Every state has slightly different rules about what damages you can collect if you’ve been in a car accident. If you sustained an injury, and the accident was not your fault, then there is something called the “serious injury” threshold. Basically, if you meet the qualifications, then you can collect damages from the other driver.
If the other driver was grossly negligent like if they drank and drove, for instance, or did illegal drugs before driving, you might be entitled to a lot more. However, we’re not going to linger on those cases.
We’re going to talk about the first instance: the serious injury threshold, particularly as it pertains to whiplash in Florida car accident cases.
Whiplash and How It Affects You
Whiplash happens when your head rocks back and forth violently, damaging your neck. It amounts to soft tissue neck damage. Whiplash can cause immobilizing stiffness.
It also causes:
- Memory problems
- Poor-quality sleep or insomnia
- Tinnitus
- Blurred vision
You might suffer a good deal of pain on top of all that. With these problems in mind, it’s easy to see how even mild whiplash can wreak havoc on your life.
Getting rear-ended most commonly causes whiplash during car accidents. You’re probably not expecting that hit from behind, so you haven’t braced yourself for impact.
The Serious Injury Threshold
After the accident, you’ll need to see a doctor to determine if you have whiplash. The doctor:
- Will examine you
- May take some X-rays or send you for an MRI
- Can give their medical opinion of your condition in court, if necessary
The purpose of examining you is to determine the treatment method going forward. It’s also to figure out how badly you’ve hurt yourself to pursue possible legal action against the driver who hit your car.
If you can prove the serious injury threshold, even if the other driver were not grossly negligent, they would have to pay out a certain amount. How much that will depend on many factors.
Transportation Concerns
They call the money that the other driver pays you a judgment. You’re going to need it because, in all likelihood, you will have plenty of expenses after the accident.
You might need alternate transportation. If you totaled your car, you may decide to buy a new one, and the judgment money will help with that. You might also opt for a used car or a certified pre-owned one.
If you don’t feel like getting a new vehicle to replace the totaled one, then you might need to rely on rideshare programs like Lyft and Uber to get you to and from work for a while.
If you live in a rural part of Florida, there might not be much public transportation on which you can rely. Even if you’re not thrilled with buying or leasing a new vehicle, conditions might force you to do it at some point.
Any of these options cost money, and your judgment will go toward covering those expenses.
Future Earnings Loss
If the whiplash or other injuries have sidelined you from your job, then the judgment can also help you with future earnings loss. This is where the court attempts to calculate how much you would have made at your job that you now can’t make because you’re immobilized.
You might recover from the whiplash and other injuries enough that you can return to work at some point. In different situations, you may never be able to get back to 100%, and you might have to switch career fields entirely.
Healthcare Costs
You will have medical bills following the accident. You’ll have to pay for the doctor who diagnosed the whiplash, and the tests they did on you. You may have expenses like a neck brace that you have to wear for a while.
If you need prescription pain medication, there’s that expense, and you also might need physical therapy for the whiplash or other injuries. The money you get from the other driver can help you cover all of that.
Pain and Suffering
It’s also possible that you might get some money for suffering and pain that you go through from the whiplash and whatever other injuries you sustained. If the wreck was the other driver’s fault, but they were not grossly negligent, then you can’t get as much as if their conduct was flagrantly reckless.
In most cases, you will recover from whiplash. Doctors do not consider it life-threatening, though more extreme occurrences of it can be quite painful. It may take you months to recover.
In Florida, what it all comes back to is that serious injury threshold. You have to prove it in court to recover damages, and that means having a competent doctor who can document your condition satisfactorily. You’ll also have to hire a lawyer who can argue your case.
Don’t try to get your compensation without a lawyer. You might be trying to avoid that legal fee on top of all the other expenses that pile up after a car accident. However, you have not studied the law, and you can’t convince a jury in the same way that a practiced legal expert could.
Car accidents with whiplash injuries happen in Florida every day, so there are plenty of lawyers who can help you. As you hunt for one, make sure to look around online to find reviews or feedback from previous clients. You want to locate a lawyer who has had similar cases to yours and has won settlements for the victim.
You also want to find a lawyer with whom you have at least somewhat of a rapport. You do not have to be best friends, but you still want someone who seems sympathetic to your plight.
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