When you are in need of an aggressive Daytona Beach attorney to represent you, call an experienced attorney. Auto accidents are impossible to anticipate but can turn your entire life upside down. There are always careless drivers on the road who carry a risk of causing serious accidents, no matter how safe a driver you may be. Even if an accident is not your fault, you may be left with serious injuries and medical expenses or an insurance company that refuses to pay you the compensation you are entitled to.
Auto accidents can result in serious injuries or death. You may lose income as a result of being out of work, and you may not know when you can start working again. Additionally, you may be saddled with the responsibility of paying for repairs to your car. In the trying time after you’re involved in a car accident, the experienced car accident attorneys at Eberst Law in Daytona Beach can help.
Damages from a Car Accident
After a car accident, you are able to recover compensation for bodily harm caused by the crash, as well as compensation to repair your vehicle. The types of damages you can seek vary on a case-to-case basis. In general, they fall into a few broad categories:
- Vehicle damages, though the amount varies depending on the condition of your vehicle. If the vehicle is fixable, you can recover the cost of repairs as well as any rental car you use while it’s being fixed. If the vehicle is found to be a “total loss,” you can recover the current value of the vehicle pre-accident.
- Personal property, such as cell phones and purses, can be covered under damages as well, up to the current value of the item.
- Bodily injury damages are a broad category and can vary depending on the nature and severity of the injuries you sustained in the accident. They can cover medical bills directly resulting from the accident, like hospital stays, as well as long-term medical expenses from injury complications. They can also cover loss of earning potential (if your injuries keep you from working your current job), as well as the mental pain from the trauma of the accident. Finally, damages can also be sought for loss of consortium, though this is a very specific situation. These are recoverable by an injured person’s spouse and family and compensate for the loss of affection, emotional support, and companionship.
Common Injuries from Car Accidents
Common injuries from Daytona Beach car accidents include head and brain injuries, neck and back injuries, burn injuries, soft tissue injuries, spinal injuries, and broken bones.
Head and Brain Injuries
Concussions, traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, skull fractures, or lacerations deep enough to require plastic surgery to restore the face to a normal shape
Neck and Back Injuries
Whiplash, herniated discs, sprains, strains, or spinal cord injuries.
Burn Injuries
Burns are a nebulous injury type that can range from small and mild to large and disfiguring. Some are severe enough that they require skin grafts to fix.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Stretches or tears to muscles, tendons, or ligaments, often resulting in lingering pain.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can result in lifelong chronic pain or paralysis of limbs or entire sections of the body.
Broken Bones
The serious forces involved in some car accidents may break bones in ways that will require surgery to fix.
Common Types of Car Accidents
Car crashes can take a variety of forms based on a variety of factors, including the types of vehicles involved and the speeds they are traveling. The different types of crashes also cause variations in the types of injuries that are likely to occur.
Head-On Collisions
These crashes are often deadly due to the fact that they often occur at high speeds. They often result in brain and spine injuries, whiplash, broken bones, and even lost limbs.
Rear-End Crashes
Rear-end crashes most often result in whiplash and other types of head, neck, and back injuries.
Side Impact Accidents
These have a high variance in the type of injuries involved, as the injuries you suffer can be less severe if you’re on the opposite side of the vehicle where the impact occurs. Even so, there is still a risk of head and neck injuries, limb injuries, and soft tissue injuries.
SUV Rollover Crashes
With their higher-than-average center of gravity, SUVs are prone to rolling in a crash or from taking a corner too fast. These rollovers can result in broken bones, head injuries, and spinal cord injuries, with the risk increasing if the occupants aren’t buckled in.
Commercial Vehicle and Truck Crashes
These are often the most devastating crashes due to the sheer size and weight of semi-trucks. Personal vehicles are smaller than commercial trucks by a large margin, and the difference in size results in devastating injuries, including head injuries, broken or crushed bones, and severe burns.
Common Causes of Car Accidents
The majority of car accidents in the U.S. are caused by driver error. The core cause of a car accident is the most important step in determining who is at fault. However, other factors can directly cause or factor into car accidents and can affect the process of proving liability. Thorough investigations can help victims determine who to sue and assess their own liability in the accident, if any.
Drunk Driving
The most widely known type of driver error that contributes to fatal crashes is drunk driving. It is responsible for more fatal crashes than any other cause due to the lowering of inhibitions that comes with being intoxicated. Intoxication reduces reaction time and alertness, as well as inhibits vision and cognitive functions.
Distracted Driving
Though drunk driving remains a leading cause of accidents, distracted driving has become a close second in recent years, as indicated by studies into the practice. Most of the time, when we think of distracted driving, we think of cell phone use behind the wheel, but it can take a variety of other forms. These include using the radio or a GPS device, eating food while driving, or rubbernecking. Trying to handle other tasks at the wheel, even if they only take a few seconds, can distract you from a hazard you may otherwise avoid if you were being attentive.
Speeding
Some drivers, especially young ones, have overconfidence in their ability to handle their vehicles at high speeds. That confidence can extend into not adjusting speed for weather conditions such as rain, which requires much more careful handling of a vehicle than in clear conditions.
Fatigue
Studies have shown that fatigued driving can be just as impairing as driving drunk. Fatigue often plays a part in commercial vehicle accidents, as drivers may push themselves to stay awake at the wheel to meet deadlines.
Auto Defects
Faulty components within vehicles can result in malfunctions that lead to crashes. In accidents where this is the case, the manufacturer of the vehicle itself can have a product liability claim brought against them.
Poor Weather
While adverse driving conditions may seem like they absolve drivers of human error, this is not necessarily true. Drivers can be charged with negligence for failing to reduce speed or otherwise take the weather into account as they drive. In other cases, vehicle safety components may fail to function properly, which means the manufacturer can be held liable.
Steps to Take After a Daytona Beach Car Accident
After your car accident, there are a few steps that you should take. By following these steps, you can set your car accident case up for success.
- First and foremost, you should check to make sure that everyone involved is okay. If someone is unresponsive or in critical condition, contact 911. Once the ambulance arrives, they may evaluate you to see if you need to go to the hospital right away. If you’re free to stay at the scene, complete the following steps.
- Contact the local police and let them know that you were in an accident and where it occurred. They’ll send out officers to block off the road and file a report.
- Exchange information with the other involved parties. Don’t talk about the accident or fault. Make sure to get their name and insurance information.
- If there were any eyewitnesses, get their contact information as well. Encourage them to speak to an officer about what they saw.
- Take pictures and videos of the scene of the accident, the involved vehicles, and your injuries. You should also record a statement for yourself. That way, you won’t forget any important details later on.
- Once you’re done at the scene of the accident, you should immediately go to a medical facility for an evaluation. Even if you don’t think you’re injured, this is still vital. Some injuries, like internal bleeding or head trauma, don’t cause pain immediately. You may also be experiencing an adrenaline high, which often masks injury. If you fail to seek immediate medical treatment, the insurance company may choose to deny your claim.
- Before you speak to the insurance company, contact an experienced attorney to help you. By hiring an attorney early, you prevent yourself from accidentally damaging your case from the beginning.
Why Choose The Eberst Law Firm
The Eberst Law Firm has years of experience representing Daytona Beach car accident cases of all different types. We’ve won cases for those with minor injuries looking to recover a few thousand and for those with complex injuries that lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt. We love to receive high settlement offers, but we’re also not against taking cases to trial if that’s what needs to be done.
We work closely with local treatment centers and law enforcement, making it incredibly easy to receive your important documents, stay up to date on your treatment plan, and contact any witnesses for testimony. When you hire The Eberst Law Firm, you’re choosing to work with an attorney with local connections and the passion to get you the compensation you deserve.
Getting Compensation for a Daytona Beach Car Accident Caused by a Negligent Driver
No matter how minor the accident, everyone on the receiving end of a crash can benefit from having an experienced attorney on their side. Our team at Eberst Law in Daytona Beach can help you through the proceedings of seeking damages and get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us using our online form here, or call us at 772-225-4900. Our experienced Daytona Beach car accident attorney team is ready to help.
