If you get into a car accident in Sanibel, you need to know what right you have to defend yourself and how to fight for post-accident financial support.
Car accident lawyers in Sanibel can help you use the tools available to you to recover from a car accident. You can meet with Viles & Beckman, LLC, to discuss how to file a car accident claim and what to expect should Florida civil courts move your case forward.
You Can Claim Negligence After a Car Accident
The rights afforded to car accident victims in Sanibel stem from negligence. When you get on the road, every driver, pedestrian, and tourist around you owes you a duty of care. You owe that same duty to them.
Should anyone around you violate that duty of care and cause a car accident, you can claim that their negligence resulted in your losses.
Expect More, Receive More: Legal Support That Feels Like Family
Why You Should File a Civil Car Accident Claim
Pursuing a civil car accident claim allows you to do more than seek justice for losses incurred due to someone else’s negligence. The process also gives you the opportunity to secure compensation for your losses.
Specifically, your complaint can include an estimate of your accident’s value. If you can argue that negligence caused your losses, the at-fault party may be responsible for helping you financially recover from your accident.
What’s more, your claim allows you to control how you request this financial support. Depending on your circumstances and comfort level, you can either pursue car accident settlement negotiations or go to court.
Consider Meeting with a Car Accident Attorney in Sanibel
Meeting with an attorney after a car accident can feel intimidating. The process doesn’t have to be, though. When you schedule a consultation with a Viles & Beckman car accident attorney, you can attend your first session free of charge.
During that session, we can discuss the nature of your accident and what legal options you may have available to you. You can bring a long list of questions to your first car accident case consultation, including:
- Who can I hold responsible for my car accident?
- How long does it take to file a car accident claim?
- What does the average car accident settlement look like?
- Do I need to go to trial?
These initial meetings can help you find your footing and establish an action plan that can make your recovery more straightforward. Our Sanibel car accident attorneys consider your case with compassion and have no problem presenting complicated elements of the law in a straightforward fashion.
Sanibel
Car Accident
Lawyer Near Me
(239) 334-3933
The Information You Need to File a Civil Car Accident Claim
The complaint you bring to a court’s attention needs to be thorough if it’s going to move beyond a county clerk’s desk. With that in mind, make sure you include the following information – and evidence thereof – in your final car accident claim:
Car Accident Fault in Sanibel
A car accident claim isn’t complete without an addressee. You need to use evidence to determine who on the road bears fault for your car accident. Your complaint can then name that party, present evidence of their negligence, and demand they help you recover.
It’s easy to blame another motorist for a Sanibel car accident. Tourists who don’t understand the roads or drivers who behave recklessly all put you in harm’s way. Other parties that might cause your accident, however, can include:
- Truck drivers
- Construction crews
- Professional motorists
- Motorcyclists
- Pedestrians
- Bicyclists
- Shop owners
- Government officials
This is why you need to look at the evidence tied to your accident – video footage, photo footage, and bystander testimony, for example – before you name one person responsible for your losses. Our team can look at the story your evidence tells and make sure you hold the right person accountable for your car accident.
The Value of Your Car Accident Case
Our team establishes the value of your car accident case by assessing the economic and non-economic losses someone else’s negligence forced upon you. For example, your car accident in Sanibel may result in:
- Severe injuries that require medical attention and at-home care
- Property damage
- Lost time at work
We can take the bills generated by these losses, add them together, and establish the sum of your case’s economic losses. Our attorneys can then further modify your total to account for your non-economic losses.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic car accident losses may not generate bills, but they do impact how you live your daily life. Your car accident’s non-economic losses might include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Stress and/or PTSD
- Loss of companionship or consortium
- Wrongful death
We create value for these losses by using state-approved multipliers to modify the sum total of your car accident’s value. You can learn more about your car accident claim’s specific value during an initial case consultation with the Viles & Beckman team.
Your Car Accident Case’s Deadline
Once you’ve assigned car accident liability and provided evidence to value your case, it’s time to bring your lawsuit forward. Your car accident complaint needs to make it onto the desk of a country clerk within four years of your accident, as stated by Florida Statutes §95.11.
Filing your complaint within this time period allows bystanders and related witnesses to better retain information regarding your losses. It is within this time period that Florida courts consider your car accident case relevant to ongoing proceedings. Trying to file a claim outside of this deadline may see your right to financial support waived without consideration.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Take Legal Action After a Sanibel Car Accident
Car accidents in Sanibel are no joke. Whether you’re injured on the bridge or on one of the nearby highways, you need someone to defend your interests. Viles & Beckman, LLC, brings our decades of experience to your case and can help you advocate for your right to a settlement on your terms.
You have questions, and we have answers. To learn more about how you can work with a Sanibel car accident lawyer to address your losses, schedule a case consultation with our team. You can book time with our attorneys by calling our office or requesting a meeting through our online contact form.
Call or text (239) 334-3933 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form