Boca Raton has entertainment and attractions that draw many people into the area of Palm Beach County year-round. Add that to the area's high population, and you have the perfect storm for lots of traffic accidents.
Boca Raton has 47 parks encompassing 1,650 acres of recreational space, entertainment venues, and 5 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches. That's a lot of fun for a lot of people. But it also means many people are on the roads, which increases the risk of traffic accidents and personal injuries. If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a car accident, contact a Boca Raton car accident lawyer today for a free case evaluation.
Boca Raton Accidents
Boca Raton has seen an average of 26,000 accidents over the past several years.
Of those:
- About 185 were fatalities.
- Nearly 265 crashes involved alcohol.
- About 14 fatal car crashes involved alcohol.
- Nearly 450 crashes involved motorcycles.
- Nearly 550 crashes involved pedestrians.
- Nearly 3,000 crashes involved commercial motor vehicles.
According to crash statistics, The number of wrecks varies from year to year. There are more crashes, fatalities, and injuries than in other years. While the number of wrecks is small compared to the population, a person never knows when someone wrecks and involves them or a loved one.
Car and Truck Accident Injuries in Boca Raton
Accident injuries can vary wildly depending on:
- Road conditions, including ice, water, debris, or sand, whether the road is pavement, concrete, gravel, or another substance.
- The size of the vehicles involved
- The number of vehicles involved.
- Whether an accident victim is a pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist, or in a vehicle
- Whether a large truck or larger commercial vehicle is involved, such as a bus, big rig, ambulance, one-ton truck, or another heavy vehicle
- Weather conditions, including sunny days.
- The speed of the vehicles involved
- The position of the vehicles at the time of the wreck: for example, head-on crashes, rear-end accidents, or sideswipe wrecks.
Slippery road conditions and speed usually contribute to more accidents in Florida because of the speed involved when the vehicles crash into each other. Injuries from a vehicle wreck could include:
- Soft tissue injuries such as strains, sprains, pulled and torn muscles, and strained ligaments.
- Cuts, scrapes, bruises, scratches.
- Face and eye injuries.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Head, neck, and shoulder injuries.
- Back and spinal cord injuries.
- Amputation of a digit or limb.
- Chemical, thermal, and friction burns.
- Internal injuries.
- Simple and compound fractures.
- Crush bones and other crush injuries.
Some injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, and spinal cord injuries, can affect an accident victim for the rest of their life.
Medical expenses, especially those that need them for life, could wreak financial havoc on you and your family. And if a loved one dies in a car accident, the emotional and financial toll combined can take a lot out of a person.
A Boca Raton accident attorney can help you recover the compensation you deserve, so you can recover without worrying about paying the bills and putting food on the table.
Boca Raton Auto Accident Statistics
Source: https://www.flhsmv.gov/
Recovering Compensation
After a car accident in Boca Raton, you could recover compensation by settling with the at-fault driver's insurance company or by litigating your personal injury claim in court. Insurance companies are in business to make money—they don't care about you—you are just someone who will lower their profit margins.
A Boca Raton car accident lawyer can help you recover the compensation you deserve, not the lowball amount the insurance company wants to pay you, hoping you will disappear.
Depending on the extent of your injuries, you could recover two compensatory damages: Economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Sometimes referred to as special damages, economic damages have a monetary value. Most accident victims recover some form of economic damages, including:
Medical Expenses
Depending on the severity of the accident and injuries, medical expenses might include:
- Hospital expenses.
- Doctor's appointments.
- Surgeries and follow-up appointments.
- Psychological therapy.
- Cognitive therapy.
- Occupational therapy.
- Physical therapy.
- Prescriptions and prescribed over-the-counter medications.
- Vehicle upgrades, such as hand controls and wheelchair lifts.
- Updates to the home, including but not limited to handrails, ramps, grab bars, and widened doorways.
- Home health aides.
- Nursing home and convalescent home stays.
Lost Income
A collision causing an accident could prevent you from working for a few weeks, months, or years. Accident victims can recover compensation for lost income and loss of future earning capacity. If the accident caused the death of a loved one, a spouse or a parent could also collect compensation for loss of future earning capacity.
Personal Property
An accident victim can also recover compensation for damaged personal property, including damage to their vehicle and items of value inside the vehicle or on their person, such as cell phones and computers.
Death-Related Expenses
If you lost a loved one because they were killed in a car accident in Boca Raton, you could recover death-related expenses, including burial and funeral expenses, cremation expenses, and certain probate court or attorney expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
Sometimes referred to as general damages, non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
- Loss of quality of life.
- Loss of companionship.
- Loss of consortium.
- Loss of use of a body part.
- Loss of use of a bodily function.
- Amputation of a digit or limb.
- Excessive scarring and disfigurement.
If you lost a loved one because they were killed in a car accident in Boca Raton, you could recover death-related expenses, including burial and funeral expenses, cremation expenses, and certain probate court or attorney expenses.
Punitive Damages
It is difficult to obtain this type of compensation, as the court only orders a defendant to pay punitive damages for gross negligence or intentional behavior. Florida allows punitive damages, although the process takes longer because the trial requires two parts.
A court does not award punitive damages as compensation, but rather to punish the defendant for their outrageous behavior. Despite the added process involving punitive damages, it is sometimes worth the time.
If you suffered catastrophic or serious injuries or lost a loved one in a vehicle accident, contact a Boca Raton vehicle accident lawyer as soon as possible for a free case evaluation.