Shapiro | Delgado

Unfortunately in Florida, drivers are not required to have insurance that covers other drivers’ and pedestrians’ injuries. However, purchasing Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage on your policy, which covers the insured and their resident relatives, can protect you in the event the at-fault driver has inadequate insurance coverage. Check your policy to see if you have any Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage because it could be the only possible recovery.

Yes. In fact, the traffic ticket is not admissible evidence in your injury case because the officer that issued the ticket did not see the accident. Additionally, Florida is a Comparative Fault state, which means that a jury could determine that both parties are at fault and allocate each party a percentage of fault. If a jury determines you were 50% at fault for the accident, then you will receive 50% of what the jury determines your damages to be.

There are many factors that determine how long an injury claim will take to get resolved. If there are significant injuries and minimal coverage, the insurance company may tender their policy quickly. However, if there is a lot of insurance coverage, we will typically wait until the client’s doctor has determined that they reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) before demanding money from the insurance company. Typically, that takes about 5 to 9 months. Once we make a formal demand, we negotiate with the insurance company to see if they are willing to make a fair offer. Once we get the insurance company up to their “top dollar offer,” we provide the client with a proposed closing statement that shows how much money they will receive after the doctors and attorneys fees are paid. Then it is the client’s decision whether to settle for that amount or take the insurance company to court!

Every injury claim is different, but they all come down to three things; liability, coverage and damages. Liability means that your injuries are someone else’s fault. Coverage is how much insurance coverage is available from the at-fault party to pay for your injuries. Finally, Damages are the pain and suffering, medical bills, future medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life claims, and loss of consortium caused by your injuries. At Shapiro | Delgado, we do everything we can to maximize the value of your claim.

It’s very common to realize your injuries from an auto accident the day after the accident. At the car accident scene, your adrenaline is pumping and you do not feel the injuries until the next day. For that reason, a lot of accident victims do not report injuries at the scene. Your doctor’s testimony and MRI/X-ray results will be used to prove your injuries.

Sometimes, your primary care physician will not want to treat you after an auto accident because they do not want to get tied up in litigation. We know the doctors in the area that are familiar with treating accident victims and understand the claims process. They are willing to wait until the end of the case to get paid and have experience testifying in the courtroom in case your case ever goes to trial. Everyone in Florida is required to have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance, which covers up to the first $10,000 of your own medical bills after an accident REGARDLESS OF WHO IS AT FAULT.

In Florida, you have four years to file your auto accident claim with court before the Statute of Limitations. However, it is important to get to an attorney long before the Statute of Limitations expires so that they can maximize your claim. If the claimant died in the accident, the statute of limitations is only two years because it becomes a Wrongful Death claim.

At Shapiro | Delgado, we have attorneys and a staff that have handled thousands of personal injury claims. We know the process and we know how to put pressure on the insurance companies. Settlement negotiations are dictated by what both sides believe would happen if the case went to trial. Hiring an attorney who has won big verdicts in the courtroom helps pressure the insurance company into a settlement so they do not get stuck paying a potentially larger amount if the case goes to trial. At Shapiro | Delgado, we have a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer that has won six and seven figure verdicts in the courtroom over the last 30 years of his career.

At Shapiro | Delgado, we take cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that we only get paid if you win! Additionally, our law firm pays the costs for processing your claim up front, and we do not get reimbursed until there has been a successful recovery.