Obtaining Compensation After a Car Crash in Florida
At the Brandon, Florida law office of D. Michael Elkins, P.A., I have over 20 years of experience in handling personal injury claims, including those arising out of auto accidents such as rear end collisions, head on collisions, intersection collisions, or accidents caused by drunk drivers, hit and run drivers and uninsured motorists. Call 813-699-4896 or contact me online to schedule a free initial consultation to learn how I might help you as your personal injury attorney.
My Approach to Your Auto Accident Case
Motor vehicle accidents can result in serious injuries such as whiplash, neck sprain, neck strain, back sprain, back strain, or other injuries to the neck and back such as herniated discs (sometimes called slipped discs or protruding discs), broken bones or fractures, closed head injuries, TMJ dysfunction, or even internal injuries. Simply because you are initially treated and then released from the emergency room does not mean that you have not sustained an injury since symptoms of an underlying injury may not show up for hours or days later. In general the emergency room will only x-ray parts of your body looking for traumatic injuries that require immediate treatment. The full extent of any injuries resulting from your accident may not be fully evident after you have later undergone more extensive diagnostic procedures such as an MRI.
At some point after your accident you may begin to feel neck pain and/or back pain but simply hope that it will go away. If it does not and you fail to seek additional medical care or an evaluation by a chiropractor or medical physician within a reasonable time, your ability to receive full compensation for your injuries may be affected since it may be more difficult to relate symptoms to your accident if there are long gaps between the date of your accident and whenever you first receive treatment. Simply undergoing a prompt chiropractic or medical evaluation shortly after your accident will take away any insurance company's arguments later that your symptoms were caused by something other than your automobile accident.
You might hesitate to seek a chiropractic or medical evaluation if you were already suffering from a pre-existing neck injury or back injury assuming that you are not entitled to seek any compensation following an accident due to having a pre-existing condition. Nothing could be further from the truth. The law does allow you to seek the recovery of monetary compensation if your auto accident caused an aggravation of a pre-existing injury. Who is in a better position to determine if any aggravation has occurred than the chiropractor or medical physician who was already treating you prior to your accident? In most cases you are entitled to seek treatment from any chiropractor or medical physician that you may choose.
If you are unsure which way to turn with regard to obtaining a further evaluation of your injuries, please contact me. I will fully explain your rights to receive compensation for the medical expenses and any lost wages that you incur, as well as your pain and suffering, including any resulting from an aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
Who Can Be Held Responsible For My Auto Accident?
Legal responsibility for an auto accident is dependent upon the facts of the particular case. In some instances, responsibility will rest solely upon the negligent driver of the automobile or truck who caused the accident and the owner of that vehicle. If the driver was operating the vehicle within the course and scope of his or her employment, their employer may also have legal responsibility for your automobile accident injury. Please contact me to discuss the particular facts of your auto accident.
Sadly, it is not uncommon for persons to be injured by the negligence of the driver of an automobile or truck who then flees the scene, never to be identified. Persons injured in such hit and run accidents may be entitled to seek recovery of their damages through what is known as an uninsured motorist claim. I have extensive experience in the handling of uninsured motorist claims as well as underinsured motorist claims, which are those where the negligent motorist had some insurance, but just not enough to fully compensate the injured party. Please contact me so that we can discuss your right to pursue an uninsured motorist claim or an underinsured motorist claim as a result of your auto accident.
Many people have uninsured motorist coverage under their policies but are unaware of it and simply assume that nothing can be done when they are injured by an uninsured driver. Please contact me and as your automobile accident attorney I will explain your rights to seek compensation in cases involving an uninsured motorist, even if you were a passenger in someone else's vehicle.
Whether you were injured while driving or as a passenger when someone else was driving, I will work hard to obtain the compensation you deserve. As a personal injury attorney I have experience representing persons injured in various types of accidents such as:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
Whether your accident involved a hit and run collision, a head-on collision, a rear-end collision, a multi-car accident on the interstate, or an underaged, an unlicensed, or drunk driver, it deserves a thorough evaluation by an experienced auto accident lawyer.
Perhaps your auto accident occurred while you were on the job and within the course and scope of your employment. While it is true that you may be entitled to the recovery of workers' compensation benefits for such an accident, the law also allows you to seek damages against the negligent driver and the owner of his or her vehicle, in addition to receiving benefits through workers' compensation. This can be an important avenue of recovery since damages for your pain and suffering cannot be recovered in a workers' compensation claim. If you are already represented by an attorney for your workers' compensation claim, please contact me or have your attorney contact me to discuss your rights to pursue a third party claim against the negligent driver and vehicle owner.
Who Will Pay My Medical Bills and Lost Wages From An Auto Accident?
In Florida, if you are the owner of a motor vehicle registered in Florida, you are required to obtain No-Fault automobile insurance coverage and your own No-Fault insurer has the primary responsibility for the payment of at least a portion of your initial medical bills and/or lost wages. Like most people, you may be surprised to learn that such is the case. One of the most common questions that I hear from clients is, "Why does my own insurer have to pay my bills if the accident was not my fault?" Please contact me and I will explain this confusing system to you as well as what types of damages can still be obtained from the party or parties responsible for your auto accident.
In addition, if you have group health insurance coverage available to you or are a member of an HMO, your insurer or HMO may also make payments toward your medical bills; however, in many cases they will not, claiming that your auto insurer has the primary responsibility for paying those bills. It is not uncommon for an injured person to be bombarded with paperwork while their insurers battle over which company will pay which bill. Please contact me so that I can assist you in getting through this paperwork nightmare as your auto accident attorney.
Even though you may have automobile insurance, group health insurance, be receiving workers' compensation benefits, or be a member of an HMO that is paying or that will pay your medical bills, this does not mean that a claim for damages cannot still be pursued against the negligent party or parties responsible for your automobile accident. Please contact me and I will explain your rights to seek full compensation for your auto accident injury as well as any responsibilities that you may have to reimburse your group health insurer, workers' compensation insurer or HMO if we are successful in obtaining compensation from the responsible parties.
Who Will Pay My Pain and Suffering Damages From An Auto Accident?
Unfortunately no group health insurance policy, HMO, or workers' compensation insurer will pay you for the pain and suffering that have or will experience in the future as a result of being involved in an automobile accident. As your auto accident lawyer, one of my jobs is to seek to recover damages for your pain and suffering from the parties who were responsible for your auto accident, whether they be the negligent motorist, the owner of his or her auto or truck, and/or his or her employer. Under some circumstances you may be entitled to obtain compensation for your pain and suffering through an uninsured motorist claim. Please contact me and I will advise you as to the various means that may be available for you to recover damages for the pain and suffering resulting from your auto accident and to make certain that your claim for pain and suffering damages is presented to all of the parties responsible for your auto accident.
In most auto accident cases, Florida law does not allow you to be compensated for pain and suffering unless you have sustained a permanent injury as a result of your auto accident. For many people this permanent injury may take the form of a permanent aggravation of a pre-existing injury. Whether a particular injury is a permanent one can usually only be determined after an opinion is obtained from your medical doctor or chiropractor. Please contact me so that we can discuss whether you may be entitled to seek the recovery of damages for pain and suffering from your auto accident injury.
Although the amount of damages recoverable for pain and suffering will be dependent upon the nature and extent of your injuries, this is an important element of damages in any auto accident claim, and in some cases, the damages recoverable for pain and suffering may be greater than the amounts recoverable for medical bills and lost wages. It is not uncommon for a negligent party or insurer to attempt to settle a case with an injured party who is not represented by an attorney by simply offering to pay for their medical bills and lost wages. Persons who accept such settlement offers without also requesting compensation for their pain and suffering may unknowingly be leaving money on the table. Please contact me to discuss the recovery of pain and suffering damages for your auto accident.
Filing A Personal Injury Lawsuit
As your personal injury lawyer I will negotiate with the insurance companies and keep you informed at every stage of your case. Most personal injury claims do get resolved through negotiation. When such is not possible, the only other alternative is to file a lawsuit. When such occurs you need an experienced personal injury attorney at your side to guide you through mediation and trial.
If you have been unsuccessful in resolving your personal injury claim yourself and are considering filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, contact me for a free consultation. Please prepare for your first meeting with me to discuss your personal injury claim by learning what to bring to your consultation.
My Experience on Both Sides of Personal Injury Cases
Representing the injured is all I do. My previous experience defending personal injury claims for insurance companies is an asset to my current personal injury clients. I know how the insurance companies evaluate accident claims such as yours and can thus plan and defend against their arguments as your personal injury lawyer because I know how they work.
Schedule a Free Initial Consultation
Call 813-699-4896 or contact me online to schedule a free consultation with an experienced eastern Hillsborough County personal injury lawyer. If I do not recover compensation for you, you will not pay an attorney's fee. I have flexible office hours and am available for weekend and evening appointments.
D. Michael Elkins, P.A.
1312 East Lumsden Road
Brandon, FL 33511
Toll Free: 866-986-4123 | Phone: 813-699-4896 | Fax: 813-567-1205
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At the law office of D. Michael Elkins, P.A., I represent clients throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County, Florida. My Brandon location makes my office especially convenient for those living or working in Eastern Hillsborough locations such as Brandon, Apollo Beach, Balm, Bloomingdale, Boyette, Dover, Durant, Fish Hawk, Fort Lonesome, Gibsonton, Lithia, Mango, Plant City, Progress Village, Riverview, Ruskin, Seffner, Sun City Center, Sydney, Thonotosassa, Valrico, Wauchula and Wimauma.