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If you are like most people who have been injured in a car accident, you want to get past the accident as soon as possible. You want to file your claim, get your settlement check, and move on with your life. But, while this is understandable, you need to be careful. If you settle too soon, you could suffer the consequences for years to come.

Ensuring you do not accept an unfair settlement is one of the most important ways an experienced Fort Myers car accident attorney can help you. When you hire an experienced attorney, he or she will help you make wise decisions with your long-term best interests in mind. Your attorney will explain when it makes sense to settle—and when it does not—and the attorney will help ensure that you feel confident in the outcome of your case.

10 Key Questions to Ask (and Answer) Before Settling Your Car Accident Claim

Before you accept a car accident insurance settlement, there are some key facts that you absolutely must know. For example, here are 10 questions that you should ask (and answer) before you even think about accepting a settlement:

1. Who was At Fault in Your Car Accident?

One of the first facts you need to know is who was at fault in your car accident.  A proper determination of fault is a legal matter and requires an experienced attorney. If someone else was at fault, you could be entitled to a substantial settlement for your medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other financial and non-financial losses.

How do you determine who was at fault? Determining fault in a car accident requires a comprehensive investigation. With this in mind, you should hire a Fort Myers car accident attorney as soon after your accident as possible. Your attorney will work quickly to collect evidence at the accident scene before it disappears, and depending on the circumstances, your attorney may take other steps (i.e., obtaining the other driver’s phone records or employment records) to determine who was at fault as well.

When you suffer injuries in a car accident, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is assuming that the accident was your fault. You should never make this assumption, and you should not let the insurance companies convince you to accept responsibility. The only way to determine fault is to have an experienced attorney review the laws that apply and examine the evidence, and even if you think you made a mistake, the evidence could show that other factors are responsible for your crash.

2. Are You Limited to Filing a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Claim?

Florida is a “no-fault” auto insurance state, and this means that your first option for seeking insurance coverage after an accident is to file a claim under your personal injury protection (PIP) policy. You can file a PIP claim regardless of who was at fault, and you can use your PIP insurance to help cover the financial costs of the accident (i.e., your medical bills and lost wages).

But, if you suffered significant or permanent injuries in the crash, your PIP coverage most likely will not be nearly enough. As a result, you will need to determine if you are eligible to file an auto insurance claim outside of PIP.

To file an auto insurance claim outside of PIP, you must be able to prove two things: (i) that someone else was at fault in the accident and (ii) that your injuries qualify as significant or permanent under Florida’s “no-fault” insurance law. If you can prove both of these things, then you can seek an insurance settlement that covers all of your financial and non-financial losses, including pain and suffering damages.  An experienced attorney will help you investigate sources of recovery - as we discuss in greater detail below.

3. If Not, What Other Claim (or Claims) Can You File?

If you are not limited to filing a PIP claim, you will need to work with your Fort Myers car accident attorney to determine what other claim (or claims) you can file. Depending on the circumstances, there are several possibilities, including:

• A bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance claim
• An uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) insurance claim
• A claim against the driver’s parents (if the driver is under 18)
• A claim against the driver’s employer or rideshare company (if the driver was on the job or working)
• A claim against a bar, restaurant, or social host
• A claim against a vehicle manufacturer, dealership, or repair shop
• A claim against a government agency

Even these are just examples. When you need to seek a settlement after a car accident, it is critical that you identify all potential sources of financial recovery. Once your attorney investigates your car accident, your attorney will be able to determine what claim (or claims) he or she can file on your behalf.

4. What Insurance Coverage is Available?

Assessing your options after a car accident also involves determining what insurance coverage is available. For example, while filing a BIL insurance claim may be an option if the other driver was at fault, drivers aren’t required to carry BIL insurance under Florida law. Similarly, while filing a UIM claim is an option if the driver who hit you does not have liability insurance (or does not have enough liability insurance to fully cover your losses), this is only an option if you or a member of your household has this coverage. Investigating sources of insurance requires an experienced attorney.

When you are dealing with the aftermath of a serious car accident, you want to make sure that you are using your time as effectively as possible. This means focusing on the claim (or claims) that are most likely to lead to a settlement or verdict. Here, too, having an experienced Fort Myers car accident attorney on your side is extremely important, as your attorney will be able to help you make informed decisions about how best to deal with your situation.

5. What Financial Costs Will You Incur Throughout Your Recovery?

Once you have determined your options, the next major step in the process involves determining how much you are entitled to recover. This alone is a multi-step process that requires an in-depth understanding of Florida’s personal injury laws.

Generally speaking, the losses that accident victims in Florida can recover fall into three main categories: (i) out-of-pocket costs, (ii) loss of income and benefits, and (iii) non-financial losses. Your out-of-pocket costs are generally the easiest to deal with, so we’ll cover these first.

Before you accept a car accident insurance settlement, you need to make sure that you clearly understand how much your accident will cost you. In terms of out-of-pocket costs, this means that you need to know your current and future:

• Medical costs
• Prescription and medical supply costs
• Transportation costs
• Costs for necessary services (i.e., in-home care, cleaning, and landscaping)
• Other costs you will be forced to incur as a result of the accident

These costs alone can far exceed accident victims’ PIP coverage in many cases. If your PIP coverage is not going to be enough, it will be well worth speaking with a Fort Myers car accident attorney before you accept a check from your insurance company.

6. How Much Time Will You Miss from Work?

Before you accept a car accident insurance settlement, you also need to know how much time you will miss from work. Lost earnings are covered under PIP, and if you have any of the other claims listed above, you can seek full compensation for your lost earnings through these claims as well.

Even missing a single day of work can be costly. If you are forced to take time off from work for weeks or months, this could significantly impact your finances. If you will miss work for years—or if you will never be able to return to your old job—it will be crucial to ensure you receive proper compensation for your loss of future income and benefits.

7. How Much Would You Have Earned During This Time?

In addition to knowing how much time you will miss from work, you also need to know how much you will have earned during this time. This is not simply a matter of multiplying your current daily compensation rate by the number of days you will miss. Would you have received annual cost-of-living increases? Would you have received any raises or promotions? If so, these are factors that need to be taken into account when calculating just compensation for your loss of future earnings.

This is not something the insurance companies are going to tell you. In fact, unless you play an active role in your insurance claim, they are not likely to pay you anything for the time you miss from work. It is up to you to prove how much you are entitled to recover, and this means that you need to work with an experienced Fort Myers car accident lawyer who can effectively document all of the present and future costs of your injuries.

8. What Other Damages Have You Experienced as a Result of Your Car Accident?

If you have a claim outside of PIP, you are not only entitled to compensation for your financial losses. You are also entitled to just compensation for your non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. If you are in pain, if you are dealing with emotional trauma, and if you are unable to enjoy spending meaningful time with your friends and family, these are all non-financial losses that can—and should—be included in your car accident insurance settlement. An experienced attorney can help you recover damages for pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, and loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, for the past and for the future.

But, just like your out-of-pocket costs and lost earnings, it is up to you to prove these losses. Not only that, but it is up to you to prove how much you are entitled to recover. While there are a couple of ways to calculate just compensation for your non-financial losses after a car accident, determining which option makes the most sense in your case also requires a detailed understanding of your individual circumstances and Florida’s personal injury laws. Here, too, the insurance companies are not going to help, and they are not going to pay you anything unless you prove that you deserve just compensation.

9. What Other Consequences Will You Experience in the Future?

When is your pain going to go away? How long are you going to be forced to live your life with the consequences of someone else’s mistake? Before you accept a car accident insurance settlement, you need to know how the accident will negatively impact your life in the future. Just like your financial costs, you are entitled to proper compensation for your current and future non-financial losses, and your future non-financial losses could account for most of the value of your claim.

10. What is the Total Amount You Are Entitled to Recover for Your Car Accident?

Finally, you need to put it all together. Taking into account your current and future financial and non-financial losses, what is the total amount you are entitled to recover for your car accident? Until you know the answer to this question, you have no way of knowing whether it is in your best interests to accept a settlement.

You will need an experienced personal injury attorney to determine an exact dollar amount that constitutes just compensation for your car accident. Your Fort Myers car accident attorney will help you determine a range of reasonable settlement offers. If you receive an offer in this range—and if you are confident that it reflects just compensation for your losses—then you can make an informed decision about resolving your claim (or claims) and moving on.

Request a Free Consultation with a Fort Myers Car Accident Attorney

Did you get injured in a car accident in Florida? If so, Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. can help you make informed decisions about settlement. To discuss your situation with experienced Fort Myers car accident attorney Randall L. Spivey in confidence, call 239-337-7483 or statewide 888-477-4839 or request a free consultation online at Spiveylaw.com today.