Bradenton Car Accident Lawyer

Did you suffer an injury in a car accident in Bradenton, FL? Serious car accidents occur here frequently, especially on:

• US 301
• University Parkway
• US 41
• 14th Street W. and
• From the Manatee River to Bradenton Beach.

Residents in Lakewood Ranch, Tara Golf & Country Club, Harbour Isle, and even Perico Bay all run the risk of suffering serious injuries in Bradenton car accidents. When you are an accident victim in Bradenton, you need an experienced Bradenton car accident lawyer fighting for you right away.

For some people, car accidents are life-changing. You may experience persistent pain, fatigue, and sleeplessness like many Bradenton car accident victims. As a result, it can be challenging to focus on important treatment while fighting with insurance companies and the other driver's attorney.

The Bradenton car accident lawyers at Dolman Law Group help injured claimants file for no-fault benefits, arbitrate insurance denials, settle personal injury claims out of court, or file personal injury lawsuits to recover financial compensation, all without any upfront cost. Retaining one of our experienced Bradenton car accident attorneys can alleviate your legal burdens and help you recover damages from negligent drivers.

Contact Dolman Law Group's Bradenton car accident lawyers today for a free consultation and no-obligation claim evaluation.

How a Bradenton Car Accident Attorney at Dolman Law Group Can Help With Your Injury Claim

Car accident claims can quickly become more difficult and involved than you anticipated. You may have assumed that you could just call the insurance company, get your car examined, submit an account of the damages you sustained because of the accident, and receive payment.

Unfortunately, car accident claims often turn out much more complicated than that. As the victim of any car accident, you should partner with the best accident lawyers in your area. When you're looking for the best car accident lawyers near you, we're here to help make it as easy as possible to maximize the results of your claim.

Our Law Firm Has a Proven History of Success When It Comes to Car Accident Claims

Not every car accident attorney in Bradenton has the same experience and success record. Our team of legal professionals has successfully represented seriously injured car accident victims and recovered more than $400 million dollars to help them move forward in life. Some of our recent case resolutions include:

• $3,850,000 awarded to the victim of a semi-truck accident who suffered a brain injury
• $3,200,000 for another semi-truck accident victim with a traumatic brain injury
• $1,875,000 awarded to the victim of a car accident with cervical fusion and traumatic brain injuries
• $1,580,000 for the victim of an auto accident who suffered two herniated discs

While we cannot guarantee these results in your car accident claim, when you work with a car accident lawyer in the Dolman Law Group Bradenton office, you will get the benefit of our skill, experience, and determination.

We Work With Clients to Resolve Both Big and Small Claims

At Dolman Law Group, we do not care about the size of your claim. We care that you recoup the compensation you deserve for the injuries you sustained due to another driver’s negligent behavior. We take on small car accident claims with the same passion we do in bigger cases, and we work hard to help ensure that every client receives the recognition and support they deserve after a potentially devastating incident.

We Make It as Easy as Possible for Our Clients to Get the Legal Support They Need

Dealing with an injury claim after a car accident can feel incredibly challenging. Fortunately, you do not have to handle your claim on your own.

We ensure every client can easily contact their Bradenton car accident attorney and that they can count on our support throughout the claim process. We have offices on both Florida coasts, including an office conveniently located in Bradenton. If you cannot come into the office in person, we offer virtual consultations to provide the comprehensive support you need and deserve.

If you are ready to move forward with a car accident claim in Bradenton, do not try to handle it alone. Instead, contact Dolman Law Group today to learn more about your legal right to compensation.

What Compensation Can Your Bradenton Car Accident Lawyer Request on Your Behalf?

When you suffer injuries in a Bradenton auto collision, you need to know how much compensation you can expect. Many accident victims end up with considerable medical bills and a long road to recovery ahead of them.

At Dolman Law Group, we cannot guarantee the compensation you will recover for your injuries. However, we can work with you to look at all the damages you sustained because of the accident and what compensation you have the right to request based on your unique circumstances. Some common financial damages you may seek in a car crash claim include:

Your Medical Costs

In Florida, drivers must carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance as well as general liability insurance. Florida’s no-fault laws note that drivers must use their PIP coverage to cover the first portion of their medical bills after an accident. In Florida, that generally means covering 80 percent of the first $10,000 medical costs associated with an accident.

In many cases, however, the cost of treatment for the injuries you sustained in your accident may exceed the protection offered by your PIP insurance. Some injuries, like a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury, may cause long-term or permanent losses. In those cases, you may have the right to recover medical costs that exceed your PIP coverage as part of a personal injury claim after a car accident.

Your Lost Wages

In addition to claiming compensation for your direct medical bills, if your injuries exceed the protection offered by your PIP insurance, you may have the right to claim compensation for the wages lost after your auto accident.

Serious injuries can mean long-term wage losses, including an inability to work in your chosen field, depending on the extent of the injuries you suffered and the field you work in. Talk to your lawyer about the hours you have missed at work. Make sure that you include time missed at work for appointments and follow-up procedures and the time you missed at work immediately after the accident.

Your Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering after a car crash can have a substantial negative impact on your life. In many cases, Bradenton car accident victims find the suffering that comes after the accident more difficult to manage than the financial losses they may have to deal with. As part of an injury claim after a car accident, you have the right to claim compensation for the suffering you may have faced.

Bradenton Car Accident Statute of Limitations and General Statistics

After a car accident in Bradenton, the Florida statute of limitations allows victims two years to file an injury claim. In general, however, you will not want to wait until the statute of limitations gets close to start preparing for an injury claim since it could prevent you from receiving the compensation you deserve for those injuries.

Florida sees an estimated 1,100 crashes per day. Those accidents can occur for several reasons.

• Bad weather. Like much of the rest of Florida, Bradenton may see significant periods of heavy rainfall, during which drivers may have a harder time navigating. Heavy rainfall can prove particularly difficult for young or inexperienced drivers to manage.
• Tourists. Bradenton sees an average of close to a million visitors each year. Those visitors may have less overall familiarity with the area, which can sometimes increase the risk of an accident. Visitors to the area may also have a greater overall risk of drinking and driving.
• Distraction. The Bradenton area offers gorgeous views and incentives, which may take drivers’ attention away from the road as they navigate.
• Cyclists. Bradenton has more than 75 cycle routes perfect for exploring the area. However, both visitors and resident drivers may struggle to share the roads safely with cyclists, raising the risk of an accident.
• Inebriation. High levels of intoxication can raise the risk of an accident and make it more difficult for drivers to operate their vehicles safely, increasing the risk of an accident.

A car wreck can cause devastating injuries, including broken bones and spinal cord injuries. A Bradenton car accident lawyer can help crash victims fight for the compensation they deserve.

What are the Most Common Types of Serious Bradenton Car Accident Injuries?

Over 4 million Americans are injured in car accidents each year. The type of injury often depends on how the accident happened, the type of car accident that occurred, the speed of the vehicles, and the overall health of the injured occupants.

Bradenton car crash victims commonly suffer from the following injuries:

• Whiplash - This is a strain or sprain of the ligaments in the neck and back that occurs when the head is forced forward and then snaps back. It's very common after rear-end car accidents.
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) - This may occur when the force of the vehicle's impact causes the brain to strike the inside of the skull. This may result in anything from a minor concussion to permanent disability or death. The force of the impact itself often determines the seriousness of the TBI.
• Back or spinal cord injuries - Disc herniations and spinal cord damage often occur from car accidents, especially in individuals over the age of 40. The spine weakens as a person ages, and so back injuries are often more serious in older individuals.
• Herniated (slipped) discs - These occur when one or more of the cushions between the bones in your spine slips out of place. The displacement is painful in itself, but it can also push on the delicate nerves in the spinal cord, causing radiating pain and numbness. The force of a car accident can cause major herniations that require multiple surgeries and physical therapy. Serious spinal damage can even result in paralysis.
• Knee and shoulder tears or fractures - Even minor injuries to knees and shoulders can significantly restrict basic movement. Knees commonly strike the dashboard during a car accident, and seatbelts often cause shoulder injuries.
• Concussions and facial fractures - Airbags save lives, but they can also cause injuries. High-impact crashes may result in airbag deployment, causing facial fractures or a traumatic brain injury.
• Burns - Cars contain a lot of flammable fuel and materials, and car fires often happen quickly. Occupants may be trapped in their vehicles when a fire starts, which can quickly result in life-changing burns.

If you were injured in a Bradenton auto crash, your age and prior condition shouldn't affect liability. Negligent drivers are often responsible for any injuries caused or aggravated after a car accident, no matter how unexpected they are or the prior condition of the plaintiff.

Our Bradenton Car Accident Attorneys Can Explain Car Accident and No-Fault Laws

Special insurance laws apply to Florida car accident cases. In Florida, the type and severity of your injuries generally dictate if you can sue for compensation. Florida residents injured in a car accident must prove they've suffered a serious injury to pursue a personal injury claim.

A serious injury must fall into at least one of the following threshold categories:

• An injury that resulted in a Bradenton wrongful death
• An injury that caused a permanent disability in at least one important part of the body
• An injury that the claimant can never recover from
• An injury, such as a burn that causes significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement

Car accident victims suffering from serious injury may file litigation that seeks direct compensation for financial loss, as well as compensation for pain, psychological trauma, anguish, suffering, and lifestyle inconveniences.

Coverage for Car Accident Injuries Under Florida No-Fault Insurance

If the injuries weren't permanent or significant, claimants can seek compensation through their no-fault insurance policies. Florida law requires vehicles to carry at least $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) insurance to cover minor injuries and expenses after a car crash. This insurance kicks in regardless of who caused the accident and covers a portion of an injured occupant's emergency room expenses, doctor bills, and lost wages after a Bradenton car accident.

If you've exhausted your no-fault policy, perhaps due to required surgery or bills that cost more than $10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, speak with an experienced Bradenton car accident attorney about whether or not you meet the serious injury threshold.

While the state's no-fault rule does ensure that people have to go through their own insurance coverage first, it also allows those with especially severe injuries to pursue the responsible party for losses that exceed the PIP coverage limits.

Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Car Crash in Bradenton?

It's rare for negligent drivers to accept full responsibility for a car accident. Even when they do, insurance companies often try to mitigate their overall financial liability by placing blame on the injured party. This is called comparative fault or contributory negligence.

Insurance adjusters who disagree about liability may try to settle the claim 50-50, even if that's not accurate. Keep in mind that insurance liability determinations are not binding in court. An experienced Bradenton personal injury attorney may help you fight an insurance determination or arbitrate insurance denials. A comparative liability finding is only binding if appropriately determined by a Florida judge or jury.

How Can Our Bradenton Auto Accident Lawyers Help?

Injured victims often forget that insurance is a business. Private companies improve their bottom lines by making it difficult to recover compensation and assigning blame to innocent parties.

Injured claimants commonly experience the following car insurance frustrations in Florida:

• Repetitive requests for evidence, such as witness information, that doesn't exist or was already provided
• The constant need to re-certify medical paperwork
• Requests that you submit to independent medical examinations where your injuries are not fully assessed
• Repeated denial of coverage for medical bills or lost wages due to paperwork requests and/or errors
• Claims that the injuries were preexisting or resolved
• Denial and/or discontinuation of benefits
• Inaccurate assignment of liability

Our Bradenton auto injury attorneys understand these frustrations. As such, we can assist with insurance paperwork, arbitration, and no-fault recovery. Most car accident cases are settled with the liable insurance company through the help of a zealous Bradenton personal injury attorney.

What is My Bradenton Car Accident Claim Worth?

State law recognizes three types of compensation in car accident cases: direct economic damages, non-economic pain and suffering damages, and punitive damages. Direct economic damages are calculable expenses resulting from the car accident.

Examples of recoverable economic damages after a Bradenton car accident include:

• Medical bills
• Co-pays and over-the-counter medical supplies
• Medical or assisted living devices
• At-home or facility nursing care
• Physical and occupational rehabilitative therapy
• Lost wages and bonuses
• Lost promotional opportunities and career goals
• Vehicle damage
• Medical transportation costs
• Assistance with cleaning, cooking, dressing, or other activities of daily living

These damages are calculable and include past, present, and future economic damages. Expert economists may help claimants calculate the cost of these direct losses for the anticipated duration of their work lives.

Pain and Suffering Damages

Many residents in the state have health, disability, and motor vehicle insurance to cover direct expenses after a car wreck. That being said, it's challenging to adequately determine the compensation they deserve for the pain, suffering, and emotional turmoil associated with life-altering car accident injuries or the loss of a loved one. Pain and suffering damages are real, but their value is hard to calculate.

Examples of non-economic damages include compensation for:

• Mental anguish and suffering
• Depression
• Frustration
• Pain
• Limitations associated with daily living, such as the inability to dress or bathe without assistance
• Lifestyle inconveniences
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Inability to engage in hobbies and activities
• Loss of physical and emotional intimacy with a spouse

Expert physiological evaluations and detailed testimony from the victim, friends, and family members are often necessary to establish and assign value to these non-economic damages. It's impossible to fully compensate a victim for mental anguish after a serious accident, but financial payment may alleviate certain stressors associated with the suffering and help injured claimants establish new hobbies and social relationships.

Punitive Damages in Bradenton Car Accident Cases

Some of the largest lawsuit payouts in history included substantial punitive damages. A judge or jury might award punitive damages to Bradenton accident victims to punish a liable party for intentionally harming them or for particularly reckless behavior.

Punitive damages are not based on the direct or indirect losses suffered by an injured victim. Instead, they are awarded in addition to economic and non-economic damages. Punitive damages are rarely available in Florida car accident cases because ordinary negligence doesn't merit financial punishment. Further, punishing an insurance company does little to actually punish a defendant for their reckless conduct. Punitive damages must typically be recovered directly from the defendant, not a car insurance company.

Despite the difficulties associated with obtaining punitive damages in personal injury cases, they are available in serious Bradenton car accidents. To receive them, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant intentionally caused the injuries, knew their behavior was wrong, or acted with such reckless disregard for the life and safety of others that they should be penalized.

Car Accidents That May Involve Punitive Damages

• Bradenton drunk driving crashes
• Driving under the influence of illegal drugs
• Intentional run-over accidents
• Injuries caused by drag racing or reckless driving
• Injuries to passengers when a driver intentionally crashes a vehicle

Each claimant's losses are commonly grouped together during insurance negotiations. More often than not, insurance companies will review all claimed damages and offer eligible claimants a lump-sum settlement without distinguishing between these categories. The claimant waives any additional claims against a defendant and insurer after accepting a settlement.

Our Team Can Fight the Insurance Company For You After a Car Accident in Bradenton

Bradenton car accidents often involve a substantial fight with the insurance company that covers the responsible party. Some victims assume that the insurance company will simply pay for the damages they sustained after a car accident. Unfortunately, this can prove entirely untrue.

The insurance company may, in fact, make life very difficult for the victim of a serious accident, including fighting to reduce the compensation that the insurance company has to pay.

The insurance company may:

• Deny the extent of the damages the victim suffered in the car accident. Insurance companies often ignore the full extent of the victim’s injuries or the losses that often accompany a devastating accident.
• Insist that the driver covered by that insurance policy did not cause the accident.
• Pressure the injured party to accept a settlement offer that does not reflect the damages caused by the accident.

At Dolman Law Group, we have the resources to go up against even the big names in car insurance. We can help you fight to establish the full extent of your losses and recover the compensation you really deserve for your devastating injuries.

Our Bradenton Car Accident Law Firm Can Gather Important Evidence After Your Collision

Many victims injured in Bradenton car accidents are denied essential compensation due to a lack of evidence. The burden is on the injured claimant to prove their injury and the other party's liability, which means they must present reliable evidence to insurance companies and courts. The more evidence of liability, loss, and hardship a claimant has, the more likely the claimant can recover compensation.

Economic damages are easy to quantify. Simply keep all receipts for expenditures related to your injuries and losses after a car accident. Keeping them all in a special folder is helpful, and you can write out receipts for housekeepers or cooking services if they're not otherwise provided. Bradenton car accident attorneys often work with economic experts to track these damages and calculate your future needs. For serious and permanent injuries, courts and insurance companies will typically consider certified expert reports as evidence of economic damages.

It's difficult to gather evidence of non-economic damages, even though this often accounts for claimants' most serious injuries. Keeping a mood or pain journal, whether by hand or the use of a phone application, helps prove the reality of the pain and suffering caused by a car accident. Ensuring a psychologist is keeping records for car accident-related counseling is also helpful, as is evidence of any drugs prescribed to mitigate physical and emotional pain.

Before-and-after evidence of lifestyle changes is also essential to recovering non-economic compensation in Bradenton. Examples of such evidence include gym records, hobby photos, or testimony from gym trainers to prove you commonly enjoyed certain activities before an accident. Friends and family can then testify how the accident has affected a claimant's mood and prevented him or her from engaging in previously enjoyed activities.

Bradenton Car Accident FAQs

Our Experienced Bradenton Car Crash Attorneys Offer Free Consultations Everyday

Whether you are struggling to claim no-fault benefits or were permanently disabled after a crash, a car accident lawyer at Dolman Law Group may help. No injury is too big or small for our compassionate Bradenton car accident lawyers. Personal injury compensation may be available without the need for time-consuming litigation or up-front costs.

Contact our Bradenton personal injury lawyers today for a free, no-obligation personal injury case review. With offices across both Florida coasts and an office in Bradenton, you can easily reach the Dolman Law Group team at (941) 613-5747 or simply fill out our online contact page.

Bradenton Office
6703 14th Street West Suite 207
Bradenton, FL 34207
Phone: (941) 613-5747

Client Testimonial

“AMAZING and understanding attorneys! Did great on my case and I highly recommend Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA for anyone that has been injured in an accident!"
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Koralis R.
Jan 2020
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