Car Accidents

In a car accident, you may suffer serious injuries. Most people do not have enough money saved up to take care of medical expenses or replace lost wages in case of missing time from work. If you suffer serious injuries in a car accident caused by someone else, you may be able to recover damages. It is important to consult a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer about your case. At the Gainza Law Group, our injury lawyers are here to represent victims of car, truck, and motorcycle accidents.

Florida is one of a few states that have no-fault car insurance, which means that you must first turn to your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage after being hurt in a Florida car accident. When the injuries are permanent or severe, you can sue the other driver in a lawsuit in civil court to recover damages. You will most likely need to establish the other driver's negligence, which means that you will need to show that it is more likely than not that the other driver owed you a duty of care, but their conduct breached the duty and caused your damages. A driver can breach the duty to use reasonable care in many ways, including by speeding, tailgating, drunk driving, weaving, failing to obey traffic signals or signs, failing to yield, or driving aggressively.

It can be helpful to a plaintiff when a defendant violates a law intended to protect the public, and the violation causes a crash. This allows a car accident attorney in Fort Lauderdale to provide strong proof of negligence. The attorney will need to show that the defendant violated a non-traffic penal statute intended to protect the public, and the violation caused the accident.

Sometimes a defendant will argue that the plaintiff contributed to causing the accident. In that case, the defendant will need to show that you failed to use reasonable care, thereby contributing to the accident. The jury will calculate damages, but it will also compare your fault to that of the defendant and assign a percentage of fault. Your damages will be reduced by an amount proportionate to your degree of fault. For example, if your damages were $500,000, but you are found to be 50% at fault and the defendant is 50% at fault, you can recover $250,000 from the defendant.

Damages that your Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney may be able to recover in a lawsuit include economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses are often documented and include items of loss such as medical bills, emergency and ambulance services bills, out-of-pocket costs, lost wages, and replacement services. Noneconomic losses include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, loss of consortium, and mental anguish. A plaintiff may be able to recover punitive damages in the case of a drunk driving accident, or when the other vehicle involved was driven by a truck driver working for a company that committed egregious misconduct in connection with FMCSA regulations. Punitive damages are awarded when there is clear and convincing evidence of a defendant's gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

Sometimes it is important to examine the circumstances of an accident more closely. There may be other contributing causes to an accident, such as a defectively designed or maintained road, negligent repairs, or a mechanical malfunction. Thus, there may be other parties whom your attorney can pursue for compensation.

If you are injured or a loved one is killed in a car accident in Fort Lauderdale, you should consult the Gainza Law Group. We provide dedicated legal representation to people in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties, as well as statewide. Our clients come from cities such as Pompano Beach, Miami, Hialeah, West Palm Beach, Coral Springs, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Sunrise, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Cape Coral, Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach. Call us at (954) 463-1210 or contact us through our online form.