New Smyrna Beach Car Accident Lawyer

While it isn’t as well known as other beachside communities throughout Florida, New Smyrna Beach offers astounding scenery and a fascinating history that draws visitors from around the world. However, despite all its charms, there are several hazards involved with living in or visiting New Smyrna, and many of those hazards take place on the city’s roadways in the form of negligent drivers.

If you sustain injuries in a car accident in New Smyrna Beach that another driver's negligence caused, you may seek compensation from the at-fault party's liability insurance policy. If the insurer fails to compensate you, a car accident lawyer can file a suit to recover the money you deserve.

An experienced New Smyrna Beach car accident lawyer from Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, can evaluate your case for free and help you understand the personal injury claims process.

Why Trust Dolman Law Group With Your Car Accident Claim?

Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, has offices across Florida, providing our clients with easy access to our services and a legal team with experience across various accident and injury types. Other personal injury law firms focus on taking on as many clients as possible and settling their claims as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, New Smyrna Beach personal injury lawyer at Dolman Law Group focuses on helping our clients receive the maximum compensation available for their claims, even if it means going to court. We want to help you win your case and support you throughout the process.

While no guarantee of success in all claims, some of our recent case results include:

• $1.58 million in compensation for a client who suffered two herniated discs impinging on the spinal cord due to a car accident.
• A $1 million resolution to a car accident claim.
• $1 million for the family of a father killed in a rideshare accident.

See Our Conveniently Located New Smyrna Beach Office

Our New Smyrna Beach location is at 500 Canal Street, just off South Dixie Freeway, across from The General Public House.

Assisting Clients With All Types of Motor Vehicle Accident Claims

Dolman Law Group is honored to assist individuals seeking compensation who were injured in accidents involving:

• Passenger vehicles, including taxis and rideshares
• Commercial trucks and buses
• Trains
• Motorcycles
• Pedestrians and bicyclists

Our clients come to us for assistance with claims on injuries such as:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Back and neck injuries
• Broken bones
• Internal injuries

What Causes Car Accidents in New Smyrna Beach?

With a laid-back surfer vibe and some outdoor activities, New Smyrna Beach is a place to get away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy the warm weather. Unfortunately, many people choose to include alcohol or drugs in their plans. FLHSMV reports that over 100 alcohol-confirmed crashes occur near New Smyrna Beach each year, along with well over a dozen drug-confirmed crashes.

Distracted driving is also a common cause of accidents here. Many tasks draw their attention away with drivers looking at their phones, GPS systems, the beautiful scenery, focusing on visiting with passengers, or tending to children in the backseat.

Other causes of crashes in New Smyrna Beach include:

• Speeding, which is one of the most common causes of crashes nationwide.
• Fatigued driving, which produces similar defects to a person’s driving skills as alcohol impairment.
• Wrong-way driving, which can occur due to impairment or unfamiliarity with the roadway.
• Poor vehicle maintenance, leading to parts on the vehicle failing during operation.

Dangerous Intersections and Roadways in New Smyrna Beach

There are many dangerous areas for drivers in and around New Smyrna Beach, including:

• State Road 415, which is a popular cut-through for drivers traveling to and from New Smyrna Beach, sees congested traffic and excessive speeds.
• Orange Street between Washington Street and Mary Avenue, in downtown New Smyrna Beach. Several crashes occurred at the Orange Street and Washington Street intersection, prompting the city to make the road one-way.
• U.S. Highway 1, which is known as the most dangerous roadway in Florida, has featured more than 1,000 crashes over the past decade.

What to Do After You have Sustained Injuries in a Car Accident

There is a lot of information about what to do at the scene of a car accident, such as remaining on the scene and exchanging information with other drivers involved. Those who have sustained injuries due to another driver’s negligence are often left wondering what to do after they’ve sought medical treatment for their injuries.

Here are some steps that you can take to begin working on your case.

• Follow your doctor’s treatment plans to provide yourself with the best opportunity for healing and create a trail of documentation about your injury.
• Keep receipts for all accident-related expenses, such as medical receipts, bills for car repair, or invoices for the provision of domestic services your injury prevents you from performing on your own.
• Obtain a copy of the crash report.
• Keep a journal of your medical appointments, the treatments provided, and the impacts on your quality of life resulting from the injury.
• Bring this information for a free case evaluation with an attorney from Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA.

The Process of Seeking Compensation for Your Injuries

A car accident can change one’s life instantly, leaving them with serious injuries that impact every part of their life.

Some of the financial and psychological impacts often suffered by those who have sustained injuries in car accidents include:

• Medical expenses, including the cost of ambulance transport, emergency room services, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, the services of medical staff, the use of equipment and supplies, physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well as the provision of assistive devices such as prosthetic limbs, crutches, or a wheelchair. Some injuries are permanent, meaning they will continue to require treatment throughout the sufferer’s life.
• Income loss while the injured person is recovering from their injury. Certain types of injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries or damage to the spinal cord or the spinal vertebrae and discs, can result in the inability of the injured party to ever work again or to experience a diminished earning capacity.
• The cost of home or vehicle renovations to accommodate the injury, as well as the cost of home health care services or long-term nursing.
• Physical pain and suffering or emotional distress resulting from the injury, the treatment of it, the trauma of the accident, and the many impacts on the claimant’s quality of life.
• Loss of the enjoyment of life arising from the claimant’s inability to participate in activities and events that were important to them due to the injury.

Do You Need an Attorney? (Can You Afford One?)

The personal injury claims process seems simple enough when perusing the different steps involved. However, these claims are rarely simple, as they feature an insurance provider who makes money from selling policies, not compensating them. An attorney has a crucial role in helping you obtain the compensation you need, as they have the experience and understanding necessary to navigate the process and a legal team to assist with preparing and presenting your claim to an insurer or even to a judge or jury.

Because their role in the process is so important, most lawyers use a contingent fee billing method to ensure that their clients can afford their services, regardless of their financial status. With this billing method, the attorney’s fees are contingent upon the claim’s compensation. If the claimant does not receive payment, they do not have to pay their legal team for their work on the case.

Here is how it works:

• After attending a free case evaluation with an attorney from the Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA team, if you and the lawyer decide you want to work together on your claim, you will sign a contingent fee agreement. This agreement outlines the services your attorney will provide and designates a percentage of the compensation received on the claim through a negotiated settlement or a court award as payment to the attorney.
• Your lawyer will not ask you to pay a retainer or bill you hourly for the services of your legal team while your case is active. This means no upfront investment and no worries about your inability to pay holding up the work on your claim.
• After receiving your claim, your attorney will receive your award and deduct the designated percentage for your fee. You will meet with the attorney to finalize the case and will be given an accounting of the services performed, the amount received, and the amount paid. You will then receive the remainder of the compensation.

How Much is Your Case Worth?

The value of a car accident claim is not based only on expenses, such as those incurred as a result of medical treatment or wage loss. Claimants can seek compensation for the psychological impacts of their injury as well. According to a report published by the Washington University Law Review, an average of 50 to 80 percent of the compensation awarded by judges and juries to personal injury claimants are for non-economic damages, such as physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, or the loss of the enjoyment of life.

Your attorney will assign a value to your claim that considers the expenses you have incurred and the impacts.

Other factors considered when valuing a claim include:

• The amount of insurance coverage available to compensate the claim.
• The severity of the injury.
• Any permanent injuries that will likely result in lost earning capacity or additional medical treatments in the future.

How Do You Communicate With the Insurance Provider?

As noted, insurance providers are not interested in fairly compensating claims made by those who sustained injuries from their insured’s negligence. Their interest is to protect their bottom line by devaluing or eliminating claims. To do this, they engage in some questionable tactics. Many of these involve either attempting to get the claimant to go on record saying they were at fault for their accident or accepting a meager settlement offer under the threat of not receiving any compensation if they don’t.

An experienced New Smyrna car accident lawyer will protect the value of your claim by handling the communication with your insurance provider for you.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?

Regardless of any arbitrary deadline set by the insurer to make a claimant think they must make a quick decision on a settlement offer, claimants usually have until the personal injury statute of limitations expires to seek compensation for the expenses and impacts of their injury.

Failing to meet this deadline will result in losing your ability to sue if the insurance provider fails to pay the claim. Unfortunately, because you can no longer sue, missing the statute of limitations generally results in losing the opportunity to settle the claim.

For most claimants, the statute of limitations in Florida is two years from the accident.

Were You Injured in a New Smyrna Beach Car Accident? We Can Help

Car accident injuries can create profound financial and psychological impacts, particularly when the damage results from someone else's carelessness or recklessness. Without an attorney, seeking compensation for those impacts is overwhelming for most people.

The legal team at Dolman Law Group wants you to focus on your healing and let us focus on fighting the insurance company for the compensation you need. Let our experienced car accident lawyer help you understand the personal injury claims process and the type of services we can provide.

With offices across both Florida coasts, you can easily reach Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, at (833) 552-7274 or write to us using our online contact page.