If you’ve been involved in a major car accident, you know that the best course of action is to call a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer to set up a free consultation. Many serious car crashes come with sky-high medical bills, and if your collision was caused by someone else, you shouldn’t be held responsible for the medical costs and other expenses that follow.
But what about minor car accidents? A fender bender can still lead to minor injuries and damage to your vehicle. If the other driver caused the accident, they should be held responsible.
When your expenses aren’t high enough to warrant a personal injury lawsuit, should you still talk to an attorney? The answer to that question depends on several factors.
Are you wondering, “Do I need a lawyer for a minor car accident in Florida?” If so, here’s an in-depth look at what to do.
Generally speaking, a minor car accident is one that causes some damage to the vehicle but not enough damage that the car is inoperable.
If your car sustains damage like the following, you were likely involved in a minor car accident:
For example, imagine that you’re in a parking lot. Someone backs into you at low speed, breaking a headlight and scratching your front bumper.
This kind of accident can be stressful and upsetting, and arranging for a repair is a hassle. However, because you’re able to drive the vehicle away from the scene, it won’t have a major impact on your life.
In the impact of a low-speed collision, you might sustain only minor injuries or no injuries at all. Minor car accidents in Florida might lead to injuries like these:
After a low-impact crash, it may be tempting to skip the emergency room and treat any injuries at home. However, this is unwise. As soon as an accident happens, your body gets a rush of adrenaline. That adrenaline can mask pain, making you feel fine even if you are seriously hurt.
For example, you might not notice a neck or back injury until you wake up in pain the following morning. Additionally, some injuries masked by adrenaline can be life-threatening. Perhaps the impact was more forceful than you realized and caused internal bleeding. If you don’t seek treatment, you might suffer fatal blood loss.
If you cause a serious car accident and the other driver suffers major injuries, you could be on the receiving end of a lawsuit. The injured driver may try to recover compensation to cover their medical bills. If the accident is severe enough, they also may attempt to recover compensation for pain, suffering, and the reduction in their quality of life.
What if the car accident is minor? In that case, a lawsuit is less likely. While anyone can sue anyone else for any reason, the amount of money they might recover is not always worth the cost of a lawsuit.
Still, someone can sue you after a low-impact collision, and you can likewise sue a driver who causes one. These are some of the reasons to file a lawsuit after a minor accident.
Sometimes, even minor injuries are expensive to treat. For instance, someone might have a small laceration that would typically heal after getting a few stitches at an urgent care center.
However, suppose that the laceration develops a serious infection. That infection could require hospitalization — and tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
In a similar vein, someone might choose to sue if they lose a significant amount of income.
Missing one day of work to visit an urgent care center generally isn’t enough for a lost wages claim to be practical. However, someone who works a physically demanding job might lose out on several weeks of income while they recover from a minor neck injury. They might decide to file a lawsuit in an attempt to recover that income.
Florida requires all drivers to carry at least $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. Your PIP pays for your medical expenses after a crash, regardless of who caused it.
If another person’s medical bills exceeded their PIP coverage and you caused the accident, they may decide to file a lawsuit against you in an attempt to recover the remaining medical costs.
After a car accident, some people advise retaining an attorney no matter what. An attorney can be helpful, and it doesn’t hurt to book a free consultation with a Florida car accident lawyer if you’re unsure of what to do.
However, there are plenty of situations where hiring an attorney is likely unnecessary.
If no one is hurt in an accident, there are no medical expenses to recover, so filing a personal injury claim simply isn’t practical.
Still, you should always consult a doctor before you decide that you are uninjured. Some injuries may not show symptoms at first, but a medical professional can look for hidden problems that may lead to complications.
It takes time and resources to put together a strong personal injury case. That’s why personal injury lawyers don’t just take any case they come across. In order for it to be worth a law firm’s time, a case must be worth a certain amount of money.
Some law offices will take on small cases for a higher percentage of the financial recovery. However, some cases are so low in value that no attorney’s office would take them on — and it wouldn’t be worth your time to file a lawsuit yourself, either.
For example, imagine that you are involved in a very low-speed accident and get a cracked taillight. You get an estimate, and a repair shop says it will cost $100 to fix. In this case, it’s best to just pay for the repair yourself. You might also contact the at-fault driver and ask them to cover it.
If you suffer severe injuries in a car accident, you might turn to an attorney to negotiate a higher settlement that comfortably covers your medical bills and other expenses. However, in a minor accident, you’re more likely to be offered a fair insurance payout.
When an insurer offers an amount that covers all of your accident-related expenses, it makes sense to accept the settlement and get on with your life.
It’s not necessary to call an attorney immediately after you’re involved in a minor car accident. However, the situation is not always clear-cut. If you’re asking yourself, “Do I need a lawyer for a minor car accident in Florida?” it can be helpful to weigh the pros and cons.
Here are some of the benefits of working with a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney:
There are also some potential downsides to working with an attorney:
If you aren’t sure if you should work with an attorney, it doesn’t hurt to book a consultation. A good personal injury attorney will tell you whether they think their services may be helpful or whether you’d be better off handling things on your own.
In Florida, you do not have to report every single car accident. After all, if an accident is extremely minor and causes no injuries, you and the other driver are unlikely to need a police report. This is especially true if neither driver decides to file an insurance claim.
Florida statutes do require you to report car accidents under certain circumstances. If any of these are true, you must contact law enforcement:
You may already know that the Florida Highway Patrol maintains a phone number for reporting car accidents. Instead of calling 911, you can dial Star FHP (*347) from a cell phone.
If you are ever in doubt as to whether you should report an accident, it’s best to err on the side of caution. Even a small bruise may count as an injury under the law, and given the cost of bodywork on a vehicle, fairly minor damage can easily cost $500 or more to fix.
What happens if you don’t report an accident you were legally required to? The consequences aren’t especially steep, but they are consequences nonetheless. You may be charged with a nonmoving violation, which is not a criminal offense. It comes with a fine of $30.
Each state has its own laws that can shape the outcome of a car accident claim. Because Florida is one of the country’s few no-fault auto insurance states, the process of filing an insurance claim after a car accident differs from that of many other states.
Under a no-fault insurance system, injured drivers file claims with their own insurance companies after an accident, regardless of who was at fault. This system is designed to make it easier for drivers to have their medical bills covered; instead of waiting for the outcome of a personal injury lawsuit, they can simply file a claim with their own provider.
If your insurance policy does not cover all of your medical expenses, you can try to recover the rest from the other party’s insurance provider. These kinds of cases can be complex, so it’s best to consult an attorney before filing a claim.
The no-fault system does not mean that you are barred from filing a lawsuit against an at-fault driver, but the circumstances under which you can sue are limited — Florida allows you to sue the at-fault driver only if you suffer a serious injury.
It’s important to understand that Florida law’s definition of “serious bodily injury” is narrower than you might think. Qualifying injuries involve the loss of a body part, impairment of a bodily function, a considerable risk of death, or major disfigurement.
When you purchase car insurance in Florida, you are required to have two main kinds of coverage: personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability (PDL):
You must have at least $10,000 of each type of coverage. To make sure people do not use their PIP coverage for medical expenses unrelated to car accidents, Florida requires you to seek medical care within 14 days of the accident. If at all possible, you should seek medical care immediately after the accident.
As of 2023, Florida is a modified comparative negligence state. This means that you can still recover damages if you are partially at fault for the accident. However, if you are more than 50% at fault, you may not recover damages.
If you are partially at fault, any compensation you receive will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were 30% at fault and have $100,000 in losses, you could receive $70,000.
Prior to this change, Florida was a pure comparative negligence state. This means that you could recover damages even if you were more at fault than the other person.
If you decide to file a lawsuit after a car accident, you have limited time to do so. The statute of limitations for car accidents in Florida is two years. This means that starting on the day of the accident, you have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you wait longer to file, you may be unable to recover compensation.
The answer to “Do I need a lawyer for a minor car accident in Florida?” is “sometimes.” At Schilling & Silvers Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we’re dedicated to helping injured Florida residents recover the financial compensation they deserve.
Our attorneys have previously represented insurance companies, so we have unique insights into how these companies operate. We put these insights to work for our personal injury clients. Get in touch today for a free consultation with a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer.
Our Personal Injury Law Offices
Fort Lauderdale Office
1700 NW 64th St Suite 460
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 712-8877
Hialeah, FL Office
2300 W 84th St Ste 213
Hialeah, FL 33016
(954) 712-8877
