As described by MedlinePlus, whiplash is a condition that impacts the use of your neck after exposure to abrupt force. Car accidents involving drivers who rear-end or otherwise collide with your vehicle at high speeds can result in passengers and drivers alike enduring varying degrees of whiplash.
Whiplash can cause significant pain when moving your neck daily, or it can resolve itself in a matter of days after your accident. Either way, should you suffer from this condition after another driver caused a car accident, you have the option to take legal action against that party.
Your potential avenues for compensation, when faced with temporary or permanent whiplash disability, include but are not limited to:
- The cost of medical expenses incurred to attend to your condition.
- Lost income and lost opportunities for employment.
- The cost of any medical aids you may need to go about your daily responsibilities.
- The cost of any property damaged in the accident, whether you repair or replace it.
You might also want to discuss potential non-economic damages with a Jacksonville whiplash lawyer to estimate the amount of the damages you seek in an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.
Ben Crump Law, PLLC, can work with you to break down your accident as it took place and identify the party you could hold liable for your losses. With this information in hand, you can choose your preferred method of fighting for compensation.
For a free case consultation, call the team at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, today at (844) 730-0233.
How a Jacksonville Whiplash Lawyer Can Help You Pursue Compensation
As mentioned, you have a few different avenues available to you if you wish to pursue compensation for your losses after suffering whiplash in a car accident. However, you need not go straight to court with your pursuit.
Instead, when you first bring your case forward, you will need to prove the following:
- The duty of care that the at-fault driver had toward you, as a driver on the road, at the time of your accident.
- How the at-fault driver violated that duty by negligently colliding with you.
- The injuries you suffered resulted from the accident they negligently caused.
The Question of Duty of Care
All drivers who take to the road owe the other drivers around them—and bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians, as well—a duty of care in accordance with Florida state statutes. This duty of care requires all drivers to take ordinary steps to ensure that they abide by street signs, stoplights, or other traffic signs and codes meant to preserve the safety of those around them.
To violate this duty of care, a driver can either deliberately violate a traffic law or negligently overlook them. Some of the most common situations that lead to whiplash include:
- Failure to merge appropriately on the highway
- Speeding
- The use of a cell phone behind the wheel of a car
- Other forms of distracted driving, including eating or drinking at the wheel
- Aggressive or reckless driving
- Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
You can work with a Jacksonville whiplash lawyer with Ben Crump Law, PLLC, to bring together evidence establishing how the at-fault driver caused your losses in a whiplash. Call our team today for assistance holding them responsible for your damages.
For a free legal consultation with a whiplash injury lawyer serving Jacksonville, call (844) 730-0233
How You Can Fight for Compensation
With the opportunity to pursue a case for compensation forward, you can take a few different paths forward.
First, under Florida’s “no-fault” insurance law, you must file an injury claim with your insurance company. As the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) explains, your personal injury protection (PIP) policy covers 80 percent of your medical bills up to $10,000, regardless of who caused your accident.
However, if your medical expenses exceed $10,000, or you suffer injuries that meet the threshold set by Florida Statutes § 627.737, you can consider other options.
For example, you can opt to draft a demand letter instead of filing a complaint to initiate a lawsuit. Demand letters work in similar ways to complaints, as they allow you to outline the identity of the party you want to hold liable for your losses, the evidence you have gathered to assert your claim, and how much you request in compensation. However, you deliver a demand letter to the party in question instead of to a court, as you would with a complaint.
In this way, demand letters allow you to negotiate a settlement without having to go to court, provided that the at-fault driver will negotiate with you. A Jacksonville whiplash lawyer can help you craft your demand letter while also representing you throughout your negotiations.
Jacksonville Whiplash Injury Lawyer Near Me (844) 730-0233
Bringing Forward a Complaint
If you would rather try your case before a judge and jury, you can forgo a demand letter in favor of a complaint. Complaints allow you to present the same information as demand letters; however, you would file a complaint to initiate a personal injury lawsuit.
To see your case brought before a court, you must file your lawsuit within the four-year statute of limitations outlined in Florida Statutes § 95.11 for personal injury suits based on negligence.
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You Can Discuss Your Case with a Jacksonville Whiplash Lawyer
If you or a loved one now suffer from whiplash because of another driver’s behavior on the road, you do not have to live with your condition without seeking justice and compensation. A Jacksonville whiplash lawyer with Ben Crump Law, PLLC, can help you build a civil case or craft a demand letter as you so choose, allowing you to fight for necessary compensation to ease your recovery.
For a free consultation with a team member, call (844) 730-0233 today.
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