Request for Physical or Mental Exam in Your West Palm Beach Car Accident

Either party may request by filing a motion to have the other party submit to a physical/mental examination before a doctor of the injuries complained of in the case.  Good cause must exist for the Court to order such an exam such as the plaintiff may complain of spinal cord injuries but has only been treated by a chiropractor or general practitioner.  It would be reasonable to have the party examined by a specialist in spinal cord injuries. Having a seasoned West Palm Beach car accident attorney to guide you through the various exams and procedures will save you from guessing at what the other side is doing and will insure you are treated fairly and understand what you are entitled to.

Inspection of Your Vehicle After Your West Palm Beach Car Accident

A defendant may request to have the plaintiff's or victim of the Palm Beach County car accident's  vehicle inspected and be permitted to photograph, videotape, test and sample the vehicle.  They may also request to have an expert witness present to test or sample the vehicle.  A reasonable timeframe for doing so shall be set--usually within 30 days of the request.

Techniques for Getting A Florida Jury to Award an Injured Car Accident Victim Money

The bulk of your case comes down to damages.  As an experienced West Palm Beach car accident attorney, you should focus on hard damages which are medical bills and lost wages (past, present and future).  These damages are awarded to the accident victim, to fix the problem created by the at fault driver.  They are rational and easy to prove and dangerous to the defendant and the defendant's insurance company. Another type of damages is loss of support which can occur when a family member dies and you show their loss of income over their lifetime.  You must show how your client has been economically affected by their injury.  Having your client keep a ledger of this and reviewing it with them, is a good way to keep track of these damages.

Lastly, never remove emotion from your case.  Make the jury angry.  Get into your client's shoes, advocate for them, and articulate to the jury how the defendant's egregious behavior has affected your client. We all have feelings and we all act on them.  Our feelings guide our decisions--make your jurors act on their feelings.
 

What is a Pre-trial Discovery Conference in Your West Palm Beach Car Wreck Case?

Either the plaintiff or defendant may request the Court schedule a pre-trial discovery conference to fix the discovery to be conducted in your West Palm Beach car accident case.  The plaintiff or defendant must show that there are multiple parties or multiple issues that could lead to substantial discovery and that therefore it is necessary for the Court to set a schedule for the orderly compliance of discovery requests and deadlines.  This ensures that each side receives prompt and fair disclosure.  

Things to Consider in Your West Palm Beach Car Accident Case: Part II

In addition to preparing your client and evidence, you must create opportunities to remove any ounce of remorse the jury may have for the defendant.  Wipe out all sympathy.  Also, take a long, hard look at your client.  If he/she is a jerk, a fraud, a miser, then they are going to be a bad client and you should not file suit.  Lastly, don't ever try to represent yourself.  Just because you like to argue and enjoy conflict, does not mean you can persuade a jury to give you money. Exercise some humility,  and hire a good West Palm Beach trial accident attorney to represent you.

Evidence of Status in Your West Palm Beach Car Accident Case: Is it Relevant?

In general, if you are here illegally and get into a West Palm Beach car accident, the defense attorney cannot tell the jury you are here illegally.  If he/she tries to, your West Palm Beach car accident lawyer can file a motion in limine to prevent that evidence from being heard by the jury at trial.  There is one exception if your attorney pleads for lost wages.  This opens the door to status as the other side will argue that you cannot legally earn money; therefore, you should not be entitled to relief.  In contrast, an illegal alien illegally employed, is entitled to workman's compensation benefits.  This just shows how arbitrary our laws are sometimes. 

Threshold that must be met in before I can recover under PIP

Is there a certain threshold that must be met in before I can recover under PIP, and if so, what is the threshold?

Yes! There is the “tort threshold” under Florida Statute that must be met. A tort action brought against an owner, registrant, operator, or occupant of a motor vehicle insured under no-fault law, or for any entity legally responsible for an act or omission by one of those parties entitles the plaintiff to recover damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience provided it meets certain criteria. The criteria include either a) significant & permanent loss of an important bodily function, or b) permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement or c) significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or d) death. 

West Palm Beach Florida Car accident complaint

Filing a car accident complaint is the first step in proving to an insurance adjuster that is being unfair to your West Palm Beach car accident victim that you are serious about getting justice for your client and that your client is serious about getting Justice for her self. 

It is going to cost the lawyer a few hundred dollars to file, and if some time needs to be spent on complying with discovery and getting the case to be ready for trial But there is no doubt in my mind 9 time out of 10, the value of the case will go up.

Insurance adjusters know this, and if they know you are serious they will make a better offer to settle your case, if they think your never going to file the case, then they will just give you low numbers all day.

Techniques that could be used to get a Florida car accident jury to actually give money to the injured victim

I wanted to discuss today some of the reasons and techniques that could be used to get a Florida car accident jury to actually give money to the injured victim. In the context of a car accident trial in Florida when money is given to the plaintiff it is called damages. One of the most convincing type of damages that can be used to get a jury in Palm Beach County or Broward County Florida to give money to a car accident victim is called hard damages.

A form of hard damages are medical bills, past present and future. These types of damages are awarded by a jury to try to help fix a problem that was created by the at fault driver. These damages are very rational very logical very easy to prove and was very dangerous to a defendant or defendants insurance companies in a car accidents. That's why a lot of attorneys who engage in car accident litigation spend a lot of time developing the use of hard damages. An in many instances they will settle their cases for hard damages value only.

Alternatively you could provide other forms of hard damages which may include loss of support. For example if you have any family of three and the father or the mother dies due to an unfortunate accident and the life time income from them can be considered hard damages and it can be requested from a jury in the form of hard damages; alternatively lost time at work because of inability to work due to injury or property damage are considered hard damages as well. Basically the lawyer should sit down and try to figure out how he could work up in general ledger for the client, like a damages bill, every detail every single item that the client has suffered economically as a result of the incident should be articulated in the legal action.

Question to ask from a car accident jury in Florida

Ask these ten question from you car accident Jury:
"ladies and gentleman, I will make a series of statements. Please listen to each, and if you disagree with the statement please raise your hand and say "I disagree"".  
1. Greedy trial lawyers take most of the money from accident victims so there is no send in giving a lot of money because it'll all go to the lawyer.  
2. Most people who sue, just claim they have been hurt for money, but there is nothing wrong with them
3. Before I give a person money, their car better have sustained some real serious damage.
4. I would feel distracted if I had to sit through this trial because I have important thing that i have to do and don't have time to sit here.  
5. If a lawyer sends his client to a chiropractor or other doctor, then there is something wrong
6. Insurance companies are regulated by the government, so they have more credibility with me than some greedy trial lawyer and his greedy victim (you might not get this one in) 
7. If a person is sitting in front of me, and look normal, they are faking it
8. I better see some broken bones or some thing before I pay a dime
9. If I don't like your client I'm not going to pay him/her
10. If I like the defendant, I'm not going to make them pay as much.  

Determining Liability When There Are Multiple Vicarious Tortfeasors

If you rent a car and let a friend or someone else drive it and they cause an accident, you could have a pretty big problem.  The person driving the car, the person renting the car, and the rental agency could all be liable.  The same issue applies if you let someone borrow your own coar and they cause an accident.  A Palm Beach County car accident attorney should know factors such as these when determining liability.  If you are in an accident with service personnel, city/county workers, or a delivery driver, be sure to let your attorney as there may be numerous persons/entities who are liable.  Coverage typically won't be an issue in cases like these.  It is just a matter of determining the order and priority pf coverage.  If the court cannot determine who is the more responsible party (at fault party), then they will apportion a pro rata share to each tortfeasor.

Multiple Liability Policies in a Palm Beach County Car Accident With a Tractor Trailer

We've all yelled at those huge tractor trailers flying down the interstate.  What happens when they cause an accident?  Oftentimes, the tractor and trailer are covered by multiple policies.  Under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, the owner of the trailer will not usually be liable while the owner of the tractor will.  If the driver of the trailer is an employee of the driver of the tractor, then the tractor driver could be vicariously liable.  Generally, a pro rata share of the damages will be apportioned to the primary coverage on both the tractor and the trailer policies.  if you have been in a Palm Beach County car accident with a tractor trailer, contact a West Palm Beach car accident attorney immediately.  A knowledgeable attorney will insure that all possible policies providing coverage to the trailer and tractor are discovered in an effort to secure your rights to recover damages for your injuries.

Umbrella Policies and Your Palm Beach County Car Accident

An umbrella policy can be viewed as an extra layer of coverage that comes into play when your primary limits have been exhausted.  Umbrella policies usually have an explanation in them that states it is excess and over other valid and collectible insurance.  Typically, the insured must maintain underlying coverage for an umbrella policy to be effective.  These policies tend to be cheaper because they are not used unless you exhaust other insurance first.  Umbrella policies tend to receive favorable treatment in Florida courts; however, there have been instances when courts have placed an umbrella carrier in the shoes of the primary carrier over what was designed to be primary coverage.  If you have sustained injuries as a result of the negligence of another driver, your best course of action is to immediately seek the advice of an experienced Palm Beach County car accident lawyer to maintain your rights.

Insurance Law and Determining Coverage When There is Multiple Liability After a Palm Beach County Car Accident

When there is a negligent party not insured by a carrier insuring the owner of the vehicle, the owner's insurer may try to invoke an escape clause.  Almost all insurance policies insure people other than the primary person on the cover of the declarations page of the policy.  The named insured along with the named insured's spouse and certain resident relatives will also likely be covred by the policy.  A policy may exclude coverage for specific person with bad driving records.  It is important to retain an experienced Palm Beach County car accident attorney to determine who may be ultimately liable if there are numerous policies available and what coverage may be excluded. You should never try to interpret the insurance policy yourself or negotiate with the insurance company without the experitse of an attorney.

Who is Liable if I've Been in a Palm Beach County Car Accident with a Rental Car?

If the rental contract is executed properly, the lessor (rental agency) can escape liability if your are in an accident with a rental car.  For the rental car to shift the liability to the renter, there must be a stipulation to it on the fac of the rental agreement in a certain format.  If the shift in liability is appropriate, the policy limits of the renter will be accessible.  Your Palm Beach County car accident lawye should always obtain a copy of the the rental agreement to determine the available coverage.

How Does My Palm Beach County Accident Attorney Determine Who is Liable for My Injuries?

After a lawsuit is filed, discovery rules allow the Plaintiff to inquire about the type of insurance policy or policies available and the extent of coverage.  However, before the implementation of Florida Statute 627.4137, insurance companies made it difficult to obtain this information without filing suit.  Florida Statute 627.4137 requires insurance companies  within 30 days of receiving a written request from the claimant, to provide certain information including:

the name of the insurer
the name of each insured
limits of liability coverage
a statement of policy/coverage defenses insurer reasonably believes are available
and a copy of the policy

Your Palm Beach County car accident lawyer should use this information to determine whi may be liable and the extent of coverage available to you.  Insurers usually comply with this request because of potential bad faith exposure down the line

The Importance of Your Palm Beach County Accident Attorney Investigating Different Liability Coverage

Your West Palm Beach accident attorney should investigate all sources of potential recovery including all available insurance policies.  Multiple policy issues usually arise when you have policies involving permissiver users, leased vehicles, commercial trucks, tractor-trailer units, and vehicles used in employment.  Multiple policies can be advantageous to a defendant too because the defense attorney will look to other policies for possible primary insurers they can shift the duty to defend to and reduce exposure of their client.  The bottom line is that with an experienced Palm Beach County car accident attorney, you can insure all possible sources of recovery will be expored so that you receive the maximum compensation for your injuries.

Immigration Status and Florida Car accident claim

Can a Florida Court allow evidence of status to be heard by a Jury in a Car accident lawsuit?

The answer is Maybe, as can be expected right? The long answer is under normal circumstances no. For example if you are in Florida illegally and you get in to a car accident and the lawyer representing the person that hit you wants to tell the jury that you are here illegally, you attorney can use the tool called a motion in limine ask that the information be removed from the list of fact which can be advocated or sough to be proved in Court. That means it cannot be mentioned in the voire dire process (that’s when the lawyers ask the jury questions that are designed to reveal if the jury has any prejudice which would prevent them from being a fair and impartial judge of every one rights).

The motion in limine will also prevent the presentation of any evidence of status of the Florida car accident victim during the course of the trial.

However, there is an exception to all this of-course. For example if the car accident victims attorney pleads for lost wages he would in the legal sense be opening the door on the issue of status. The other lawyer, representing the person that caused the car accident would then be allowed to introduce evidence of status in order to prove to the jury that you are not able to earn money legal so how could you come to court and argue for relief as to lost earning.

How Does the Insurer Know When They Have to Defend a Claim in Your Palm Beach County Accident Case?

If their insured has caused injury, they should have a duty to defend.  However, the insurer has to determine if the factual allegations/losses are covered by the policy.  Insurers should thoroughly investigate their claims to determine the validuty of coverage before denying a claim.  If they wrongfully deny a claim, they could be held liable in court and face a costly bad faith judgment.  Ultimately, the insurer's obligation to defend a lawsuit is determined by the allegations in the complaint aagainst the insured.  An experienced Palm Beach County car accident lawyer will knwo whether the insurance company is being unreasoanble and can set up your bad faith claim against the insurer.

What is A Reasonable Amount of Time to Settle a West Palm Beach Car Accident Case After the Plaintiff Makes an Offer?

A reasonable amount of time is not defined quantitatively by the law.  You have to look at the circumstances of each case.  However, a tender of the policy limits by the insurer after the time offered for settlement but prior to judgmentwill not protect the insurer from potential excess liability.
If an insurance company fails to respond to a timely demand, then your West Palm Beach car accident lawyer must give them 60 days noitce that a bad faith action will follow.  If the insurer tenders within that 60 days, the violation is deemed cured. It might be advantageous  to wait unitl you receive an excess judgment and then give them notice. An experienced car accident lawyer will be able to navigate you through the procedures and time-frames for pursuing a bad faith action against the insurer.

Does the Plaintiff Have to Make a Settlement Offer Before Bad Faith is an Issue?

No.  A settlement offer is not a requirement before a bad faith action. A formal settlement offer is only one issue that could be considered  in an action for bad faith.  In the Powell case, the 3rd DCA held that when liability is clear and injuries are so serious that it is likely a judgment will exceed the policy limits, an insurer has an affirmative obligation to the insured to initiate settlement negotiations. The 1st DCA has held that as long as an insurance company denied coverage and refused to defend, settlement offers arent' a prerequisite to establish a cause of action for bad faith.  An offer also need not be in writing.  An oral demand is sufficient in circumstances where liability is clear and damages are in excess of availble policy limits.  If you have been in a car accident and sustained serious injury, contanct a West Palm Beach accident attorney immediately to inure you get the compensation you deserve.

Releasing an Insured Tortfeasor from Liability Without Prior Assignment In Your Palm Beach County Accident Case

If the plaintiff releases the insured torfeasor from all liability or executes a satisfcation of the underlying excess judgment without an assignment, then the plaintiff will be barred from bringing a bad faith action.  Usually the plainitff's attorney will have an insured tortfeasorexecute an assigment agreement of bad faith agaisnt the insurer prior to releasing the tortfeasor from liability.  Bad faith acrrues when the insurer fails to satisfy its obligations to the insured and thereby breaches it duty resulting in a judgment in excess of the policy limits.

If you have been in a Palm Beach County car accident, before you sign anything, contact an experienced auto accident attorney.  In Florida, the injured party's bad faith claim is not separate form the tortfeasor's, so releasing the tortfeasor from all liabilty without assignment will bar you from pursuing the bad faith claim agaisnt the insurer.

Voir Dire in a West Palm Beach Bad Faith Case

Voir Dire is the formal term for selecting/rejecting potential jurors.  It is also important to a successful bad faith case.  The plaintiff's attorney must insure jurors are educated about bad faith on the context of insurance claims.  Your Palm Beach County car accident attorney can also use this process to find out if jurors have ever served in a fiduciary role or been in a position that created a conflict of interest.  Having an intelligent/sophisitcated jury would be a benefit in a bad fatih ase because the issues are complex.

Expert Witness Testimomy in a West Palm Beach Bad Faith Case

Expert witness testimony is key to successfully litigating a bad faith case.  Attorneys and adjusters typically serve as experts in such a case.  The purpose of the expert is to have the knowledge of someone who is trained in executing the duties stemming from an insured/insurer relationship and to analyze the bad faith issues for the jury.  Experts look at issues such as foreseeability, conflicts between the attorney for the insurance company and the insured on the original tort action, fiduciary duty, the effect of the excess judgment on the insured, etc.  Bad faith cases are complex and to understand them, the use of highly trained experts in these areas is crucial to helping the jury understand what the issues before them.  If you have been injured in a West Palm Beach car accident, make sure you speak with an accident attorney immediately to insure your rights are protected and that you are not taken advantage of by the insurance company.

The Importance of the Demand Letter in Your Palm Beach County Bad Faith Case: Part II

A well-drafted demand letter should clearly show why the insured is liable and should discuss injuries, losses and damages in strong detail and point out vital facts on damages the injured has suffered. Your Palm Beach County car accident attorney should demonstrate the necessity of the money and should say that prompt settlement will settle the claim within policy limits.

The demand letter should further include statements that all info to evaluate the claim is provided with the letter and if there is additional info needed, it will be provided upon request.  It shuld also that the offer protects the insured from an excess verdict.  Your attorney should review the letter with you and receive consent to settle for the demand amount.