How Common Are Accidents in Palm Harbor, FL?

Palm Harbor is best known for beaches and golf. It’s home to roughly 68,000 people, but that doesn’t truly reflect the city’s population. Thousands more pour into the town to visit every year to dine, soak up the sun, and hit the links. For that reason, it’s not surprising that Palm Harbor has fairly busy roads. Traffic can be problematic, and that inevitably leads to auto accidents.

How Do I Know If I Have a Personal Injury Case?

Personal injury claims arise when one person (the plaintiff) suffers an injury through little-to-no fault of their own. Rather, the actions of a third person (the defendant) create circumstances that put the plaintiff in harm’s way. Most personal injury cases are based on negligence. Negligence means that the defendant owed you a duty of care, but breached it in some way. As a direct and proximate result, you have suffered injuries.

What is My Personal Injury Case Worth?

Every case is different. Accident scenarios and victims are never exactly the same. So, it’s hard to say what your case is worth without considering the following: - The type of injuries you’ve sustained, and how serious they are - How much medical care and treatment you’ll require- now and in the future - How your injury affects your ability to work and provide for yourself and your family - If personal property was damaged in your accident, and to what degree - How the trauma of the accident and your resulting injuries affect your ability to participate in and enjoy your life

What Are Economic Damages?

Economic damages are awarded to compensate a victim for the verifiable financial costs of an accident. This can include awards for both current out-of-pock costs and projected future expenses and/or losses.

What Are Non-Economic Damages?

Non-economic damages are awarded to compensate a victim for consequences of an accident that aren’t easily valued in terms of money. These consequences don’t necessarily come with a price tag or generate an invoice. Rather, these damages are awarded for fallout that is very personal and subjective.

What Are Punitive Damages?

Punitive damages – which are also known as exemplary damages – are separate and distinct from other awards. These are reserved for the sole purpose of punishing the defendant for their conduct. In fact, punitive damages can only be awarded when there is clear and convincing evidence of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.

Palm Harbor Car Accident Lawyer

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Were you hurt in a car accident near Palm Harbor, FL? Contact an experienced Palm Harbor car accident lawyer at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers to see how we can help you recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

Since 1996, our legal team has fought hard to hold negligent parties responsible for their actions. With over $100 million in compensation recovered to date, our Board Certified civil law specialists have the proven experience you need on your side.

It’s important to act quickly after an accident. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can maximize your financial recovery, contact or call our law offices to schedule a free consultation today at (727) 787-2500.

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How Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in Palm Harbor, FL

Car accidents happen every day. Despite this, they don’t happen to you every day. You know that the insurance company will compensate you for some expenses–but what, exactly, do you deserve after a car accident?

The insurance company is counting on the fact that you don’t know what your case is worth. They’ll try to scare you into taking less than you need. An experienced Palm Harbor personal injury lawyer at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers can help.

When you hire our team, we will:

Track down the evidence needed to support your injury claim, including accident reports, eyewitnesses, cell phone records, and even video footage
Work with experts to demand fair compensation for past and future costs
Step in to defend you when the insurance company tries to blame you
Use more than 75 years of combined legal experience to negotiate the highest settlement possible

Most car accident cases settle out of court. At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, our Palm Harbor personal injury attorneys are respected trial lawyers. We’re not afraid to take your case before a judge and jury if the insurance company won’t play fair.

To learn more about our comprehensive and aggressive approach, call our law group to schedule a free case review.

How Common Are Car Accidents in Pinellas County, FL?

Crash data collected by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) shows that in 2020, there were 14,307 motor vehicle accidents in Pinellas County. 8,409 people were injured and 115 were killed in that year alone.

That’s more than 23 injuries every single day–and one death every three days or so. That’s significant – especially in a year when traffic was at a low thanks to a worldwide pandemic.

Still, this data shows a decrease in traffic-related injuries from 2019, when about 10,404 people were hurt in Pinellas County car wrecks and 2018, when 10,751 people were hurt.

What is My Palm Harbor Car Accident Case Worth?

National Safety Council research shows that the average financial cost of a car accident injury is around $28,500. That number jumps to $98,400 for disabling injuries and $1,704,000 for fatal injuries.

In reality, the value of every car accident case is different–and those numbers only account for actual financial costs. At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we’ll carefully evaluate your case with the help of experts to estimate the amount of compensation you deserve.

Factors we’ll evaluate include:

The nature and severity of your injury
How much work you miss
Whether you’ll fully recover from your injuries
Whether you’ll be able to work in the same capacity
The emotional trauma of the accident and the pain caused by your medical treatment

Insurance companies like to rely on formulas. Our legal team takes a more personal approach. We’ll work closely with you so that we can understand how the crash has impacted your life over the long-term.

What Types of Damages Are Available to Car Accident Victims?

When you’re hurt in a car accident, you’re bound to incur some expenses. Those costs can be financial, physical, or emotional. If someone else caused the crash, you’re entitled to demand compensation.

Compensatory damages that are available for personal injury victims are grouped into two basic categories: economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages include money for:

Medical bills, including emergency room costs, hospitalization, medications, and more
Past and future lost wages
Future medical expenses
Reduced earning capacity
Rehabilitation
Property damage

Non-economic damages compensate accident victims for things like:

At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we work closely with respected experts and specialists to make sure you get the full range of compensation available in your case. We’ll fight to get money to cover your past expenses, but we also put in the work needed to get compensation designed to compensate for future losses.

Can I Recover Damages If I’m Being Blamed for a Car Accident in Florida?

You can still recover damages under Florida’s modified comparative fault laws if you were partly to blame — but only if your portion of responsibility is 50% or less. Here’s how the shared responsibility rules work in Florida. Every party to the accident is assigned a percentage of fault. Each party is then responsible for their respective percentage of the damages.

When you are allocated blame, your damages will be reduced to reflect your proportionate responsibility. If you’re assigned 30% of the blame, your damages will be reduced by 30%. However, if you’re assigned 51% or more of the blame, you cannot receive any compensation for your damages.

So, it’s important to avoid accepting any blame right away. Even if you think you might have done something wrong, it’s possible that someone else also shared fault for the accident.

We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Car Accident Injuries

At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, our personal injury attorneys represent all victims of car accidents in Palm Harbor, including those who have suffered:

If you were seriously hurt, you deserve to have a lawyer with specialized experience on your side. At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, our law firm is exclusively dedicated to helping personal injury and wrongful death victims.

We’re here to protect your legal rights when you need help the most. All you have to do is call to get started.

What Causes Most Car Accidents in Palm Harbor, Florida?

No two auto accidents are ever exactly the same. With thousands of vehicles on the Florida roads, any number of factors can combine to cause an accident. Identifying the exact cause of the accident can be tricky, but it’s also necessary to find out who’s responsible for your damages.

Some of the most common causes of car accidents include:

Distracted driving
Failure to yield the right-of-way
Passing too closely
Speeding
Aggressive driving
Illegal lane changes
Illegal or unsafe turns
Running a red light or stop sign
Drunk driving
Drowsy driving
Hazardous road conditions
Poor weather

At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we have the skills to find out exactly what caused your accident. With over 75 years of experience on your side, you can rest assured that your case is in good hands.

If you’re having a hard time proving what caused your accident, give us a call today. We’d be happy to sit down with you to discuss your case for free.

How Do I Prove Negligence After a Car Accident in Florida?

Although there are many things that can cause a car crash, most accident cases come down to simple negligence. In other words, a driver did something careless and caused an accident.

Negligence is the most common legal grounds for recovering compensation after a motor vehicle accident.

To prove negligence, you have to show:

The defendant owed you a duty of care
The defendant’s actions were careless, so breached that duty of care
The careless actions caused your accident
You suffered physical, financial, or emotional damages

All Florida drivers have a duty to exercise reasonable caution when they get behind the wheel. Speeding, texting while driving, and violating traffic laws all violate this duty of care. But you have to prove it.

At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we always conduct a detailed investigation into what happened. We know the types of evidence courts take seriously–and we know how to locate that proof.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Car Accident in Florida?

Under Florida law, car accident victims usually have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court. That clock starts running on the day of the accident.

The deadline historically provided four years to file a civil lawsuit after an accident. However, it changed on March 24, 2023, giving less time to take legal action. If your Palm Harbor crash occurred after that date, you must file your lawsuit within two years.

The statute of limitations applies even if you were seriously injured in the crash. If you miss the deadline, you’ll also lose out on your right to compensation. Because of this, it’s always a good idea to talk with an experienced car accident attorney soon after your accident.

Contact a Palm Harbor Car Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation

At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we know how overwhelming an accident can be. You don’t have to deal with the aftermath on your own. If you were hurt in the Tampa Bay area, call an experienced Palm Harbor car accident lawyer for a free consultation if you were hurt. We’ll take the time to explain your options and develop a strategy for recovering the fair compensation you need.