There are over 18,000,000 licensed drivers in Florida, with more than 2,000,000 licensed drivers in Miami Dade County alone. According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there have been more than 400,000 crashes over the past several years, causing 250,000 injuries annually and deaths in the thousands. Miami-Dade County has the most car accidents in the state, with crash statistics far outnumbering all other counties.

The car accident lawyers at Kaba Law Group, P.L.L.C. help car accident injury victims receive the medical care and the compensation they need and deserve after being injured in a collision involving a car accident with a reckless, careless, or negligent driver. Our firm handles everything from minor impact car accidents to car accidents involving the most severe injuries or wrongful death. With our staff, customer service, and top-quality legal representation, Kaba Law Group, P.L.L.C. is the firm to hire if you’ve been injured in a car accident.

Fault after a car accident is determined by many different parties, including police officers that visit the scene, insurance companies, the attorneys for the parties involved, and finally, a judge. Reaching a determination as to who is at fault is not always easy, and four elements of fault must be proven. Those elements are Duty, Breach of Duty, Causation, and Damages. Additionally, multiple parties may be found to have been to be at fault after a car accident. Therefore, after a car accident, it is essential to speak to an accident lawyer that can determine all of the parties that caused your crash and hold them liable for paying all of your damages.

CAUSES OF CAR ACCIDENTS

Distracted driving, including texting while driving and handheld cell phone use, is a leading cause of car accidents. After decades of declining crash rates, car accidents are back up again, coinciding with the rise in smartphones and social media apps, and texting while driving is illegal in Florida. It has been a primary traffic offense since 2019. Police officers started issuing citations in 2020. However, it’s too early to tell whether this stepped-up enforcement will positively affect drivers’ behaviors and end their compulsion to read and answer texts and tweets while driving.

Drunk driving is another major cause of car accidents in Florida, particularly in Miami Dade County; that won’t seem to go away. In 2020 there was over 4,500 alcohol confirmed crashes, of which 349 of them were fatal crashes that resulted in more than 380 fatalities. Unfortunately, Miami Dade County experienced many of those drug or alcohol confirmed crashes in 2020, causing injuries and needless deaths from this entirely preventable type of accident.

Careless, negligent, reckless, aggressive, and just plain lousy driving are the cause of the rest of the car accidents that could have been avoided had people simply been more responsible and better drivers. Some of the most common bad driving habits that result in crashes include:

following too closely;

failing to obey stop signs and traffic signals;

failing to signal;

failing to check blind spots;

failing to yield the right-of-way; and

failing to adjust one’s driving to account for the applicable weather, traffic, and road conditions.

INJURED IN A CRASH. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Florida drivers must carry Personal Injury Protection (P.I.P.) insurance to cover their medical bills and wage loss damages in case of a crash. This P.I.P. no-fault insurance will cover your medical bills and help you with lost income when you are hurt in an impact from a car accident, regardless of who was at fault, up to the amount of your selected coverage amount less your deductible. However, P.I.P. benefits are limited to a certain percentage of the total medical bill or wage loss that they cover. Therefore, P.I.P. only covers 80% of reasonable and necessary medical expenses and 60% of lost wages if you lost time from work due to a car accident and subsequent recovery. The basic P.I.P. policy covers these partial expenses up to $10,000. However, if you fail to receive treatment for an emergency medical condition within 14 days of the accident, your P.I.P. coverage can be limited to only $2,500.

Florida law permits people who suffered a serious injury to “step outside” of the no-fault liability scheme and sue the at-fault driver on a civil negligence claim.

A “serious injury” under Florida car accident law means one of the following:

• A significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function;
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement;
• A permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability; or
• Death

If successful on a personal injury claim, you can recover the total medical expenses and lost income and money damages for harm such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress. To be successful, though, you have to prove the other driver was at fault and caused your injuries. You must also establish your injuries to receive compensation for your injuries and resulting damages. These facts will have to be proven to the insurance company or a jury, depending on whether your case settles out of court or goes to a jury verdict.

Kaba Law Group, P.L.L.C. is experienced in establishing liability against the at-fault parties, and building cases that prove these facts while also standing up to challenges from the insurance company that your injuries aren’t severe or your negligence was involved. Of course, they do this to avoid paying or reducing the amount they owe, but you’ll get the best result available with a skilled and effective attorney on your side. Kaba Law Group, P.L.L.C. provides the level of skill you need.

THE ELEMENTS OF PROOF WHEN DETERMINING FAULT

You must prove four essential elements of your case when determining who was at fault for your car accident. These are as follows:

• Duty: The at-fault driver owed a duty of care to the accident victim to act in a reasonable manner that would keep everyone safe;
• Breach of duty: The at-fault driver breached their duty of care, either by a careless or negligent act or intentional wrongdoing.
• Causation: You must show the direct link between the negligent act and the accident that caused your injuries; and
• Damages: It is the intent of “Personal Injury” claims to compensate you for any losses or damages you sustained from the accident. There is nothing to pay you for if you cannot prove you were injured, so there is no claim.

NECESSARY EVIDENCE WHEN DETERMINING FAULT

The gathering of relevant and material “Evidence” is crucial to your case and is necessary to help you prove that someone else was at fault for the accident. The most critical evidence in your case may

• consist of or include:
• Police reports;
• Statements from eyewitnesses;
• Video and photo evidence from the scene;
• Reports of property damage;
• Expert witness statements;

A police officer may indicate who is at fault within their report by issuing a traffic citation, but that is not always a deciding factor. A car accident lawyer will sometimes use accident reconstruction experts to determine precisely how the crash occurred and who is the responsible party.

COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE WHEN DETERMINING FAULT

It is essential to know that more than one party can be found at fault for a car accident. Even if you are determined to be partly to blame for a crash, you can still recover compensation for your injuries. However, the amount of compensation you receive will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributable to you by a jury. Florida recognizes pure comparative negligence, so you can still file a claim even if you were Ninety-Nine percent (99%) at fault for a crash.

WE ARE HERE TO HELP WITH YOUR CAR ACCIDENT

At Kaba Law Group, P.L.L.C., our lawyers have the professional skills, legal knowledge, and trial experience that you can trust and rely on for results.

If you were in a crash, Kaba Law Group and our Miami Dade County car accident lawyers have the legal experience and dedication you need to represent you. We will help you to determine who was at fault and hold them accountable for compensating you for the total value of your injuries and resulting damages. We help you get the compensation that you deserve!

Call us today at (305)-245-9990 or schedule an free appointment online https://kabalaw.cliogrow.com/book, fully private, and confidential consultation and learn more about how we can help.