Port St. Lucie Car Accident Lawyer

Get Full Compensation Compensation For Your Car Wreck Injuries

With a well-kept local streets and highway system, Port Saint Lucie offers some of Florida’s most efficient roadways. Although there may be some congestion during peak hours, if you plan your trip wisely, traffic is typically quite manageable. Additionally, the city boasts an effective public transit system that reduces traffic problems. The regional administration has also put in place a variety of efforts to ease traffic and lessen bottlenecks in the city. Overall, Port Saint Lucie has good roads and reasonable traffic.

When accidents happen, Port St. Lucie residents trust Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney to help them recover full and fair compensation. Mr. DeBerard was voted the Best Personal Injury Attorney on the Treasure Coast by TCPalm, having won injury compensation on behalf of thousands of Floridians. The DeBerard firm has been standing up to insurance companies and defense lawyers for over 40 years. We know how to handle injury claims to get the best possible results for our clients.

If you or a family member has been injured in a car accident in Port St. Lucie, call Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney. Your consultation is free, and you won’t have to pay us lawyer fees until we obtain a recovery for you.

What Compensation You May Be Entitled To In A Car Accident Claim

A car crash can greatly disrupt your life, with painful physical injuries, missed work, and piling medical bills. Often, car accident victims don’t even realize the full extent of their losses, and they end up accepting settlements that are far lower than they deserve. Worse, many injured claimants are denied their compensation completely because their insurance companies are well-equipped and highly experienced in rejecting claims.

Your injury claim could be worth more than you know. Here are some types of damages you may be entitled to in a car accident case:

• Past and future medical costs – These can include everything from emergency bills, treatment procedures and surgeries, medication, doctors’ fees, long-term care, and supporting devices like walkers and wheelchairs. The costs vary depending on the kind of injury and its severity. It could be cuts, scrapes, or burns, or it could be as serious as a traumatic brain injury or a spine injury that needs surgical operation.

• Lost income and reduced ability to earn – Florida law entitles injured victims to claim damages for their missed wages or earnings. Ideally, this compensation should be enough to financially sustain the injured individual and their family while the person is unable to work. It should also accommodate any loss in income due to the person’s reduced capacity to work.

• Pain and suffering – Accidents don’t just cause physical injuries, but immense pain and mental anguish, too. Many injured victims also suffer a form of psychological distress such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression. The law recognizes this. You may be entitled not just to medical and financial damages, but to these less tangible non-economic damages as well.

• Accessibility needs – If your accident has resulted in a permanent disability requiring accessibility options, you have the right to claim for these as well. We can assess the compensation you deserve for adjustments such as ramps, stairlifts, home renovations, and vehicle hand controls. We have successful experience obtaining this compensation for clients with severe injuries to the spine, neck, leg, and more.

Speak with Attorney DeBerard about the maximum financial recovery you are entitled to. We will leave no stone unturned in assessing the full impact of your injury, be it medical, physical, emotional, or financial. With Mr. DeBerard’s experience and skill, we can fight for the compensation you deserve, protecting your claim from insurers and lawyers who will try to undermine it.

At the DeBerard firm, you get high-quality legal service with family-like treatment while you’re getting back on track from your injury. Our hardworking attorneys will thoroughly gather evidence, strategize with you, build compelling arguments, and represent you in insurance negotiations and even in court if needed. At the same time, our entire team will assist you with your post-accident needs, communicate with you regularly, and help ensure you’re getting the care you need.

The DeBerard team is known for its genuine concern for clients. We consider each client our family, so we strive hard to get them their full compensation and post-injury care. We can do this for you, too. Call us today for your free initial consultation

Car Accident Statistics: Port St. Lucie, Florida

Florida unfortunately gets a large number of vehicle crashes each year. The Sunshine State has a motor vehicle fatality rate of 14.65, higher than the US national average of 11.45. In 2019 alone, Florida saw 3,185 fatalities and 236,753 injuries from traffic crashes, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV).

St. Lucie County in particular has its fair share of these casualties. In fact, accident numbers in the county have been rising recently. Take a look at these crash figures in St. Lucie County:

• 5,550 total crashes in 2021, increased from 4,713 crashes in 2020
• 50 crash fatalities in 2021, increased from 49 deaths in 2020
• 3,303 crash injuries in 2021, increased from 2,657 in 2020.

Each of these accidents result in incredible costs for the victims and their families. Fatal crashes mean not just the tragic loss of life but also an economic loss of about $1,750,000 for each bereaved family. Meanwhile, a non-fatal injury from a car crash can cost from $29,200 to upwards of $100,000 on average, according to the National Safety Council.

A motorist’s typical insurance policy is often not enough to cover these costs. Florida requires a minimum personal injury protection (PIP) coverage of only $10,000. Even when you consider other insurance policies that might pay for your injuries, you’d still have to account for co-pays, deductibles, and non-covered expenses.

This is why a third-party insurance claim is a sound option for accident victims with substantial losses. A third-party claim means you are seeking compensation from the party who caused your injuries, instead of your own PIP insurance company.

Filing a Port St. Lucie Accident Claim: Florida Laws on Accident Liability and Negligence

To pursue compensation from the at-fault driver, you’ll need to file a personal injury claim against their bodily injury liability policy. This will require you to prove that your injury is serious enough to warrant a claim. What counts as a “serious injury” in Florida? According to Florida Statutes section 627.737, these are the types of injuries that meet the threshold:

• Permanent and significant loss of an important bodily function
• Permanent and significant scarring or disfigurement
• Permanent injury other than disfigurement or scarring
• Death (in accident claims pursued by survivors).

Besides proving your serious injury, you must also establish that the person you’re claiming against was responsible for the crash and is thus liable to pay for your injuries. In car accident claims, we do this by showing that the person was negligent – that is, they had a duty to practice “ordinary care” on the road but failed to do so. Some common examples of negligence are speeding, drunk-driving, running a stop sign, and disobeying rules of the road.

Some forms of negligence are clearly provable, such as if the driver who hit you had an excessive blood alcohol level at the time of the crash. However, negligence is not always as apparent. In many intersection crashes, rear-end collisions, and multi-vehicle pile-ups, the fault is not immediately clear and drivers have a chance to dispute their liability.

In addition, Florida accident law follows the comparative negligence principle. Under this principle, your compensation could be reduced if it was found that you were also negligent and partially at fault for the accident. Insurance companies and defense lawyers will take advantage of this rule if they can find any reason to put some blame on you.

With these laws in place, it’s easy to see that a competent lawyer is important for your Port St. Lucie car accident claim. Your personal injury attorney should:

• Work with medical and healthcare providers to prove the severity of your injuries
• Investigate and gather evidence to establish fault in the accident
• Build robust arguments against every possible defense that the at-fault party may use
• Take care of the paperwork and legal procedures
• Navigate the Florida personal injury system to find the best outcome for you.

We do all these and more at the DeBerard law firm. Not only do we pour our legal skills into your case, we also tap into our network of physicians, specialists, and accident experts to bolster your claim. You’ll have an excellent team working your case and keeping you in the loop, so you don’t have to be anxious about how your claim is going. When you entrust your case to DeBerard, you can rest easy and focus on recovering, knowing your claim is in capable hands.

Contact Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney in Port St. Lucie Today

With a successful track record in personal injury and a sincere heart for Floridians, Attorney Philip DeBerard is Port St. Lucie’s highly trusted car accident lawyer. Reach out to the DeBerard law firm for your car accident claim. Your first consultation with us is free, and we won’t charge you legal fees unless and until we win a recovery on your behalf. Call us today at 800-299-8878.