Were you inured in an auto accident in Tampa Florida or surrounding city, and need to speak with an expert car accident lawyer? You’re not alone. There are over 400,000 vehicle accidents in Florida every year, according to data from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). In Hillsborough County alone, there were nearly 30,000 crashes, which result in nearly 20,000 injuries and more than 220 deaths for car accident victims, and the count is only increasing year over year.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, you may be wondering:
- What type of medical care do I need after a car accident?
- How do I pay for the medical care I need?
- How do I get back the money I lost from missing work?
- Can I hold the person that caused the auto accident responsible for the harms and losses?
- Can a Tampa car accident lawyer help me?
- How do I find the best Tampa car accident attorney?
- What is mediation?
- How much time do I have to file a claim?
At Distasio Law Firm, our experienced personal injury attorneys are here to help answer these common car accident questions, guide you through the process, and get the money you need to get you back to your life. When you call our Tampa car crash attorneys, we will listen to your problems, ask detailed questions, and put a plan together to help you. You can concentrate on healing from your injuries while we concentrate on getting you the money you will need to make up for what has happened to you. The sooner you call, the sooner we can help.
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How do you know if you have hired the best Tampa auto collision lawyer? The simplest way to know is to find a legal professional that has all the below characteristics.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE HANDLING AUTO ACCIDENT CASES
Your lawyer should not only know Florida car accident law. That lawyer should also have years of experience handling car crash cases. Scott Distasio has been handling cases for over 33 years. His years of experience investigating, negotiating, settling, filing lawsuits, taking depositions, and going to trial will absolutely make a difference in your case.
INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION OF OUR CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS ABILITY
All car accident attorneys claim they know what they are doing. Their marketing materials may also be persuasive. But you will only know the truth about that lawyer if the lawyer is rated by respected independent non-biased rating systems. Scott Distasio has an “AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell law Directory. This is the highest rating an attorney can receive for both ability and ethics. Scott Distasio is also Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Trial law. To achieve this accomplishment a lawyer must have tried a minimum number of cases to a jury and pass a competency exam. Less than 1% of all Florida lawyers are Board Certified.
FORMER CLIENTS ARE WILLING TO ENDORSE OUR AUTO ACCIDENT LAWYERS
Not every case is the same and not all clients will have the same experience. However, when an attorney’s clients are willing to go on the record and say good things about that attorney, you learn what your experience might be like. Distasio Law Firm’s clients overwhelmingly are satisfied with their results and are willing to talk about their experience. You can see what they are saying about Distasio Law Firm on Google, Facebook, and the firm’s website review page.
When thinking about your settlement, it may help to look at our firm’s case results to see what could be possible for your settlement. Our results include:
- $1,490,000 for a bicyclist injured by a car
- $1,000,000 for a car driver hit by a truck
- $480,000 for a rear-end collision
- $225,000 for a T-bone accident
WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO GO TO TRIAL
Not all personal injury cases go to trial. The truth is most cases settle. But if your case does need to go to trial it’s important to hire a law firm that has the experience, resources and ability to try your case. Scott Distasio is a board certified civil trial lawyer. This gives him the right to call himself an expert trial lawyer.
WHY HIRE DISTASIO LAW FIRM TO BE YOUR TAMPA MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY
Most car accident law firms are settlement mills. They rarely file lawsuits and never go to trial. At these law firms, each attorney handles so many car accident cases they do not have time to speak to their clients. They do not need to get you the most money for your case. They try to convince you to take the first settlement that is offered so they can move on to their next case. The insurance companies know this and offer less money to these law firms. The end result is that if you hire one of these law firms there is a good chance you will not get full value for your auto accident case.
At Distasio Law Firm we put your interests first. We are not a settlement mill. You will speak directly with your attorney about your case. Of course, we will do everything possible to settle your case as soon as possible. But sometimes it’s not in your best interests to do so. At Distasio Law Firm, we have the financial resources, the desire, and the know how to fight the insurance company to get full value for your case. If it makes sense to hold out for more and that is what you want to do, we will do so. If it makes sense to file a car accident lawsuit, we will do that too. If if makes sense to go to trial and let a jury decide your case and that is what you want to do, we know how to do that as well. In fact, Scott Distasio is a board certified civil trial lawyer. A distinction held by fewer than 1% of all Florida lawyers. This designation makes Scott Distasio an expert in trial law. That does not mean your case will go to trial. 95% of all cases settle. But it does mean that insurance companies will offer more for your case because they know that Distasio Law Firm has the financial resources and expertise to go to trial if your case needs it.
At Distasio Law Firm, we also represent the following types of vehicle accidents among others:
- Passenger vehicle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Uber and Lyft accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
If you were in a hit-and-run accident or you find out the opposing party is uninsured/underinsured, you may still have options to pursue compensation for your damages. Our legal team can review your case and read over your insurance policy to see what steps we can take to potentially recover your financial situation.
FL 2022 Auto Crash Report from the FLHSMV
What Should You Do After Experiencing Auto Accident Injuries
If you have been in a car wreck in Tampa, or any other city in Florida, and you are experiencing pain in any part of your body, the first thing you should do is get medical attention as soon as possible. If you can get to a health care provider on the day of the car crash, you should do so. This is important not only because you will get the care you need, but also because if you don’t the insurance company will later claim you were not hurt in the car accident. Instead, they will take the position that something must have happened to you between the time of the auto accident and the time you go to health care provider. If you are in pain from a car accident, and you have not yet been to the doctor, do not worry. All is not lost. Go to a hospital emergency room, a walk-in clinic, or a doctor immediately to document your injuries. At Distasio Law Firm, we know what evidence will convince the insurance company the auto accident caused your injuries.
It is also important to hire the right auto accident law firm as soon as possible after the car crash. Over time, evidence disappears, memories fade, and it becomes harder and harder to prove your case. When you call Distasio Law Firm, it is our job to preserve this evidence. We can help make sure photographs are taken to document the damage to the vehicles involved and document your injuries. We can also interview the witnesses now, so we do not have to rely on their memories later.
How Much Is My Car Accident Claim Worth?
Any lawyer that tells you that your case is worth a certain amount of money is just doing so to get you to hire them. The truth is it is rarely possible to determine the value of a case immediately after a car accident. That is because it takes time to know the extent of your injuries, the cost and type of medical care you will need now and in the future, and how much lost wages you will experience now and in the future. It is only after you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) that a lawyer can begin to answer this question. MMI occurs when your doctor has treated you long enough to know and diagnose all your injuries, when you doctor can predict what medical care you will need in the future, and when your injuries have either healed or your injuries are at their best. This usually takes about four to six months.
In Florida, the law allows a person injured in a car accident to hold the person that caused the auto accident responsible for the damages. Seasoned Tampa auto accident lawyers can recover compensation for the following:
Medical Expenses: You are entitled to the reasonable cost of all current and future medical care including, hospitalization, medical doctors, chiropractors, physical therapy, and surgery.
Lost Wages: If the car accident causes you to lose time from work or you have to take a job that pays you less, you are entitled to recover this expense now and into the future
Pain and Suffering: This includes money for having to endure the physical pain as well as money for mental anguish, disfigurement, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
Wrongful Death: When an auto accident claims the life of a loved one, spouses and children are entitled to compensation for funeral expenses and their pain and suffering.
MOST COMMON CAR ACCIDENT INJURIES OUR LAWYERS HANDLE
After an auto accident you may be so hyped up on adrenaline that you do not immediately recognized you are injured. Over time, you may begin to experience neck pain, mid back pain, low back pain, or pain in any other part of your body. The most common types of injuries include:
WHIPLASH
This injury is named after the violent whipping motion that you body goes through in a car crash. The most common whiplash injuries occur in your neck and your low back. As the body whips back and forth, the vertebrae bang into each other, muscles tear, and the ligaments of the spine stretch. Doctors might call these injuries sprain strain injuries.
HERNIATED DISCS
The soft cushiony material in your spine between each of your vertebrae are called discs. The trauma from a car crash can cause them to rupture and or herniate. The disc material can then touch nerves running through the spine which in turn causes pain and or numbness to radiate down the arms or legs.
BROKEN BONES
Body parts often hit the inside of the vehicle after the impact. The most common broken bones include arms, legs, ribs and hands.
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES
In an auto accident, the head whips back and forth. This causes the brain to slam into the skull bones causing swelling and even hemorrhaging. The long-term effects can include changes in personality, memory loss, and problems with anger management.
SHOULDER INJURIES
Most drivers grip the steering wheel tightly during a car crash. This causes all the energy from the impact to travel through the steering wheel, up the arm, and into the shoulder. The most common types of shoulder injuries include rotator cuff tears, bicep tendon tears, and labrum tears.
TYPES OF AUTO ACCIDENT CASES WE HANDLE
At Distasio Law Firm we handle any type of auto accident case. The ones we see most often include:
DISTRACTED DRIVERS
You know these drivers. We see them all around us on the roads. They are on the phone while driving, texting while driving, putting make up on while driving, eating while driving, or simply not paying attention to the road.
RECKLESS DRIVERS
These drivers are weaving in and out of traffic and are often in a hurry. They are often speeding or driving to fast for the road and weather conditions. They simply do not care about the risks they are taking with the lives of all the drivers around them.
DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE (DUI)
This includes drunk drivers and drivers under the influence of illegal drugs or prescription medications.
REAR-END COLLISION
The rear-end crash is by far the most common type of car accident. In Florida, the law presumes the rear driver is responsible for the collision.
DRIVING WHILE TIRED OR FATIGUED
These drivers are most often driving commercial vehicles like trucks, tractor trailers, 18 wheelers, and/or big rigs. They are driving too many hours in a row so they can get more loads delivered. They become so tired while driving that their reaction time slows.
POORLY MAINTAINED AUTOMOBILES
Some people fail to maintain their vehicles. The brakes do not work properly, the tires blow out, or the lights do not come on at night or during braking.
CONTACT DISTASIO LAW FIRM’S TAMPA CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY TODAY
Don’t let the statute of limitations prevent you from recovering damages for your injuries, pain and suffering, and medical bills. Call now for a free case evaluation with the best car accident lawyers in Tampa, FL.
