Sarasota Car Accident Lawyer

Today’s cars and trucks are so big and fast that even low-speed collisions normally cause serious injuries that are difficult to diagnose and treat. Head injuries are a good example. Head injuries, like accident shock, initially cause soreness and disorientation. Therefore, many doctors confuse these two conditions, and head injury victims do not get the treatment they need. As a result, their serious injuries become even more serious.

The experienced Sarasota car accident lawyers at Carman & Bevington routinely handle car accidents and other personal injury matters throughout the Sunshine State. We know all procedural rules, even the unwritten ones. So, we confidently represent you in court. This combination of experience and confidence enables us to obtain results that exceed your expectations.

What to Do After a Sarasota Car Accident

The aforementioned head injuries are very common in car wrecks. These disorienting injuries often cause people to do things, or not do things, that compromise their injury claims later.

Most car accident victims are so seriously injured they can barely make it to the hospital. However, if you are one of the exceptions, carefully document the scene. Make a note of any nearby security or other surveillance cameras. Furthermore, get the names and contact information of any witnesses. Sometimes, witnesses do not come forward because they only saw part of the wreck. However, to a Sarasota car accident lawyer, such testimony could be the critical missing piece of the puzzle.

Always see a doctor, even if you do not “feel” injured. Adrenaline temporarily masks pain. Only a doctor can determine how badly you are, or are not, injured. Additionally, if victims do not immediately see doctors, insurance company lawyers often later argue that their injuries were exaggerated.

Do not apologize. In the South, we often apologize to express sympathy. However, in a court of law, an insurance company lawyer could twist an apology into an admission of liability. On a related note, do not speak with the other driver’s insurance company. Let your Sarasota car accident lawyer handle that conversation.

Types of Vehicle Collisions

Hundreds of vehicle collisions occur every day in Sarasota County. These collisions not only cause serious injuries, as mentioned above. They also involve complex legal issues.

• Head-On Wrecks: Liability, or legal responsibility for damages, may seem straightforward in these cases. However, because of legal doctrines like sudden emergency and last clear chance, a driver could be legally responsible for the wreck even if s/he did nothing wrong.
• Intersection Collisions: These wrecks often involve the contributory negligence doctrine. Frequently, insurance company lawyers try to shift blame for an intersection collision from the tortfeasor (negligent driver) to the victim, perhaps because one driver was drunk and the other one was speeding.
• Hit-and-Run Collisions: Law enforcement investigators almost immediately abandon these matters. Hit-and-run is very hard to prove in criminal court. However, the burden of proof is lower in civil court, and if any evidence is available, an attorney can usually obtain compensation.
• Sideswipe Crashes: These wrecks often involve judgment errors or driver inattention. Driver A misjudges the distance, or Driver A simply does not see Driver B. Advanced sensors designed to present these crashes may do more harm than good. Many people over-rely on the gadget instead of turning and looking.

This complexity underscores the need for an experienced attorney. Inexperienced lawyers, quite simply, cannot properly analyze cases and properly present these cases in court. So, these victims must usually settle for a lower amount of compensation.

Compensation in a car crash claim usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Contact a Sarasota County Car Accident Attorney Today

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Sarasota, contact Carman, Bevington & Finegan, P.A. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.