Recovering From Florida Car Accident Injuries

After going through a car accident, the next step is recovering from Florida car accident injuries. Many know the steps to take right away after the initial accident; call 911 to report the incident and get an ambulance for any injuries sustained, collect as much information as you can, report the accident to your insurance company, and make sure you know your legal options before starting the claims process. But many do not know what the recovery process is a few weeks or months down the road.

Florida Statute of Limitations and No-Fault Law

The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Florida is four years. However, car accidents in Florida should be addressed within two weeks for drivers to access their PIP coverage which comes with the No-Fault Law. Under the No-Fault Law, drivers must have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance.

PIP covers medical costs and lost wages for the motorist with the PIP insurance regardless of who is at fault for the car accident. PIP coverage is $10,000 and can be used to cover 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages. But drivers injured in a car accident need to see medical attention within two weeks of the accident occurring to use their PIP coverage.

When not-at-fault drivers are working with our Florida car accident attorneys, they will be able to collect their PIP benefits and a proper settlement from the at-fault drivers’ insurance. Our personal injury attorneys always recommend seeking medical attention after an auto accident so you can be assessed for injuries and given options for medical treatment. Missing this two-week window will cause victims not to have the chance to use their PIP coverage.

What Does Recovery Look Like?

Recovering from Florida car accident injuries varies depending on the severity of the injury and the necessary treatments needed to recover. Seeing a chiropractor helps with back and neck injuries as that is the most common type of treatment for whiplash, compressed discs, and overall back pain. Leaving back and neck injuries untreated will result in progressing limited mobility, excessive pain that will not go away, and trouble sleeping.

While car accident victims are recovering from their injuries, this may result in the inability to work or limit the amount of work that can be done. Many victims fear that they are losing their living wages because of their injuries and will avoid treatments.

But our Florida personal injury lawyers know the most important steps to take to recover from car accident injuries are seeking medical treatments and physical therapy. Lost wages are a type of ‘damage’ that can be collected through a settlement. This is because the lost wages are directly related to the injuries caused by the negligent driver.

What are Florida Car Accident Injury Victims Entitled to Claim?

With the help of a Florida car accident attorney, you can claim both economic and non-economic damages from the at-fault driver. If you decide to go against the other driver’s insurance alone, not only will you be offered a low compensation amount, but you will also miss out on claiming compensation for the non-economic damages. So what are economic and non-economic damages?

Economic Damages: These are damages that can be assigned a monetary value like medical bills, future medical expenses, lost wages from the past and future, and property damage.

Non-economic Damages: These are subjective damages that vary depending on the car accident victim. For example, damages like pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of a loved one, and loss of enjoyment of life.

When your Florida car accident attorney works through your case, they will calculate all of these damages to present a fair compensation amount to the at-fault driver’s insurance. Economic damages are a very straightforward amount, while non-economic damages have to be calculated in a certain way relating to economic damages. In Florida, motor vehicle accident victims are eligible to collect on non-economic damages if they experience:

• Wrongful Death
• Any permanent injuries like scarring, disfigurement, permanent loss of bodily function, or significant loss of mobility or injuries that affect day-to-day life.

These non-economic damages can be calculated:

• The Multiplier Method – With the use of the monetary amount of economic damages experienced and the severity of the accident based on a 1 through 5 scale, 1 being least severe and 5 being the most. The number determined will be used to multiply the total amount of economic damages to determine the non-economic compensation.
• Per Diem Method – A monetary amount is assigned to each day until recovery is completed or if the victim passes away.

Recover Takes Time

After experiencing a Florida auto accident, the stress levels will only rise if you handle law enforcement, insurance companies, and doctors alone. That is why our law firm recommends working with one of our professional Florida car accident attorneys. We will alleviate a majority of your stress by taking care of the police reports, medical documents and treatments, and speaking with the insurance company. Car accident victims should only focus on recovering from injuries they have experienced. It is important to be patient during recovery as recovery takes time to fully heal injuries.