Orlando Rear End Car Accident Collision Injury Lawyer

Orlando is a great place to live, work, and play, but daily travel creates frustrations like all busy metropolitan areas. You may encounter endless local traffic and a daily influx of tourists as you navigate city streets and highways. Traffic congestion often contributes to rear-end accidents.

Rear-end crash victims don’t always sustain serious injuries, but when they do, they can deal with long-term consequences. If you’re recovering from rear-end accident injuries in the Orlando area, the Orlando rear-end collision lawyers at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, offer the legal help you need. We manage complex, post-accident issues so our clients can focus on recovery.

Your lifestyle becomes an unanticipated casualty when you sustain severe injuries in a rear-end collision. You juggle life complications as you adjust to a new, post-injury living standard. Pain and physical challenges may hamper daily activities and gainful employment. Lost income and high medical bills can cause ongoing financial strains.

Seek our legal support to help you recover the compensation you need to cover these expenses.

Why Choose Our Law Firm?

At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we consistently work to protect our clients’ rights. Our rear-end collision lawyers meet this challenge by thoroughly investigating each accident, evaluating our clients’ injuries, and researching legal issues. We work to resolve our clients’ injury claims by prioritizing their goals and interests.

When possible, our Orlando car accident attorneys negotiate injury settlements with cooperative insurers or their legal representatives. We will also resolve cases through alternative dispute resolution processes such as mediation and arbitration. When necessary, our trial lawyers present evidence in court and let a judge and jury decide the outcome.

Dedicated to Results

The legal team at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, has a proven track record.

We keep our commitments to our injured clients and their families and are proud of our results.

• Our law firm offers our clients 120 years of combined legal experience.
• We’ve handled cases for over 40,000 clients.
• We’ve resolved over 400 cases for compensation that exceeded the defendant’s pretrial offers.
• We’ve recovered over $400 million in compensation for our injured clients.

Each rear-end injury case is different, with unique liability and damage issues. We can’t guarantee a specific outcome, but we will work hard to produce the best possible results for your claim. Our case results and client testimonials demonstrate our firm’s commitment to our clients.

We Protect Our Clients’ Legal Rights

At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, our attorneys have worked for many clients with rear-end collision injuries. Some injured victims sustained fractures, lacerations, and other injuries with obvious visible signs.

Others suffered back injuries that often defied detection, diagnosis, and treatment norms. Because of the disparity in symptoms and disabilities, insurance companies often approach these injuries skeptically. This attitude presents challenges that our attorneys work to overcome.

We begin each case by investigating our client’s accident and identifying the responsible parties. We then place the opposing party on notice of our client’s legal representation and their legal obligations.

In evaluating our client’s case, we review their medical documentation and research their injuries. We spend time with our clients and their families to understand their physical challenges and learn how each issue affects their lives. Our attorneys commit to presenting a well-documented case and doing what’s necessary to ensure the strongest possible outcome.

Rear-End Accidents in Orlando

In Orlando, traffic volume is one of the primary reasons for the city’s high accident and rear-end crash rates. Orlando remains a tourist magnet with so many amusement parks and world-class attractions. Acknowledging a recent tourism upswing, World Travel & Tourism Council named Orlando the largest tourist market in the United States.

While many visitors arrive by air, many more come to the city in cars, trucks, and buses. Accidents are inevitable when commuters, tourists, and commercial drivers come together on Orlando’s roads and highways.

National Highway Transportation Administration research confirms that rear-end collisions occur more frequently than other accidents. The agency’s most recent annual statistics show that out of 3,494,750 collisions nationwide, 1,457,155 (27.8 percent) involved rear impacts. Rear-end crashes rank number two in fatalities and injuries and rank number one in property damage incidents.

In the Orlando area, the accident data aligns with national statistics. Rear-end accidents occur more frequently than other types of crashes.

The Metroplan Orlando Crash Data Dashboard’s most recent annual statistics show these local trends:

• Total vehicle crashes in Orange County: 36,314

• Total rear-end collisions in Orange County: 37.3 percent of all crashes
• Types of rear collisions in Orange County: Front to rear, 38.6 percent; rear to rear, 0.5 Percent
• Total crashes in Orlando: 22,228
• Total rear-end collisions in Orlando: 38.3 percent of all crashes

Orlando’s Most Dangerous Streets

The most recent Vision Zero Orlando Action Plan lists several streets as high injury locations.

Their statistics also show the percentage of total Orlando crashes on these streets.

• South Semoran Boulevard: 57 crashes (18 percent of all accidents)
• North Semoran Boulevard: 119 crashes (34 percent of all accidents)
• Lee Vista Boulevard: 55 crashes (17 percent of all accidents)
• Curry Ford Road: 89 crashes (25 percent of all accidents)
• West Colonial Drive: 69 crashes (17 percent of all accidents)

Why Rear-end Crashes Occur So Frequently

When NHTSA studied how and why rear-end crashes occur so frequently, they found:

• Nearly all rear-end accidents happen when an inattentive driver hits a stopped vehicle.
• Forty-seven percent of the at-fault drivers failed to brake or steer away from a potential rear-end crash.
• Researchers documented a strong connection between cognitive distractions (dining, daydreaming, wireless devices, phone conversations, etc.) and braking response times.
• A driver’s gaze location (eyes on or off the road) is a common factor in rear-end accidents.
• Even if a driver is looking forward, it doesn’t guarantee they will notice what the vehicle ahead is doing. NHTSA researchers speculated that a more noticeable brake light system was likely an issue.

Rear-Enders Often Involve More than Distractions

As with every other type of accident, drivers rear-end other vehicles because of bad driving behaviors.

Additional concerns affecting a driver’s attention span and contributing to rear-end accidents include:

• Alcohol-impaired driving: Drivers begin losing critical brain functions—thinking, reasoning, and muscle coordination—long before their blood or breath registers an illegal blood alcohol concentration.
• Drug-impaired driving: Prescription and nonprescription drugs damage the brain and body in ways similar to alcohol.
• Speeding: Even a sober driver has difficulty stopping in time when they’re speeding. When they see a stopped car ahead, speed increases a driver’s stopping distance making rear-end crashes more likely. Speed also enhances the damage and injuries a vehicle causes on impact.
• Drowsy driving: People driving while sleep-deprived experience issues similar to driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Deteriorating driving skills: Aging often creates vision, cognitive, and physical issues that impair a person’s ability to drive safely.

Rear-End Accident Injuries

A vehicle occupant’s body reacts immediately when a car strikes them in the rear. Injury severity varies based on impact force, types of vehicles implicated, and the passenger’s location in the car. An injured person’s age and physical condition also affect how their body responds to a rear-end crash.

Rear seat passengers sit closer to the impact and have limited protection. Consequently, they usually sustain the most severe injuries during a rear-end accident.

Injuries sometimes include:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Limb and other fractures
• Spinal fractures
• Spinal cord damage
• Nerve damage
• Disc and Vertebrae damage
• Facet joint injury
• Soft tissue injuries
• Ligament and joint damage

Whiplash Injuries

Even a minor rear-end crash has the potential for unanticipated medical trauma. Upon impact with their vehicle’s rear, the people often respond with a flexion/hyperextension motion. This whip-like movement stretches the neck and strains the musculoskeletal system and adjacent structures. Because of this triggering motion, doctors often refer to this condition as a whiplash injury.

Whiplash injuries often become controversial when considered from an insurance claim point of view. An injured victim doesn’t always feel symptoms immediately following an accident, so they often report that they have no injuries. They sometimes seek medical treatment days after an accident occurs.

Also, the common symptoms discussed on the NIH Whiplash Information Page often defy treatment and worsen over time instead of improving.

• Neck and back pain
• Headaches
• Inflammation
• Stiffness
• “Burning sensations”
• Memory issues
• Depression
• Sleep disorders
• Cognitive issues
• Psychological Problems such as PTSD

Who Is Responsible for Rear-End Collision Injuries?

Unless you commit a reckless act that forces a driver to strike your rear, the other driver is likely responsible for your damages. They may be negligent when their actions contribute to their inability to control their vehicle.

Also, the circumstances which lead to rear-end accidents usually violate Florida Statutes §316.0895: Following too closely. The law requires that motorists maintain a reasonable and prudent distance when they follow another vehicle, considering their speed, traffic, and highway conditions.

Florida Personal Injury Protection Coverage is Primary

As required by Florida Statutes §627.736, your auto insurance policy must include $10,000 in Personal Injury benefits and a $5,000 death benefit. These coverages become primary when you sustain injuries in an accident. They pay medical bills, lost wages, and other necessary services. You can make a liability claim only if your injuries meet a PIP tort threshold.

To meet this threshold, your injury must include one of the following outcomes:

• Significant/permanent loss of an important bodily function.
• Permanent injury
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
• Death

Recoverable Compensation for a Rear-end Accident

When we settle our clients’ injury claims, we seek economic, general, and sometimes punitive damages.

Economic Damages

These include out-of-pocket expenses such as hospitalization, treatment, rehabilitation, and income losses. When a physician anticipates that treatment and disabilities will continue, we calculate a current value for projected future costs.

Economic damages often include:

• Lost income
• Hospital costs
• Physician and surgeon fees
• Pharmaceuticals
• Scar revision surgeries
• Mobility devices and prostheses
• Physical and psychological therapy
• Transportation costs
• Replacement services
• Funeral and burial expenses

General Damages

In negotiating a claim for general damages, we establish a settlement value for physical and psychological trauma. Our evaluations consider the injured person’s subjective feelings about their pain and other issues.

General damages often include.

• Pain and suffering
• Anxiety and emotional distress
• Losses to spousal and family relationships
• Lifestyle changes
• Lost bodily functions
• Scars
• Disfigurement
• Permanent impairments and limitations

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are rare and aim to punish the at-fault party of egregious behavior. Florida courts can award punitive damages under Florida Statute §768.72. A plaintiff must show clear and convincing evidence that a defendant committed acts of intentional misconduct or gross negligence to successfully claim punitive damages.

How Insurers Defend an At-Fault Driver

When a driver strikes your vehicle in the rear, their insurer understands they have few defenses. Instead, they focus on diminishing your injury claim’s value. This practice is often the norm when you sustain a whiplash injury.

Traditionally, insurers view whiplash victims as a credibility problem. They often see their delayed symptoms, worsening pain, and progressive deterioration as unrealistic and exaggerated.

When they have no liability defenses, insurers often focus on mitigating the damages by:

• Asking for independent medical exams to dispute medical claims
• Checking a victim’s activities to catch them doing tasks their injuries should prevent
• Canvassing neighborhoods to seek others’ opinions on the injured person
• Checking social media to view the injured person’s social engagements and activities
• Undertaking credit checks to determine a person’s financial needs and predict their willingness to settle low
• Reviewing medical bill that may dispute treatment and costs
• Offering unreasonably low settlement amounts
• Refusing to negotiate and pushing the case to trial

Our attorneys have managed these and other defense strategies by preparing our cases early in the claim process. We evaluate our clients’ injuries and analyze the legal issues long before we consider negotiations, depositions, mediations, settlement conferences, or trials. Our experience makes a difference in successfully resolving our clients’ cases.

What Should You Do After a Rear-End Accident?

When you sustain injuries in an Orlando rear-end car accident, our attorneys will handle the legal issues, but you also have responsibilities. Of course, you want to recover, but you must also protect your interests.

Follow Your Doctor’s Orders

Insurers, attorneys, judges, and juries evaluate injury claims based on documented evidence. Your medical team provides this information through hospital records, physician’s reports, rehabilitation notes, and other documents. This ongoing treatment record verifies your injuries and medical issues and helps establish and support your claim.

You must follow your doctor’s treatment plan until you reach maximum healing.

• If your doctor recommends time off work, take the time to recover.
• Fill your pain medications and other prescriptions.
• Keep scheduled medical visits.
• Talk to your doctor about any treatment or recovery concerns.

Track Your Injury, Pain, and Suffering

When you sustain significant injuries, time usually passes before you consider settling your claim. You may forget important details by the time insurers initiate settlement negotiations or you give a deposition. Maintaining a daily diary can capture details about your pain, suffering, family trauma, and other issues.

Your journal helps you remember to explain these forgotten experiences to others.

• Document your treatment and recovery experiences.
• Describe your physical limitations.
• Explain how your impairments affect your family.
• Describe your daily pain, suffering, and emotional issues.
• Keep copies of your actual detailed bills, not just insurance payment summaries.
• Document anything you believe will be essential in explaining your injuries and recovery to your attorney and the people who will eventually evaluate your claim.

Remember That Someone Might Be Watching You

When liability insurers want to confirm your medical condition, they don’t always wait for medical reports. They conduct activity checks to supplement their existing information. This sometimes includes sitting in front of your home and watching and recording you as you come and go. The insurance company may even discuss you and your injuries with your neighbors. Seeking legal help early on can prevent insurance companies from trying to undermine your claim in this way.

Social media investigators check out your activities on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other sites. If they see you participating in activities that don’t comply with your injured condition, they use it to discredit you during negotiations or legal proceedings. Avoid posting on social media until your claim resolves.

Work With One of Our Seasoned Lawyers

When you deal directly with an insurance company or self-insured entity, you must remember that they represent the person who hurt you. When negotiating a settlement, they look out for the insurance company’s financial bottom line. Be sure to hire legal help to protect your interests. Our Orlando rear-end accident attorney lawyers safeguard your legal rights, and they look out for you.

We track your injuries, recovery, statute of limitations, and other details essential to resolving your claim and meeting critical deadlines.

Orlando Rear-End Accident Lawyers

If you sustained injuries in a rear-end accident, our rear-end accident lawyers offer immediate help. With offices across both Florida coasts, you can easily reach Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, at (407) 759-4565 or write to us using our online contact page.

You don’t have to make immediate decisions after a complimentary consultation with our legal team. We discuss your accident, answer your questions, and explain your legal options. When you’re ready, you decide whether you want us to file a claim or lawsuit.

Orlando Office
1701 Park Center Drive, Suite #240-G
Orlando, FL 32835
Phone: (407) 759-4565