Ten Things To Do In Case Of An Automobile Accident
STOP AND ASSIST THE INJURED. Florida law requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident to immediately stop at the scene. You should make sure you do not block traffic any more than necessary. If the accident involved an unattended vehicle or other property, you should attempt to locate the owner. If you cannot find the owner, then you are required to leave a conspicuous note, giving your name, address and vehicle registration number. If the accident involved an attended vehicle or property, both drivers must stop at or close to the scene, without obstructing traffic any more than is absolutely necessary.
Your first responsibility in the event of an accident with an occupied car or property is to find out if anyone is hurt. If someone is seriously injured, get an ambulance, rescue squad, or doctor immediately. You are required to provide the injured person all reasonable assistance, including attempting to obtain treatment for the injured or transportation to a doctor or hospital. However, you should not attempt to provide treatment for injuries yourself unless you are trained in first aid. Even with good intentions, you may make the injury worse if you do not know what you are doing.
NOTIFY AUTHORITIES AND PROTECT THE SCENE. All accidents do not require police notification. Only accidents involving injury to or death of any person or damage in excess of $500 require police notification. All other accidents (minor and major as defined by the Statute) do not have to be reported to the police as long as the drivers exchange information or notice is given to an unattended vehicle or property of the cause of the damage.
Written reports of accidents have to be made to the Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles within ten (10) days after an accident which results in bodily injury to, or death of, any person or property to any vehicle or other property of an apparent amount of at least $500, unless an investigating police officer has made a written report having been notified of such accident.
After an accident, the cars should be left where they came to rest unless they are blocking traffic. While it is important to protect the accident scene, obstructing traffic can delay the arrival of police or emergency vehicles or even cause another accident. For this reason, it is essential that you carefully note the positions of any vehicles involved in the accident that are obstructing traffic - and then move them. The use of flares, flashlights, or your car’s four-way flashers can help provide warning to other drivers of the accident scene.
PROVIDE REQUIRED INFORMATION. You are required by law to provide the other driver in an accident with your name, address and vehicle registration number, and to let the driver see your license. You are entitled to the same. Always ask to see a driver’s license, and copy down the number as well as his/her name and address. You are also required to provide the investigating officer with whatever information is needed to determine the cause of the accident. The statements you make to the officer alone to assist the investigation are privileged. If you are charged or sued, they cannot be used against you in court.
DO NOT COMMENT. With the exception of your exchange of required information, and your statement to the investigating officer, you should not comment further on the accident. Keep your notes and opinions to yourself. Do no admit to the other driver or any other witnesses that you were wrong or careless. Such admissions, made in the tension and excitement of the moment, may be accurate, but they could turn out to be costly. There is time to admit responsibility after the facts are all in if they clearly show you were wrong. If the accident was a serious one, you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible before arriving at any agreements with anyone, and before making any admissions. A plea of guilty to a traffic charge may sometimes be used against you in a lawsuit to establish your civil liability for damages.
OBTAIN WITNESSES AND TAKE NOTES. Get the names and addresses of all the witnesses you can. Attempt to have them write down, or at least state to you, what they know, at the scene. Keep a pencil and pad in your car so that you will be able to make necessary notes.
Sketch a diagram of the scene, pace off distances, and note skid marks, broken glass, positions of the cars, and locations of damage. If you have a camera with you, take photos of the scene. Try to clarify what happened in your own mind while events are still fresh. Write down all you have noted as you will forget a great many details in a short period of time.
WHEN TO LEAVE. After you have assisted the injured, obtained identification from the other driver, provided your own name, address and identification, gotten the names of witnesses, studied the scene so that you know what happened to cause the accident, and assisted the investigating officer, you are free to go. You should ask the officer’s permission to leave prior to doing so.
SEE A DOCTOR. Serious injuries do not always produce immediate symptoms. It would be wise to have your doctor examine you as soon as possible even if you are uncertain if you sustained an injury.
UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS UNDER FLORIDA’S NO-FAULT INSURANCE LAWS. Everyone who lives in Florida, or who operates a motor vehicle here for over ninety (90) days per year, must have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. Florida’s PIP insurance is also known as "No-Fault Insurance". This insurance will potentially reimburse expenses up to $10,000. A primary feature of "No Fault" insurance is that each drivers insurance company will pay for their own insured’s medical expenses and lost wages REGARDLESS of which driver was at fault! Hence, the name ‘no-fault’ insurance.
Pursuant to Florida’s ‘no-fault’ scheme, your insurance company will pay 80% of all reasonable expenses for necessary medical care and treatment. Your insurance company will also pay 60% of any loss of gross income or loss of earning capacity. They will also pay all expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining replacement services that, but for the injury, the injured person would have performed for the benefit of the household. Please note that just because you or your doctor feel expenses are related to the accident, that does not guarantee payment.
When an injury claim is filed under a no-fault insurance policy, the company must send you a "bill of rights" - a state approved form explaining precisely what benefits you are entitled to and how quickly the company must pay them. The law provides interest on covered PIP benefits not timely paid. It also provides for fines to be assessed against PIP insurers by the Department of Insurance for failure to pay benefits within the prescribed time.
If you are also entitled to receive similar benefits from a major medical or disability insurance policy, Medicare, military pension benefits, or other sources, you should ask you auto insurance company about a policy which will provide a deduction to allow for such other payments. The rates on such a policy may be significantly cheaper than standard policy rates. Since most other insurance policies protect the company against double payments for the same expenses, you may not lose any benefits with the larger deductible.
Check your coverages carefully and review your policies with legal counsel.
OPTIONAL INSURANCE COVERAGES. You may also purchase insurance to cover damage to your auto, auto liability insurance, medical payments coverage and uninsured motorist coverage.
Auto liability insurance may be very important to you. It protects those who are "insureds" from legal liability for bodily injury or property damage to others caused by auto accidents. Further, the insurer agrees to defend insureds against all liability claims for which coverage is afforded. Please note that if you do not purchase enough coverage, you may be personally held responsible for damages that exceed your policy limits. Purchasing auto liability is the most common way of complying with the Florida Financial Responsibility Law.
Medical payments coverage will pay the balance of any accident related medical expenses not covered by the basic ‘no fault’ coverage. Normally the uncovered balance is simply the 20% left after the basic ‘no fault’ pays the required 80%. Medical payments coverage can only be used to supplement and pay for medical expenses not paid by the basic ‘no fault’ policy. It does not provide any additional benefit or payment for uncovered wage loss or replacement services.
Uninsured motorist protection should be seriously considered and may be one of the best bargains in auto insurance. In effect, you are establishing insurance coverage for those situations in which the other at fault driver is uninsured or insufficiently insured. If you, or someone else under your policy, was seriously injured, a claim could be made against your own carrier for all damages recognized by the laws of Florida. These damages would include any recoverable damages not paid by your own ‘no fault’ coverage, and not fully covered by the at fault drivers liability coverages.
SELECT YOUR OWN LAWYER. Do not allow anyone to rush you into a settlement. You may be entitled to significantly more, or conversely, you may not be obligated to pay as much. By consulting a lawyer, you will safeguard your own rights. Contrary to what many lay persons may believe, not all lawyers are equally competent to evaluate and handle an automobile accident case.
While all lawyers are allowed to advertise, only certified lawyers are allowed to identify themselfs as "Florida Bar Board Certified" or as "Specialist". Board Certification is the highest level of recognition by the Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in the areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.
Board Certified lawyers in civil trial law deal with litigation of civil controversies (including automobile accidents) before State and Federal Courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. In addition to actual pretrial and trial process, civil trial law includes evaluating, handing and resolving civil controversies prior to the initiation of suit.
Every Board Certified civil trial lawyer has practiced law for at least five years and has been substantially involved (30% or more) in the area of civil trial law during the three years preceding application. To be certified, the lawyer is required to have conducted at least fifteen contested civil cases in courts of general jurisdiction during the lawyer’s practice, including cases before a jury and as lead counsel.
Each Certified lawyer must have also passed peer review, completed fifty hours of continuing legal education within the three years preceding application, and passed a written examination demonstrating knowledge, skills and proficiency in the field of civil trial law to justify the representation of special competence. In Florida, only approximately 3% of all licensed lawyers have met the strict criterion to be designated Civil Trial Specialists by The Florida Bar.
Gregory S. Hansen has been continuously recognized by The Florida Bar as a Civil Trial Specialist since 1993.
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