Broward car accident attorney

Published on: August 14, 2020

Why Do You Need Collision Coverage on Your Car?

I am forced to have uncomfortable conversations regularly with clients and potential clients wherein I inform them that the party that caused their car accident does not have insurance, and that as a result, their chances of making a recovery for their damages is slim to none. An Insurance Research Council study, Uninsured Motorists, 2017 Edition, examined data collected from 14 insurers representing approximately 60 percent of the private passenger auto insurance market in 2015. The result was that Florida led the nation in uninsured drivers with 26.7%!

Collision coverage is the type of coverage that you purchase to protect your own car from property damage resulting from an accident, regardless of who is at fault. When another party is responsible for damaging your vehicle that party is supposed to address your damages. In fact, Florida requires that every driver on the road carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and at least $10,000 in Property Damage (PD) coverage. Property Damage coverage protects you in that it covers damage that you cause to the property of another. Due to Florida’s requirement that everyone carry PD coverage, many people with older vehicles that are owned outright (no financing) choose to remove collision from their policy in an effort to save money. Many people feel that they are safe drivers and will “self-insure” against damage they cause and hold someone else responsible should that person be at fault. This sounds like a great way to save money… in theory. In reality, it is a mistake that costs Florida drivers untold sums of money every year.

If a person hits your vehicle and they do not have any insurance coverage, your only remedy is to sue that person individually and obtain a judgment against them. A judgment is essentially just a piece of paper that says what you’re entitled to. Next comes executing that judgment and actually trying to collect money. This is where it gets ugly. This process can take many months and you could easily end up spending more than the cost of the repairs to your car in legal fees and costs alone. You might find yourself in a situation where your car is totaled and you are not in a position to purchase another vehicle.

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Published on: August 12, 2020

Property Damage Options When Involved in an Accident

By Dean Freeman

The first thing you feel after being in a car accident where no one got injured is relief that the accident was not worse than it was. Only then do the worries about finances start. How much will it cost to fix your car? Will you be able to get to your job while your car is being repaired, and if so, how much will you have to pay for alternative transportation, such as rideshare rides or a rental car? Do you have the money to pay your insurance deductible? How much will your car insurance premiums increase as a result of the accident? If you have to go to court, how much time and money will that cost? Your options for the most cost-effective way to pay for property damage vary according to the circumstances of the accident. Freeman Injury Law can help you choose the best course of action.

Florida Car Insurance Basics

Everyone who registers a vehicle in Florida must have two kinds of insurance. The first is Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance, which covers medical bills and injury-related lost income only; it does not pay for property damage. The other is property damage liability insurance, which pays for repairs to the other driver’s car if the accident is your fault. What do you do about repairing your own car, then? It depends.

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Published on: August 5, 2020

Florida Punishes Car Owners Who Fail to Carry Insurance – PIP Setoff

By Dean Freeman

You probably have some kind of car insurance, since the law requires it. However, oftentimes you may not know what your car insurance actually pays until it’s too late. After a car accident, you call your insurance company, they might ask you follow-up questions by mail or phone, and then a month or more later, one of the people involved in the accidentgets a check covering the some of their eleigible expenses. Just what are all those details that the insurance companies are working out before they decide how much to pay? Different types of car insurance pay for different things, and in some cases, they can even cancel each other out. If you are not sure if the amount that the insurance company offered you after your accident is correct, contact an attorneybefore you accept the settlement offer.

What is PIP Insurance?

All registered vehicle owners in Florida must carry PIP insurance, as well property damage liability insurance. PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection, which covers up to $10,000 of medical expenses and lost income when someone gets injured at an accident, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. In order to get PIP insurance to cover your accident-related expenses, you must seek medical treatment within 14 days of the accident. If a driver collides with a pedestrian or bicyclist who does not own a car (and therefore does not have PIP insurance), the driver’s PIP insurance might also pay the medical expenses and lost income of the pedestrian or bicyclist. If the drivers involved in the accident have additional optional car insurance, such as bodily injury or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, then the amount covered by PIP gets subtracted from what the other types of insurance must cover. This is called the PIP setoff.

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Published on: July 5, 2017

Venus Williams Allegedly at=Fault in Palm Beach Car Crash

By Dean Freeman

CBS Local Miami reports tennis legend Venus Williams is allegedly at-fault in a car accident that resulted in the death of a 78-year-old man. This fatal accident occurred at an intersection in Palm Beach Gardens. It’s important to bear in mind, however, that a final determination of fault may ultimately rest with the court. A police report is just the result of initial findings by a single investigator, and may even be subject to change as the investigation continues.

The accident report indicates that Williams was driving north when approaching an intersection and tried to make it through, but traffic in front of her caused her to slow down as she approached the intersection. As this was happening, the victim was headed west and entered the intersection. According to investigating officers, the victim had the right of way in that intersection and not Williams. Continue reading →

Published on: June 11, 2017

Litigation Multi-Victim Injuries in Orlando Car Accidents

By Dean Freeman

In the state of Florida, the law requires all drivers with Florida license plates (a car registered in the state of Florida) to have a car insurance liability policy. It is illegal to drive without insurance. It should be noted that while the law only requires cars registered in Florida to have insurance, every other state has its own insurance requirement, and a vehicle driven in Florida, but registered in another state must have insurance pursuant to their home state’s law, and failure to do so is illegal in Florida as well.

As for the amount of insurance you must carry, pursuant to the Florida laws, you must have no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) of at least $10,000 and $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) insurance for property damage to others (car, house, building) damaged in the accident. There is a per claim limit of $20,000 and a total combined single accident minimum of $30,000. Continue reading →

Published on: November 10, 2015

Wood v. Wood – Suing a Family Member After an Auto Accident

By Dean Freeman

Even with Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system, it’s common for those injured in a traffic accident to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver or other responsible parties. This occurs when damages and costs for injuries exceed a certain amount.

Occasionally, it becomes necessary for crash victims to take legal action against close friends, relatives or even spouses.

That whole notion strikes nerve with people, many of whom insist they don’t want to be in a court battle with someone they love. However, what’s important to keep in mind is these actions are truly not personal. Rather, taking this route is sometimes the only way a person who is injured can recover the necessary insurance benefits to which they are entitled. But individuals can’t sue an insurance company directly for an insured’s wrongdoing. Insurers are only added to the action later, once liability has been established. Continue reading →