckless/fatigued/impaired driving
  
• Automobile malfunction/defects
  
  

Driver Liability

Florida has been deemed a 'no-fault state', which means that every driver on the road is liable to carry insurance that covers car repairs and medical bills up to a predetermined amount. The benefit of living in a no-fault state is that accident victims wouldn't have to wait for their turn to prove driver negligence in a court of law before they are awarded payments.

However, among the drawbacks of being a no-fault state is that Florida law only requires each driver to be insured for property damage and PIP insurance for up to $10,000. Naturally, suppose your medical bills and car repair expenses exceed this amount (which is usually the case). In that case, you will have to work with your Fort Myers car accident attorney to receive the compensation you deserve.

After discussing your case with a car accident lawyer, you will be required to contact your insurance provider to file an accident claim. After doing so, a customer service representative will guide you through the process. Of course, you mustn't waste time contacting your insurance provider since coverages tend to vary from case to case.

For instance, your insurance provider may deem your case fit to provide you with a rental vehicle until your car is undergoing repairs. Frequently, insurance companies also tend to make attempts at denying your claim, which is where your car accident attorney will step in and set your affairs straight.

Before we start discussing the possible injuries one may experience after a car accident, we should clarify that some car crash injuries may also be non-physical in nature. Florida law will, therefore, compensate you for all of your losses, both physical and non-physical in nature and they refer to these losses as 'damages'.

Naturally, your damages include physical injuries; however, you can also have non-physical injuries such as:

• Diminished quality of life
  
• Unintentional changes in lifestyle
  
• Financial losses
  
• Lost wages (present and future)
  
• Wrongful death (the suffering of family members)
  
  

Taking non-physical damages into account, it may take a little while for your car accident attorney to illustrate just how much you deserve in compensation. Now that you know all about non-physical damages, let's introduce you to the various common physical damages victims report after being in a car crash:

• Whiplash
  
• Internal bleeding
  
• Soft tissue injuries
  
• Soreness
  
• Muscle injuries
  
• Bruising
  
• Bleeding/cuts/lacerations
  
• Headaches
  
• Concussion
  
• Vision impairment
  
• Fractured/broken bones
  
• Damages to internal organs
  
• Spinal cord injuries
  
• Head or brain injuries
  

You may have come across the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words", and this is especially true when you're trying to maximize your compensation for damages following a car accident. For this reason, some experts even recommend having a disposable camera in your glove-box, even though your smartphone may have a great camera.

Typically, accident photos should clearly depict:

• The damage received by your car
  
• Pictures of skid marks on the road
  
• Multiple angles of the accident scene
  
  

Taking photos of the scene of the accident is vital because it helps you and other victims remember exactly what transpired on that miserable day. However, more importantly, these photos act as evidence when you file a claim to receive compensation for your damages.

You could also make your case stronger by recording contact information or witness statements. You may also ask to take a picture of the negligent driver's car insurance while allowing them to take a picture of yours as well. You see, oftentimes, having such pictures around while filing a claim with insurance companies can help speed up your case.

In the off chance that you have received injuries that hinder your ability to take photos, Fort Myers car accident attorneys strongly recommend asking someone else to do this for you. Make sure that you explain exactly what kind of picture you are looking for and then review your pictures against our checklist.

• Try to get pictures of the reckless driver's:
  
• Name
  
• Driver license number
  
• Insurance information (including the name of the carrier, the policy identification number, and their agent's phone number)
  
  

It will also be helpful for your case if you try to capture a picture of or make a note of the names and contact information of all the passengers who were witnesses to your car crash. This includes:

• Driver's license
  
• Contact information
  
• License plate number
  
  

Note: If the police have arrived at the scene, you should personally ask them to file an accident report before asking for their names, badge numbers and contact information. However, it would help if you refrained from making any official statements for police records before contacting a car accident attorney in Fort Myers.

When you or your loved ones experience a car crash, it may seem like an understatement to say that your lives may have changed forever. You see, most accident victims don't just experience mental and physical damages, but also incur extensive financial losses. While some of these losses may be experienced immediately, others have a lasting impact on the quality of their lives.

For this reason, Florida law has set up a failsafe system to help accident victims receive compensation for their damages. Ideally, plaintiffs are awarded compensation based on two distinct categories, namely:

1. Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages take into account both economic and non-economic damages to evaluate whether these costs were directly related to the accident or not. The most common compensatory economic damages, according to the best car accident lawyers Fort Myers has to offer, include:

• Past, present and future medical expenses
  
• Physical therapy and/or home healthcare services
  
• Lost wages, retirement contributions and benefits
  
• Potential future loss of wages, retirement contribution and benefits
  
• Cost of lost errands or services (services hired to do your daily chores for you)
  
• Property damages
  
• Childcare expenses
  
  

On the other hand, non-economic damages include losses or injuries that are more of personal suffering than an out-of-your pocket expenses. The most common compensatory non-economic damages, according to car accident attorneys, include:

• Pain and suffering
  
• Physical impairment
  
• Disfigurement
  
• Loss of consortium
  
• Mental anguish
  
• Traumatic brain injuries
  
  

Usually, these types of damages are harder to prove. Still, your car accident lawyer will take into account what these losses mean for you and will strive to maximize your compensation accordingly.

2. Punitive Damages

Punitive damages signify financial penalties that are handed down by the court system to responsible parties if gross negligence was proven as the main cause of the car crash. While these types of damages aren't awarded often, they can become an integral part of the investigation if the driver was:

• Recklessly driving
  
• Texting while driving
  
• Driving under the influence
  
  

If any of these circumstances leading up to the accident are proven, then Florida law limits compensation to three times the amount awarded in compensatory damages or $500,000.