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Pursuing Florida Auto Accident Claims

If you are involved in a car crash in Florida and wish to file a claim against the person you believe responsible for the incident in a Florida court, you should make yourself aware of the basic laws the State of Florida employs in determining liability and awarding damages to plaintiffs.

Every individual operating a motor vehicle within Florida has a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of that motor vehicle. The burden of reasonable care makes drivers accountable for acts which they knew would likely result in personal or property injury and for acts which they should have known would likely result in personal or property injury. Florida state law identifies a driver's failure to use reasonable care as negligence. Negligence represents the first requirement for a successful lawsuit.

Once you have established the negligence of a party, you must show that their negligence caused the accident that resulted in your lawsuit. "Causation," in a legal sense, can be a complex issue, but suffice it to say that if the negligence of the party resulted in the injury to person or property for which you have sued, causation exists.

Finally, in order to maintain a suit as the result of an automobile accident, you must prove that you have suffered damages. Damages include economic injury, such as lost income or wages, medical and funeral expenses, lost support and services, and replacement value or repair costs of personal property damaged in the accident. In addition damages may include non-economic injuries such pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience as a result of bodily injury that result for the accident.

The State of Florida has a "No-Fault" law, which requires your auto insurer to pay for non-economic damages, regardless of who caused the accident. Florida enacted this law as a way to reduce auto-injury fraud, thereby keeping insurance costs down. Florida does have exceptions to the "No-Fault" law. You may collect non-economic damages from the at-fault party if you can establish that the bodily injury resulted in: 1) significant and permanent loss of important bodily function; 2) permanent injury; 3) significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement; or 3) death.

A court may reduce your damages, if the defendant can establish that actions on your part contributed to the accident. This principle, known as "comparative negligence," holds that a court can reduce your damage award by the percentage for which a jury found you responsible for the accident. For example, if you establish damages in the amount of $10,000, but the jury finds that your negligence constituted twenty percent of the reason the accident occurred, then your damage award would be reduced by twenty percent, to $8,000.

Florida law also allows the reduction of damage awards by any amounts you might have received from public or private insurance to compensate you for your losses. Under this rule, known as the "Collateral Source Rule," if you received $1,000 from your auto insurer to cover your medical expenses after an accident, a court may reduce your damage award, if it includes medical expenses, by $1,000.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

You should note that you may only file your suit within four years from the date of the accident. Florida law prohibits any suit filed after the four-year period. If you think that you might have a claim against another party as the result of a car accident, you should consult a qualified attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your suit is filed within the four-year period.

PARTIES YOU CAN SUE

Florida law allows you to sue not only the operator of the vehicle, but also the owner of the vehicle, or the employer of the operator of the vehicle, if the operator was acting in his capacity as an employee. Circumstances exist when you may not sue the owner of the vehicle. Florida courts have held that legal title to a car is not sufficient to establish ownership, but that the party must have control and authority of the automobile's use. In addition, an owner who is the long-term lessor of the automobile has immunity from suit. In those cases, you may sue the lessee, even if he or she was not operating the automobile at the time of the accident.

AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE

Florida law mandates a certain minimum automobile liability insurance coverage for all automobiles registered in the state. Depending on the terms of the individual policy, liability insurance typically covers the cost of property damage, including the cost of repair or replacement for any property damaged as the result of an accident. Liability insurance also pays medical bills and lost wages as a result of bodily injuries incurred in an accident.

Florida law requires that each car registered in the state have a minimum of $10,000 in insurance coverage for one person injured in an accident, and a minimum of $20,000 for all persons injured in an accident. In addition, Florida requires a minimum $10,000 in coverage for property damage. While Florida law also mandates $10,000 in coverage for when you are involved in an accident with an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver, you can waive this requirement through a written request to your insurer.

Beyond this compulsory insurance, you may wish to purchase additional insurance coverage. As the owner of an automobile, a court may hold you personally liable for any damages in excess of your insurance coverage for any accident your vehicle caused through negligent operation. Purchasing additional coverage could protect your personal assets in case of a suit.

Basic Reparations or Medical Payments Coverage, Collision Coverage, and Comprehensive Coverage are three types of additional, optional insurance coverage. Basic Reparations Coverage covers bodily injury and medical expenses of an at-fault driver who does not have medical insurance. Collision coverage pays for damages incurred by the at-fault driver in accidents involving collision. Finally, Comprehensive Coverage pays for damage to a vehicle not caused by collision, including damages caused by theft, vandalism, flood, fire, and explosion.