Florida Accident Attorneys

Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States suffer the effects of brain injuries each year. The injuries will vary from mild to severe but that doesn’t change the fact that these injuries disrupt daily life, cause the victim to have to depend upon others for daily care and cause an increase in emotional distress for both the victim and his or her family. The medical professionals place brain injuries into two classifications: “Acquired brain injuries” refer to specific medical reasons such as stroke, tumors, meningitis, heart disease or substance abuse. These injuries are in the minority with most brain injuries falling into the “traumatic brain injury” category. These injuries can result from many different causes including a blow to the head, head penetration when one is physically assaulted, because of a fall or a motor vehicle or sports-related injury. Most traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs for short, are the result of a quick acceleration or deceleration of the head, violent shaking (as in shaken baby syndrome) or a blow with enough force to damage the brain.

The statistics on TBI occurrences are staggering—in the United States alone someone suffers from a TBI every fifteen seconds while 100,000 children succumb to brain injuries on an annual basis. Not only that but approximately 270,000 people suffer a moderate to severe TBI annually and is the leading cause of death for those under 45 years old. Fifty per cent of all TBI are caused by some kind of roadway accident whether it’s between motor vehicles or motor vehicle and pedestrian or cyclist (bicycle or motorcycle). They are the biggest cause of TBIs for those under age 75. For those over 75 slips and falls cause the majority of TBIs.

Although it is not always the case, many brain injury and TBI cases are the result of others exercising careless or negligent behavior. If the court is able to prove negligence caused the TBI, the victim may be entitled to payment for all cull present and future medical expenses, loss of earnings, loss of enjoyment, pain and suffering, and cost of property damage. Some judges may even award punitive damages if the injury is severe enough. The family of the victim may also be awarded compensation if there have been major changes in their lifestyle because of the injury.

Laws are going to vary from state to stay and may even be different within jurisdictions in the same state, so to say that a person will receive an award or not is something only a personal injury can tell you. By their very nature brain injuries are very complex issues and make proving negligence something that is sometimes difficult to prove except in cases of trauma. For that reason it is advisable to consult an Orlando brain injury lawyer who will take the facts you provide on the TBI and help you make a decision concerning liability and the feasibility of a potential personal injury case based on the evidence you supply.

Don’t think you’ll never be involved in a car accident because chances are no mater how good a driver you may be, you will have at least one accident during your lifetime. Whether it’s your fault or that of the other driver is irrelevant, but when it happens you want to know what you need to do. Even if it’s only a minor accident involving little or no property damage to your vehicle, you want to make sure you follow the proper steps in case something should show up later that you didn’t see at the time the accident occurred.

There are several steps that are important when you have a car accident even if there are no injuries. Failure to adhere to some of the procedures may result in the suspension of your license. It’s important to follow each step so that you will be covered in the event the accident is your fault or the other driver attempts to blame it on you.

Stop

As soon as you get into an accident you want to stop even if you caused the accident. Failure to do so will cause you to face charges of hit and run or leaving the scene of an accident, especially if the other driver is injured. Even if it isn’t your fault, you can get into serious trouble if you leave.

Check for Injuries

Immediately after the accident check yourself and your passengers for injuries as well as the person or people in the other car or cars. Checking the damage to your car is secondary to checking for injuries, and if there are any immediately call for an ambulance.

Call the Police

There are several circumstances under which you will need to call the police, especially if the accident is serious or it is a hit and run. Most insurance companies require a police report in order to cover the damage. Serious accidents may also require police intervention even if there is no personal injury but it is blocking traffic or there is debris in the road. Of course, any time there is personal injury the police need to be on the scene to take a statement.

Document Damage

If you have a camera with you, take pictures of the damage. If you don’t have a camera available (even a camera phone will do) write down extensive details about the damage. You want to include what damage was done to both your vehicle and the other one in the accident.

Contact your Insurance Company

Immediately after the accident contact your insurance carrier to file a report. If there was personal injury or the damage exceeds your state’s level you must report the accident to the DMV as well. Failure to do so could cause you to lose your license.

Because of their size, riders are more likely to be injured than someone traveling in a car. One of the reasons is the added protection of the metal surrounding the car as opposed to the open air of the motorcycle ride. In addition, many accidents are caused because there is a lack of respect for motorcyclists. Whether that is the result of some drivers thinking they are “bigger and better” or whether they equate motorcycle riders with the motorcycle gang is difficult to say. Of course, some motorcyclists must take some liability because they often cut off cars because they know they can because of their size.

Because of their lack of protection, motorcyclists are more vulnerable to catastrophic and fatal injuries than other motor vehicles. This worsens because of the number of riders who fail to wear helmets and other protective clothing that would make them less vulnerable to injuries in an accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration motorcycle riders are 32 times more likely to die from injuries than are those riding in cars and trucks. In addition, the majority of motorcycle riders involved in accidents suffer back, head, and neck injuries that often are serious.

If you are involved in a motorcycle accident, you want to have someone available to collect important information for you if you are unable to do so. It is not advisable to speak to any law enforcement personnel except for those officers investigating the accident, and you should not speak to the other party’s insurance company if you are planning to hire an attorney. Remember there is likely to be some question about who was really at fault since motorcycles seem to have a bad name about car and truck drivers, so be prepared to prove that it was the other driver’s fault.

If you plan to obtain an attorney, make sure you choose a personal injury attorney that is familiar with litigating in cases involving motorcycles. Keep in mind that more serious injuries are usually involved with motorcycle accidents, so you want to go to the hospital and be thoroughly checked even if you think your injuries are minor. There are statutes of limitations in all states, so you don’t want to find out later that what you thought was just a back strain is more serious than that.

When a motorcycle accident is the fault of the driver of the car or truck, there is likely to be extensive property damage in addition to serious personal injury to the motorcycle driver and/or rider such as back, neck and head injury depending on the severity of the accident. Gathering as much information as possible will allow your attorney to proceed with the personal injury case smoother and obtain a settlement for you quicker. In many cases if you have your facts together and there is no doubt the liability lies on the driver of the other vehicle, your attorney can obtain a quick out of court settlement for you, at least to cover the immediate costs of medical care and lost wages.

Slip and fall accidents are the most common accidents but yet they are also the most difficult in which to prove liability. With injuries that can range from a simple sprained ankle to that of a spinal cord injury, it can certainly be the traumatic incident for the victim. In fact slip and fall accidents are the leading cause of serious injuries among older Americans who tend to suffer more so than younger people with stronger bones and the ability to recover.

Premises liability is the law that was designed to place liability for falls onto the building owner. The problem lies in the fact that it’s still difficult to prove liability unless one has a witness or photograph. For instance, if a customer trips and falls over something in an aisle of the store, and the store manager claims there was room for the customer to walk around the obstruction or that it had been removed, it is the victim’s responsibility to prove otherwise. Most all personal injury cases are difficult to prove, but slips and falls are more so.

Each state also has a statue of limitations for filing a claim for personal injury. If you think someone’s negligence caused you to fall, you have to make certain to file your claim within the time frame of the law. Some states require that you notify property owners within thirty to ninety days following the slip and fall incident, so it’s important you know the law that exists in the state where you experience the fall. Because each fall is unique, there are no specific laws to determine liability thus each case is evaluated on its own merits. Because of the inability to create any hard set of rules, the proof of negligence falls on the victim, and he or she must prove the property owner created an unsafe environment that caused the victim to fall.

|

At the time of the fall, you want to make sure you receive medical attention and that you record any events that surrounded the fall such as slippery floors, obstructions or anything else of importance. You also want to photograph or videotape the accident site as soon as possible even if it’s just video clips with your cell phone. Anything you can do to help prove liability is to your benefit and will help solidify your case when you contact your personal injury lawyer. The more facts you can provide, the more likely you will win your case.

Because of the “grey” area that surrounds slip and fall accidents, it’s essential for a victim not to attempt to collect any compensation on his or her own. Provide your attorney with all of the facts and any evidence you collected and let him contact the building owner or store manager to discuss your case and any compensation that may be due you. Make certain you collect all of your information within a short time frame so that there is no chance of the situation being corrected before you return to photograph and videotape the area of your fall.

One of the worst nightmares for most people is thinking about getting involved in an accident with a truck whether a tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler or other large commercial trucks. These lethal weapons dominate our roads and highways in larger numbers than at any time in the past, and the number of fatal accidents involving tracks has increased approximately ten per cent in the ten year period between 1992 and 2002. The figures may be even higher now but those are the last statistics available currently. In spite of the combined effort of trucking companies and legislators to address roadway safety with these giants, they continue to become involved in deadly accidents at an alarming rate. Unfortunately the passengers who share the road with these vehicles pay the price with their lives.

Although there are people who feel safe on the road with these trucks and would not hesitate to drive in between them, the statistics speak for themselves. Perhaps when you think of the number of hours they spend on the road, it doesn’t look bad; however, any accident is one too many. Some of the reasons that cause fatal accidents with large trucks include the following:

1. Driver error or fatigue

2. Intoxication

3. Loads that are excessively large and/or lack stability

4. Failure of the equipment

5. Driving carelessly

6. Disregarding inspection standards

7. Failure to adhere to traffic laws

8. Carrying dangerous or hazardous materials

9. Delivery deadlines that are unreasonable

Those victims who do survive trucking accidents usually do so with extensive property damage as well as serious back, neck, brain and/or spinal cord injuries that cause a complete change of the victim’s lifestyle and abilities.

According to statistics, every 16 minutes someone is killed or injured in a trucking accident, and transportation experts report that of all the accidents on the road, one out of nine involves a track. Traffic violations including speeding as well as driver fatigue are cited as the cause in more than 40 percent of fatal accidents that involve tractor trailers while people in passenger vehicles account of 98 percent of the fatalities in tractor trailer crashes. Twenty to forty percent of crashes involve driver fatigue.

In most cases of personal injury involving tractor trailers and other large trucks, you are not only going to obtain information from the driver for a potential personal injury case but also the trucking company or employer. Unlike crashes with other cars, when there is a truck involved, the employer or trucking company also must assume some level of responsibility for that driver. For instance, if the driver is speeding to meet a tight deadline or to make up time because of a traffic jam, the trucking company should assume responsibility and make certain the person to whom the goods are delivered understands the delay. This usually doesn’t happen, thus there is an increase in accidents as well as personal injury cases involving trucks and passenger vehicles.

If you are involved in an accident with a truck, make sure you have all of the information concerning the accident including the trucking company or employer. This is information you will need to provide to your personal injury attorney in the event the company is not willing to handle the case out of court. You still need your attorney so that you obtain everything to which you are entitled.