Miami is known for its vibrant nightlife, multicultural atmosphere, and picturesque beaches, but it’s also famous for a less pleasant aspect of popular cities: very busy streets. The city is one of the most populous metro regions in the Southern United States, and that’s apparent in the number of vehicles on its major roads at any given time — including I-95.
I-95 is a highway that begins in Miami and travels along the entire Florida Atlantic coast. The highway experiences a significant number of accidents, especially during rush-hour traffic. If you’ve been in one of these collisions and suffered serious injuries, hiring a car accident lawyer can be the best next step to take.
Is Florida an At-Fault or No-Fault State?
Florida is a no-fault state for traffic accidents. The way this system works is that every driver with a vehicle registered in the state has to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance.
According to Florida Statutes § 627.7407, you can file a claim against your insurance to recuperate some basic medical expenses and lost wages if you’re in a crash. You don’t have to demonstrate anyone else was at fault for the accident, and you can recover losses even if you were the person who caused the car accident.
Your PIP insurance is often enough if you suffer minor injuries that don’t require surgeries or rehabilitative care, but what if the collision is severe? In that case, you’ll need to step outside of no-fault laws to hold the person who caused the accident responsible. You can do this by filing a claim against this party.
How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help for a Crash in Miami
If you suffered serious injuries and you’re filing a fault-based claim against the responsible party, contacting a car accident lawyer is essential for several reasons.
Prove Negligence
A vital part of your claim is demonstrating that the other party’s negligence led to your losses. In theory, proving negligence means showing that the other party owed you a responsibility that they breached, leading to your injuries. It can be challenging to prove all of these elements, however.
Your lawyer can gather evidence to show that the other party breached their duty of care. For example, if the other driver was intoxicated and that led to the accident, your lawyer could get evidence of their blood alcohol concentration level at the time of the accident, which the police report will likely have.
Because they broke the law by drinking and getting behind the wheel, you can hold the other person responsible if their conduct led you to experience serious injuries.
Negotiate With Insurers
Your car accident lawyer can fight for fair compensation by aggressively negotiating with insurance companies on your behalf. It’s important to know that insurers often try to pay as little as they can get away with, even if you have insurance coverage.
If you’re attempting the claims process on your own, an insurer could try a number of tactics to get you to accept a lowball offer. They might delay negotiations so that you’ll accept anything just to be done with the claim, or they could state that they’ll withdraw all offers if you don’t accept a low one.
Your car accident lawyer will know what your rights are and won’t allow insurers to offer less than you deserve.
Take Your Case to Court
If insurance companies continue to offer low settlements or they dispute that the accident was the other party’s fault, your car accident lawyer can file a lawsuit and take the case to court. Your personal injury lawyer will know how to effectively prepare for court proceedings so that you can recover losses.
Common Causes of Miami Highway Crashes on I-95
Car accidents on Miami’s I-95 occur due to many factors. Some common causes include the following:
Unfamiliarity With the Highway
Each year, millions of tourists travel to Miami. These people are not always familiar with complex roads like I-95, and that can lead to confusion. They could be distracted looking at the GPS, or they could make abrupt lane changes to get to the exit they need. All of these actions can make them more likely to cause a car accident or crash.
Distracted Driving
Anyone who’s not fully focused on driving is distracted. Cell phone use is particularly problematic, and it led Florida to create the Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law. This law allows law enforcement to stop anyone who is texting and driving.
The problem is that distractions don’t just involve phone use. People who are eating, speaking with passengers, changing the radio station, or reaching for something under their seats are all distracted. On a busy highway like I-95, taking your eyes off the road for just a moment to glance at the radio console is enough to result in serious collisions.
Express Lane Infiltration
Some portions of I-95 have express lanes that are divided from the rest of the highway by plastic poles. In instances when the express lanes are moving, and the regular lanes are bumper-to-bumper, people might try to drive around the poles.
In doing so, they put themselves and others at risk of getting into crashes. Drivers on the express lane may not see them in time to stop, or they might not let them merge into traffic.
Speeding in a Highway Crash
Another serious cause of accidents on I-95 is speeding. There are set speed limits throughout the highway. Anyone going over that limit may have a much harder time stopping in time if a hazard appears. On a busy and unpredictable road like I-95, speeding could mean severe collisions.
Contact Trusted Representation from Our Miami Car Accident Lawyers
After suffering losses in a Miami auto accident, you need one of our experienced and dedicated Miami car attorney lawyers in your corner. At Schrier Law Group, we have decades of experience helping the people of Miami recover losses after accidents that occurred because of someone else’s conduct.
We can recommend the best course of action based on your unique circumstances and help you fight for your rights. Contact our skilled car accident attorneys today to schedule a free consultation.
