Boca Raton car accident lawyer

If you suffered a serious injury in a car crash, you’ve probably already incurred a pile of medical bills, car repair invoices, and other expenses. In many cases, hiring an attorney is necessary to help you recover full compensation.

The top-rated accident attorneys at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath are ready to help with your case. You don’t pay until we win – call (561) 655-1990 or send us a message now to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.

Steps to take after being in a crash

1. Check for injury

After being in a crash, the priority is your safety and the safety of your passenger(s). Check to see if you have any visible injuries, bleeding, sharp pain, or numbness. Ask your passengers if they suffered any injuries.

If anyone was injured, call 911 and wait for further instructions from emergency services personnel.

2. Get to safety

If possible, move yourself and your vehicle to the side of the road or a nearby parking lot. While getting out of a roadway is important, don’t go so far that you leave the scene of the accident.

If you can’t move your vehicle, do what you can to alert other drivers to your presence, such as turning on your hazards or headlights.

3. Call authorities

Call 911 and notify authorities of your location and any injuries, even those you consider to be minor. The responding officer will create an official police report about the crash. This document should include the other driver’s information, as well as the officer’s opinion of who was at fault.

4. Exchange insurance details with the other driver

Obtain the other driver’s name, contact information, driver’s license number, and insurance information. This will allow you to file a claim with their company should the other driver be found at fault.

When speaking to the other driver, do not apologize for the accident or the aftermath and do not admit any guilt. Though apologizing may seem like the appropriate and kind thing to do whenever there’s an accident or mistake, in this case, your apology may be used as or considered an admission of guilt, which could affect your right to compensation.

5. Gather evidence at the scene

Now that you’ve alerted police to the crash, it’s time to gather evidence for any possible insurance claims or car accident lawsuits. Try and photos of:

• The condition of your car
• Condition of the other driver’s car
• Fresh skid marks or other signs of potentially reckless driving
• Damaged property nearby, such as a fence or light pole

You should also take note of the time of day, weather conditions, and the intersection or area in which the crash occurred. Write down what you were doing when the crash happened and how it happened from your perspective. It’s best to get these details down while the information still is fresh in your mind, but it’s understandable if you are in shock and can’t recall much detail.

If there were any witnesses, try to get their names and contact information for future reference. Their testimonies may be needed during a car accident lawsuit to help prove fault.

6. Contact your insurance provider

Insurance providers often ask that you notify them as soon as you get into an accident. Some providers have a hard time limit in which you must file a claim, so it’s important to contact them as soon as you are able.

Additionally, your insurance provider can tell you what scene evidence they’ll need. If you contact them while still at the scene of the crash, you’ll have an easier time gathering any relevant evidence or data.

7. Contact a Boca Raton car accident lawyer

Once you’ve gone through the above steps, it’s time to reach out to an experienced Boca Raton car accident lawyer.

An experienced lawyer will fight for you and the compensation you deserve. It may not be immediately clear why you need an experienced car accident attorney on your side but it’s important to remember that every other party involved in the accident will be trying to prove that you do not need compensation.

Let the car accident lawyers at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath help you today.

Make sure you file a claim on time

According to Florida’s statute of limitations, all personal injury claims need to be filed within two years of the accident date in order to receive compensation.

This deadline is known as a “statute of limitations,” and it must be followed if you want to have a successful case.

Possible damages you can claim

“Damages” are the costs and expenses related to an accident. This means everything you’ve lost in the car accident, and we don’t just mean injuries and property.

There are two types of damages that can be awarded in Florida: economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages

Anything that has cost you money after a car accident can be included as economic damages. If you’ve received a bill or fee, make sure you keep those and any receipts from costs associated with the accident. This can include bills for:

• Emergency room visits
• Follow-up treatments
• Physical therapy
• Household services
• Medicine and pharmaceuticals
• Counseling sessions or therapy
• Travel costs
• Property damage for items destroyed in the crash (phone, laptop, etc.)
• Car repair costs
• Car replacement costs
• Lost wages for work missed due to being injured

Non-economic damages

Not all injuries leave scars. Non-economic damages compensate you for the intangible damages that arose from a car accident.

Types of non-economic damages may include:

• Disfigurement, scarring, or amputation
• Mental anguish, depression, or grief
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of quality of life
• Loss of consortium

We fight the insurance company to get you full compensation

This is a common question we get from potential clients, and the answer is, it greatly depends on the unique facts of your case. However, there are a few important factors to consider in determining how much compensation you may be entitled to:

• The insurance cap on the defendants’ policy. Every policy has a cap that their insurance will cover willingly. When the cap is hit or exceeded, you should contact a Boca Raton car accident lawyer to make sure they cover all of your damages.
• The severity of the accident and injuries. Obviously, when a car accident is especially severe, the injury cost will go up as well. If you had a parking lot accident, there probably won’t be more than a repair cost.
• Any change in the quality of life. We must consider if the victim is able to enjoy life the way they once did. Did an amputation leave a morning jogger depressed? Did a crushed hand leave a career writer unable to write as efficiently as she once did? Can a dad no longer coach his son’s soccer team due to nerve damage? We take all these facets of life into consideration.
• If injuries are permanent or lingering. If any of your injuries have little to no chance of fully recovering, the defendant has a responsibility to cover long-term care for those injuries.

How our Boca Raton car accident lawyers prove negligence

A top Florida car accident lawyer at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, lvey & Fronrath is here to help you from the moment that you get into an accident. We can help with on-scene investigations and gathering evidence to prove that the other driver acted negligently and that negligence directly caused your injury.

We will collect first-hand testimonies of people who witnessed the crash and police reports, gather pictures of medical injuries and property damage, as well as gather pay stubs to prove missed wages and work.

5 common car accident injuries in Boca Raton

Whiplash

When the head is thrown forward and back like a whip, this can cause an injury called whiplash. This overstretches the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your neck and shoulders, leaving you sore and tender for up to several weeks. Headaches, pain, limited mobility, and feeling dizzy are some of the side effects of whiplash.

Traumatic brain injuries

Some concussions are quick to heal, but more severe traumatic brain injuries can leave victims only partially functioning, with loss to major parts of communication, or even coma. Migraines, headaches, confusion, loss of speech, vertigo, and unexplained anger may all be side effects of a traumatic brain injury.

Broken bones

One of the most easily identifiable injuries in an accident is broken bones. But that is only for obvious injuries. Right after an accident, the shot of adrenaline you get can sometimes cover up pain and damage in your own body, with you finally feeling that pain a day or two after. Always listen to your body when something hurts and get X-rays to make sure nothing is worse than it seems.

Contusions & soft tissue damage

Bruising and radiating pain can cause much discomfort. Anytime a part of your body is struck, slammed against, or crushed against something else, it can cause contusions or soft tissue damage. Some damage is easy to heal, but sometimes a torn ligament or tendon can take ages to heal and may never heal back the way it was. Make sure you tell your doctor about any pain and follow their orders.

Neck and back injuries

In a serious car accident, the neck and back may be injured in a variety of ways. The reason neck and back injuries are so serious is they affect every other part of your body. When your back is hurt, you may not be able to walk, sit up, or even roll over without assistance. Take any neck and back pain seriously and listen to your doctor.

Cost of hiring a car accident lawyer

Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath operates on a contingency basis. This means you won’t owe us anything unless and until we win your case. We work on contingency because we know it’s the best way for clients to fully recover from their injury without having to worry about paying their legal counsel just yet. If you have any questions about contingency, don’t hesitate to call us.

Let our Boca Raton car accident lawyers help

A car accident can be devastating. Injuries, mental trauma, and quality of life can all cause a variety of challenges for your future. Make sure you contact a Boca Raton car accident lawyer as soon as you can to minimize your worries while you should be focusing on healing.

At Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, we understand that each client is a person, not just a case number. We are here to help you through this process of holding at-fault drivers accountable. Our goal is to ensure your injuries and costs are covered. Contact us today.