South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
One of the most common types of car accidents is a rear-end car accident, which involves being hit from behind. Such accidents range from a “fender-bender” when someone doesn’t stop quickly enough at a stoplight to a very serious crash caused by a distracted driver in traffic. But even a small bump can cause a sudden jerk of your head or back that could seriously injure the very delicate and critical spinal cord.
Your spine houses and protects your nerves, which branch out to every part of your body, every organ, and every extremity. An injury to your spine can cause unexpected complications in unexpected locations in other parts of your body, so if you begin experiencing problems anywhere in your body shortly after an accident, do not discount them. They may be caused by the accident.
Common injuries from a rear-end car accident include:
- Whiplash from sudden jerking of the head forward and back – symptoms can include pain, stiffness, numbness in extremities, headaches, dizziness
- Head injuries, including traumatic brain injury (TBI); injury to the eyes, hearing, senses; mood changes, depression, confusion; difficulty swallowing; changes in sleep patterns
- Blunt trauma – from a seatbelt or an airbag, or from banging against something, which could cause broken bones or internal injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, leading to impairment or paralysis
Injuries from accidents not only upend your life as you cope with them and try to heal, but they also cause serious stress on your finances and relationships. You should not have to suffer financial loss due to someone else’s negligence, and you deserve compensation for the physical, emotional, and relational damages you have experienced.
Compensation for expenses, pain, and suffering
In Florida, the assumption is that the driver who hit you from behind is at fault. However, the other person’s insurance carrier is going to try to place some of the blame on you in order to have leverage in negotiation to decrease the settlement or the award (in the case of going to court). So it’s important that we are prepared for any and all arguments.
As your personal injury attorney, I will need to know everything that happened as you remember it and as any witnesses remember it. The types of information I need to know may include:
- What was the weather like at the time of the accident? Roads wet? Sun shining in the driver’s eyes? Sun coming from behind and making it difficult to see your brake lights lit up?
- Did you notice or have any reason to believe that the other driver was distracted or was impaired in some way?
- Did you stop suddenly or do something erratic just before the accident? Were you distracted?
Depending on the seriousness of the case or the allegations of distraction, we may need to subpoena phone records to determine if the other driver was texting at the time, looking at a maps app, or using the phone in any other way that could have caused distraction.
As stated, in Florida, the other driver is required to maintain a safe distance for road conditions and is automatically held at fault. But in order to ensure that you receive the best possible settlement or award, I will collect any and all evidence to demonstrate the degree of negligence on the part of the other driver.
Calculating the compensation for your expenses, pain, and suffering is a complex process that will require documentation of all your medical expenses, lost wages, evidence of damages (for instance, pictures of you before and after the accident), testimonies of witnesses including friends and family about the harm that has been caused by the other driver, and in some cases, experts who can determine future lost earnings and future medical expenses.
Do not make a financial settlement with any insurer before you talk to a personal injury attorney who knows how to determine the full value of what you deserve in compensation. As a Florida personal injury lawyer, I am committed to helping Florida residents throughout the state receive just and fair compensation to help them cope with the injuries they have sustained due to someone else’s negligence. Contact me at (954) 448-7288, 24/7, for a free consultation to see how I can help you.