West Palm Beach Car Accident Lawyer

The aftermath of a car accident can be extremely traumatizing for the victims or surviving loved ones. Along with physical injuries, car accident victims frequently suffer from lasting emotional distress and face financial hardship. Sadly, most car “accidents” are not random events but are the result of negligence. Knowing that the accident could have been prevented only adds to a victim’s suffering. If you were injured, or a loved one was killed, in a West Palm Beach car accident, the negligent party (or parties) may be legally required to compensate you for your injuries or loss.

At Demand the Limits, our West Palm Beach car accident lawyers are committed to helping victims and surviving family members who have suffered injuries or loss because of a car accident. We understand how difficult it can be to try and navigate the legal system while you are still recovering physically and emotionally from injuries sustained in a car accident. Instead of going it alone, let an experienced West Palm Beach car accident lawyer help you. Let us put our dedication, resources, and skills to work for you to ensure that the negligent party (or parties) is held to account, and you receive the compensation to which you are entitled for all your injuries or loss.

What Are Some Common Types of West Palm Beach Car Accidents?

The State of Florida consistently ranks at the top of the list for car accidents among the states. Nationwide there are 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.37 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Florida, however, averaged 17.1 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.72 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. In West Palm Beach County, there were almost 25,000 motor vehicle crashes in 2022. Those accidents caused over 15,000 injuries and resulted in 223 deaths. Figures released each year by the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV) indicate that both the number of crashes and the number of lives lost to motor vehicle accidents have steadily increased for the last several years. Common types of car accidents include:

• Single-vehicle accidents
• Intersection accidents
• Rollover crashes
• Highway accidents
• Rear-end accidents
• T-bone collisions
• Chain reaction crashes

What Causes a West Palm Beach Car Accident?

Most of the time, a West Palm Beach car accident is not a true accident. Instead, car accidents typically happen because of negligence on the part of at least one driver, meaning that the accident was preventable. In fact, for a victim to be entitled to recover compensation for injuries sustained in a car accident, the victim must be able to prove that the defendant’s negligence caused or contributed to the collision. Some of the most common examples of negligence in a West Palm Beach car accident include:

• Speeding. Year after year, one in three car accidents are caused, at least in part, by a motorist speeding, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
• Drowsy Driving. The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that one in 25 adults admit to falling asleep while driving within the previous 30 days, resulting in an estimated 6,400 deaths nationwide each year.
• Distracted Driving. Along with texting or talking on a cell phone, things such as eating, interacting with passengers, or even daydreaming can cause a motorist to be distracted while driving, causing someone to be killed every three hours, on average, throughout the United States.
• Impaired Driving. A motorist driving while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medications kills someone, on average, every hour across the nation.

What Kind of Injuries Might I Sustain in a West Palm Beach Car Accident?

Numerous factors will influence the type and severity of the injuries sustained in a car accident, including the speed of the vehicles, the type of vehicles involved, the presence or absence of safety measures, and victim characteristics such as age and pre-existing health conditions. Some common injuries you might experience in a car accident include:

• Whiplash
• Soft tissue injuries
• Brain injuries, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Internal bleeding and organ damage
• Fractured bones
• Cuts and lacerations
• Muscle, ligament, and tendon strains
• Spinal cord injuries up to, and including, severing of the cord, causing paralysis.
• Psychological trauma, including depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

How Does Compensation Work in a West Palm Beach Car Accident?

If you were involved in a car accident, you may be struggling with physical injuries, emotional trauma, lost income, and damage to your vehicle. If another party was at fault, in whole or in part, for the crash, that party may be legally obligated to compensate you for your injuries and damages. First, however, you need to understand how Florida’s no-fault insurance law impacts your situation.

In the State of Florida, all motorists are required to carry a minimum amount of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance coverage. Anytime an accident occurs, all involved motorists must first turn to their respective insurance carriers without regard to who was at fault in the collision. Therefore, if you were injured in a car accident, your own PIP coverage will cover up to $10,000 in medical expenses. To move out of the no-fault system and pursue a traditional personal injury lawsuit against a negligent driver you must meet the “serious injury threshold” by showing that you (or a fatally injured loved one) suffered any of the following because of the accident:

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability.
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
• Death.

If you can overcome the serious injury threshold, the compensation you might receive in a car accident lawsuit includes both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages compensate you for expenses related to things such as hospital, doctor, and rehabilitation costs as well as for the cost of repairing your vehicle and lost wages. Non-economic damages are intended to compensate you for the psychological impact of a car accident and include things such as mental anguish, emotional distress, and disfigurement.

If you lost a parent or child who was fatally injured in a West Palm Beach car accident, you may be eligible for compensation for the loss of companionship, lost financial support, emotional suffering, and other damages in a Florida wrongful death lawsuit.

Only an experienced West Palm Beach car accident lawyer can evaluate the facts and circumstances related to your accident and injuries to provide you with an idea of the value of your case; however, some factors that typically impact the value of a car accident include:

• The type of physical injuries you sustained.
• The severity of your physical injuries.
• Whether the defendant was wholly or partially at fault.
• Your ability to prove emotional trauma and other non-economic damages.
• The defendant’s insurance policy limits and overall ability to pay damages.

Get Help from an Experienced West Palm Beach Car Accident Lawyer

To ensure that the at-fault party in your West Palm Beach car accident is held accountable, you need an experienced attorney on your side. Our car accident lawyers are committed to making sure that victims and surviving loved ones receive the maximum compensation available. Let a West Palm Beach car accident lawyer help you by:

• Making sure you receive the medical treatment you need.
• Investigating the circumstances and cause of the car accident.
• Locating evidence to support your claim.
• Determining the value of your claim.
• Ensuring that documents are submitted on time.
• Filing a lawsuit within the relevant statute of limitations.
• Negotiating the best possible settlement.
• Litigating your lawsuit in court if a settlement is not reached.

At Demand the Limits, we know how to handle car accident cases. Our experienced West Palm Beach car accident lawyers have extensive experience with all types of motor vehicle accident cases. We fight hard to defend the legal rights of all West Palm Beach injury victims. Call (561) 600-3555 or contact us online to schedule your free case evaluation. Don’t delay – the sooner you have an attorney fighting for you, the better protected your legal rights will be.