Car accidents can happen in any city in Florida. Broward County — home to the beautiful city of Pompano Beach — saw over 41,000 traffic crashes in 2021 alone.
If you get into a car accident in Pompano Beach, you have legal options. Take a closer look at the different options your Pompano Beach car accident lawyer may recommend for your case.
4 Legal Options After a Pompano Beach Car Accident
The legal action you will need to take after a car accident depends on a number of factors, which your Pompano Beach car accident lawyer can help you evaluate. Four key options your attorney may present include:
1. Take No Legal Action
You do not necessarily have to take any legal action following a car accident. Because Florida is a no-fault car insurance state, each driver involved in a crash ordinarily submits a claim to their own personal injury protection (PIP) policy if there are any losses or damages.
However, you are typically not required to submit a PIP claim to your insurer. If your vehicle is not damaged and neither you nor any of your passengers sustain injuries, you might choose to forgo submitting a PIP claim. Keep in mind that you may still have an obligation to report the accident to authorities.
2. File a PIP Claim
You have the right to file a claim against your PIP insurance policy if you sustain any property damage or personal injury as a result of the accident. Your PIP policy pays benefits regardless of who was at fault in causing the accident, up to the limits of your policy.
For example, suppose your car is damaged in a motor vehicle accident caused by you accidentally running a stop sign. You could submit a claim to your PIP insurance carrier, who might then pay your claim and provide you with benefits that could be used to address any property damage to your car.
3. File a Claim Against the Other Driver’s Insurance Company
Because of Florida’s no-fault insurance system, you are usually prohibited from seeking damages against the other driver involved or filing claims against their insurer. You must have suffered serious bodily injury in the crash to do this.
These injuries include any harm that impacts the functioning of a major body part. For example, if you hit your head and are left with permanent brain damage, you likely sustained a serious bodily injury.
In this situation, you could file a claim against the other driver’s car insurance policy if they were at fault in the accident. In doing so, you could access additional benefits up to the policy limits of that additional policy. This could be useful to you in paying the additional medical bills and other expenses that often accompany serious accidents.
4. Bring a Lawsuit Against the At-Fault Driver
Suppose you sustained a serious injury and filed claims with your insurer and the other driver’s insurer — and these claims do not adequately compensate you. In this case, you may have the right to bring a lawsuit against the at-fault driver directly.
In such a lawsuit, you must show that the other driver caused the car accident through negligent or reckless driving behaviors. If you succeed, the other driver could be ordered to pay you compensation for economic and non-economic damages that are not covered by insurance.
Your lawsuit could result in a pretrial settlement in which you and the at-fault driver agree on the compensation the other driver should pay you. This could lead to you receiving the compensation you need without having to prove anything in court before a judge or jury.
If you pursue a settlement, work with an experienced Pompano Beach car accident lawyer to help ensure your settlement meets your needs. If you decide not to opt for a settlement, you must win your lawsuit to receive compensation. A win means that the court will award you damages for the losses you proved were connected with the crash.
Discuss Your Options With a Pompano Beach Car Accident Lawyer
If you have been injured in a car accident, the best way to determine what legal action you should take is to contact a skilled Pompano Beach car accident lawyer.
At Schrier Law Group, we are committed to helping Florida accident victims receive the justice and compensation they deserve to move forward. Contact us to schedule a consultation with a seasoned Pompano Beach car accident lawyer today.
