Filing a car accident injury claim in Miami, FL can seem to be a complicated process. Car accident claims in Florida are controlled and regulated by some of the strongest and most sophisticated of laws, designed to make it very difficult for people who are injured to receive significant compensation for pain and suffering and other damages.
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The most formidable hurdle injured claimants must clear is Florida’s requirement that they prove they have sustained a permanent injury as a result of the accident. Most people who consult with our Miami personal injury lawyers about their car accidents are completely unaware of this legal requirement, and it seems as if Florida’s Legislature wants to keep it this way.
Just take a look at where the law is actually found. Section 627.737 of the Florida Statutes requires that anyone seeking monetary payments from a car accident for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience must prove the following:
(a) Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
(b) Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or
disfigurement.
(c) Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
(d) Death.
Is this statute located in the hundreds of pages of laws in the Torts Chapter? No, rather it is buried deep in the chapter on “Insurance Rates and Contracts.” I can’t imagine the average person reads Florida’s Statutes, but as a lawyer who routinely investigates and prosecutes car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents in Florida, it is significant to me how and where the law is written.
How Florida’s Permanency Law Works:
Since the law requires “permanency” for one to be entitled to money for pain and suffering (note that the law does not require that permanency be proved for the reasonable reimbursement of money for medical expenses and lost wages), lawyers for injured victims routinely battle–often for years on a given case–against insurance defense lawyers on whether or not the plaintiff has sustained a “permanent injury.”
Both sides will employ expensive expert witnesses who will express certain opinions, and if the parties are unable to come to an agreement or settlement, the issue will be presented to a jury.
The evidentiary battle starts with what kind of health care provider the injured party is first seen by, as well as the documented complaints, the kinds of diagnostic tests administered, and their results. The process can often be quite technical, and it requires an experienced personal injury lawyer to decipher and understand the nuances of different test results; for instance, a CT Scan and an MRI show different things.
Contact an Experienced Car Accident Injury Attorney
Our car accident injury law firm has investigated innumerable incidents and successfully represented thousands of people who have been hurt in car, motorcycle, truck, and pedestrian accidents across the State of Florida since 1991. We advocate aggressively for our clients and will fight hard to earn them the compensation they deserve for lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and inconvenience. If you have been injured in a traffic accident, we are ready to help.
Call our office today for a free and confidential initial consultation at 1-866-597-4529, or reach us by email at [email protected], SKYPE, or FaceTime. We are available 24/7 to consult with you. We recommend that you speak to an attorney before speaking to the insurance company or legal representatives of any potential defendant.
