Miami Car Accident Lawyer

A car accident can change your life in an instant. After getting into a collision, you’re suddenly dealing with physical injuries, hefty medical bills, future medical care, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses. Fortunately, you might be able to receive financial awards to cover them. But where will that money come from? That’s where Freidin Brown, P.A. comes in.

At Freidin Brown, P.A., your Miami car accident lawyer will help ensure you receive all the financial compensation to which you are entitled. Personal injury work is the focus of our legal practice – and we represent scores of car accident victims in the Miami area.

Hire a Car Accident Injury Team That Has Helped Miami Car Accident Victims for Nearly 50 Years

We have been holding negligent parties accountable for the accidents they cause for nearly 50 years. We take our clients’ recoveries seriously, ensuring they receive the care they deserve while we work diligently to get them the compensation they deserve. We know the challenges of healing after an accident, so we take on the legal battle of recovering damages while our clients focus on taking care of themselves. No matter what kind of motor vehicle collision you were in, we can help.

We also will represent you with no upfront charges or fees. Our Miami personal injury attorneys work on contingency. You don’t pay us a single dime unless we recover compensation for you. Don’t let cost keep you from exploring your legal options and protecting your rights to hold careless and reckless parties responsible for the harm they caused. You can take action now; we are ready to work for you.

Recoverable Compensation in a Miami Car Accident Case

In legal terms, your financial losses after a car accident are called “damages.” In Florida, personal injury law states that you can get compensatory damages to make you “whole” again, which means returning you to the financial status you enjoyed before the motor vehicle accident. Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic items.

Economic damages you may be entitled to recover after an accident include:

• Vehicle repair and car rental expenses
• Lost income due to time off work
• Medical care that insurance doesn’t cover

You could also recover non-economic damages awarded for pain and suffering and other intangible losses. In some cases, a car accident victim may receive punitive damages. This is a financial award beyond the amount necessary to make the victim “whole” financially.

The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the driver who caused the accident. Punitive damages may be available in car crash cases involving drunk driving. Your attorney will look at all damages in your case and determine the ones you can pursue from the liable party.

Wrongful Death Damages in a Miami Car Accident

Tragically, not every car accident victim will survive their injuries. If your loved one suffered fatal car accident injuries, we offer our sincere condolences for your loss. We know this is a challenging time for you and your family. If someone else caused the accident, we can help you take legal action against the at-fault party. Wrongful death damages could help you cover losses, such as:

• Your loved one’s medical bills
• Funeral arrangements and burial expenses
• Loss of the decedent’s income
• Loss of companionship, parental guidance, and instruction

Our Miami wrongful death attorney can help you and your family navigate the legal process. Florida law designates which family members are eligible for these damages and who can file the action. We can cover everything you need to know during a free consultation.

How Our Attorneys Can Represent You Throughout Your Miami Car Accident Case

There is no substitute for consulting a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer after a car accident. Your lawyer can explain your legal rights and build a strong case. However, every law firm and car accident victim’s needs differ. We encourage you to learn more about Freidin Brown, P.A. and our Miami car accident lawyers’ successes on behalf of individuals and families who have suffered a serious personal injury or wrongful death in a car accident.

When you become our client, you are part of our family. We will study your case and develop a personalized strategy tailored to maximize the outcome. We will lead your case from start to finish and take your case to trial if that’s the way we need to go. When Freidin Brown, P.A. handles your legal matter, we will use every resource we have to recover compensation for you. We have everything we need, including:

• The small firm advantage with big firm resources
• A Miami-based law firm that has won 20-plus verdicts over $1 million
• Trial-tested attorneys who have tried 300 cases in front of a jury, including cases that involve personal injury and medical negligence issues
• Carefully selected attorneys who have 100 years of combined personal injury law experience
• Two board-certified civil trial attorneys who know what it takes to win court cases

We have recovered millions for our Miami-area clients, including a $1,075,000 settlement for a client after their loved one died when his car ran off the road and hit a negligently planted tree in a median.

We will also do the following in your case:

• Investigate the Miami auto collision to determine what took place
• Identify all potentially liable parties that may owe you damages
• Collect and review all accident evidence so we can establish your case
• Assess your economic and non-economic damages to determine how much compensation to pursue
• Represent you in all legal proceedings and handle case communications for you
• Negotiate for a settlement that compensates you for your accident losses
• Protect your right to sue with a lawsuit if we cannot settle your case outside of court
• Represent you in court and fight for your monetary award at trial
• Update you on your case and promptly answer your questions

Our team of accident lawyers has experience with all types of car accidents, including:

• Bridge & Overpass Accidents
• Car Accident Liability
• Dangerous Roadway Accidents
• Distracted Driving Accidents
• Drunk Driving Accidents
• Fatal Car Accidents
• Head-On Collisions
• Rear-End Collisions
• Uninsured Motorist Accidents

What Should You Do If You Have Been Injured in a Car Accident?

After a motor vehicle accident, who will pay for your property damage and medical expenses? What happens if you are permanently incapacitated? What should you say to your insurance company? Should you get a second medical opinion? If you have been injured in an accident, we can help answer your questions and recover compensation for your losses.

How Is Fault Proven in Car Accident Cases?

Basically, every car accident is the same from a legal perspective. The accident victim receives compensation first from his or her personal injury protection (PIP) policy and then from the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. However, the percentage of financial compensation the accident victim receives will be determined by their level of fault.

For example, if the cost to the accident victim outside of PIP payments is $10,000, and it is determined that they were 80 percent responsible for causing the accident, then the car accident victim may recover $2,000 from the other driver’s insurance company. How your Miami personal injury lawyer goes about proving fault will depend greatly on the type of accident.

Miami, FL, Car Accident FAQs

The following are questions that clients frequently ask our Miami car accident lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A.

I Was Involved in an Accident Here in Miami, But I Live in Another State. Can I Sue?

Yes, you can sue in Miami-Dade County, where the accident happened, even if you are from another state or country.

What Should I Say to the Insurance Companies After an Accident?

You will need to report your accident to your own car insurance company. What you say, however, can make a difference in your case. Report the facts, but do not editorialize on what happened. State that an accident occurred, give your information and the other driver’s information, and answer all questions with facts. Do not discuss fault.

If the other driver’s insurance company contacts you, decline to give a statement. Let them know that your lawyer will contact them. Also, if a lawyer or anyone else on a lawyer’s behalf approaches you at the hospital or your home, calls you, or sends you a letter to have you sign up as a client, be sure to ask them to leave. It is unethical for a lawyer to reach out to you directly after your accident.

Who’s At Fault for My Accident?

This is one of the most important questions to ask in any car accident case, and while it may be difficult to answer without the individual facts and circumstances about your wreck, there are some basic concepts you should understand when it comes to fault and liability. Generally, victims of auto accidents have the right to hold the at-fault party who caused their accident accountable for their negligence and financially liable for the damages they caused.

Proving fault and liability, however, is dependent on what happened in your case. In some circumstances, the at-fault party may be another driver whose negligence (e.g., speeding, traffic violation, or even intoxication) caused your crash. In others, commercial companies (including those who own and operate commercial trucks) or manufacturers of defective products (such as faulty tires) could be held liable for your damages.

Determining fault and liability is a case-by-case matter, one that demands the attention of proven lawyers. Remember, just because you allege a driver or another party is at fault for your accident does not mean you’ll receive fair compensation. Defendants and their insurance providers often fight accident claims aggressively, raise disputes about who’s at fault, and do all they can to pay as little as possible. Having a lawyer by your side can ensure you have the resources to handle these issues as they arise.

How Can I Protect My Rights After a Car Accident?

After any type of auto accident, there are many steps you can take to protect your health, the safety of others, and your legal rights should you pursue a personal injury claim against the at-fault party later. A few important steps you can take to do so include:

• Calling emergency services to request medical assistance, if needed, and have a police officer respond to the accident scene. A law enforcement officer can gather information about what happened in your crash for use in a police report, which can serve as important evidence in any personal injury case you file later.
• Collecting as much information as you can at the scene. This information can include contact and insurance details from all involved parties, names and numbers of witnesses, driver’s license information, and vehicle information such as license plate numbers.
• Taking photos of the scene of the accident from multiple angles, if possible. You can take photos of the position of the vehicles, nearby traffic signs or signals, damage to vehicles, visible injuries, and other factors you may feel are important to understanding what happened. 
• Taking time to write down or record all you can remember about what happened in your accident as soon as possible while the details are still fresh.

While these steps are important, many victims simply don’t remember them or can’t address them in the wake of serious collisions. Ultimately, one of the most effective ways to protect your rights is to work with lawyers who can help you take the appropriate steps moving forward, communicate with insurance companies on your behalf, and begin working on your claim for compensation.

Can I Afford a Miami Car Accident Lawyer?

If you are concerned about finances and being able to afford a personal injury lawyer to help with your car accident case, you should know that most injury lawyers – including our legal team at Freidin Brown, P.A. – take personal injury cases on contingency fees.

This fee arrangement means that you do not pay upfront fees to hire a lawyer. You will never owe us anything out of your pocket, and if no recovery is made in your case, there are no fees. Our team can explain how our contingency fees and agreements work during an initial consultation.

How Much Is My Miami Car Accident Case Worth?

It is simply not possible, nor ethical, to affix any monetary sum to an accident case in its initial stages. That’s because car accidents are case-specific matters and because the full scope of victims’ damages must be known before any negotiations or speculations about value can take place.

Generally, victims of preventable auto accidents have the right to recover the economic and non-economic damages they incurred because of the wreck and their resulting injuries. These damages can include, among others, past and future expenses for medical treatment, lost income from missing work, reduced earning potential caused by disabilities or impairment, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional injuries.

Should I Accept the Insurance Company’s Settlement Offer?

In most cases, an insurance company’s first offer to you is not its best. Insurance companies train their adjusters to lowball settlements to protect their companies’ bottom lines.

Before you accept an insurance company’s settlement offer, discuss your case with a lawyer. It will not cost you anything to sit down with us to review your options — our initial consultations are free, and we handle each case on a contingency fee basis. This means that you will not owe us lawyer’s fees unless we recover money for you.

I Have Only Minor Injuries. Do I Need to Go to the Doctor?

Yes. Even minor injuries can be signs of issues in the future (such as soft tissue injuries). In fact, it is common for injuries to appear weeks after an accident has occurred. No matter how you feel, visit the doctor and discuss all of the aches and pains that have appeared since your accident.

I Don’t Think I Can Work. How Will I Pay My Bills?

If your injury prevents you from working, your personal injury settlement or verdict should include compensation for a percentage of your lost income.

It Has Been a While Since My Accident. Can I Still File a Lawsuit?

You have a limited amount of time to file your car accident lawsuit. This time limit is called the “statute of limitations.” In Florida, you have two years to bring an injury case.

If the accident caused a death, the statute of limitations is also two years (Florida Statutes § 95.11 (4)(d)). It is important, however, that you take action as soon as possible. Evidence does not last forever, especially in car accident cases, and the sooner you have a lawyer working for you, the better.

Call Us Today: Our Miami Car Accident Lawyers Offer a Complimentary Initial Consultation

At Freidin Brown, P.A., our Miami car accident lawyers have over 100 years of combined courtroom experience, and we are known in the Miami and South Florida legal community to aggressively advocate for our clients. We encourage you to learn more about our law firm and lawyers and to contact us if you have questions or need legal help after a serious car accident.

We encourage you to set up a free and private consultation with one of our car accident lawyers. To make an appointment at one of our offices, call us today. We have offices in Florida and Fort Myers, and our contingency fee policy guarantees you’ll owe us nothing until we reach a favorable verdict or settlement on your behalf. To put it another way: if we don’t win, you don’t pay.