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Jul
2022

How Common Are Car Accidents in Florida?

on  Car Accidents

Florida sees a huge number of car accidents every year. Being one of the largest states, it is unsurprising that Florida would have so many car accidents. With 62,524 of the 401,164 crashes reported in 2021, Miami-Dade County alone has nearly16% of the total car crashes in the state. Miami car accident lawyer Prosper Shaked discusses some of these car accident stats and explains how common car accidents really are in the State of Florida. If you or a loved one was involved in a car crash, call our law offices today to schedule a free consultation on your case.

Car Accident Statistics in Florida

So far in 2022, there have been around 188,093 accidents in Florida. With 119,143 individual injuries from crashes, we can see that around 63% of all crashes cause personal injury. Even worse, 1,538 of these traffic accidents were deadly, causing 1,664 deaths.

2021 is the last year with full statistics available. These stats, posted by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, show a high number of dangerous car crashes throughout the year. In total, 2021 saw 401,165 total accidents in the state, with 252,900 individuals reporting injury. Of these total accidents, 3,456 crashes were fatal, ending in the death or wrongful death of 3,759 individuals. .

Breaking down these statistics by time, we see these crashes are astonishingly common. In the average month in 2021, there were around 33,430 accidents. This means that, each day, there were around 1,114 car crashes, more than 10 of which are fatal. In Miami-Dade County alone, this is around 171 crashes each day causing around 7 deaths each week.

Breaking these numbers down further, we see about 3 accidents every 4 minutes in the State of Florida. In these accidents, someone dies nearly once every 3 hours.

Common Causes of Florida Car Crashes

Car accidents arise from a variety of factors and causes. Some accidents are pure accidents – but most accidents are attributable to some concrete cause. Many of the fatal car accidents in Florida come from serious traffic violations and dangerous driving habits, like drunk driving accidents, texting while driving crashes, and distracted driving collisions. More mundane accidents are often caused by drivers who misjudge their speed or the size of their vehicle or simply make dangerous moves on the road, like running a stop sign or failing to check their blind spot while changing lanes.

The court or the insurance company is often responsible for defining the legal cause of the accident and assigning blame to the proper parties to hold them responsible for their dangerous driving.

Can You Sue for a Car Accident in Florida?

Florida’s laws allow you to receive compensation if you are one of the 8 people injured in a car crash each day, but these laws may not always allow you to file a lawsuit. Certainly, if a loved one is killed or you suffer serious, life-altering injuries, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit. However, minor cases that involve less than $10,000 worth of injuries or have property damage only may need to be filed through insurance. Talk to an attorney about what your case is worth to see if you qualify for filing a lawsuit.

When you receive compensation for a car accident through your insurance company, you may be entitled to only a portion of the damages you might deserve. Car insurance typically covers only a percentage of the damages you claim for medical expenses and lost wages (usually something like 80% or 60%). Car insurance payouts also fail to cover many other economic damages you may suffer, as well as less concrete damages like pain and suffering damages.

When you file your case in a court of law, you may be entitled to claim full amounts for all damages you suffered. This means claiming the full value of medical bills you faced because of the accident, the full amount of any wages you lost or will lose from missed work, plus any damages to cover the physical pain, mental suffering, and emotional distress you suffered because of your injuries.

Always talk to an attorney before accepting any money from your insurance company or the at-fault driver. These payouts could act as a settlement which prevents you from later taking your case to court. Talk to a Florida personal injury lawyer about what your case is worth and how much you deserve in damages.

Call Our Miami Car Accident Lawyer Today for a Free Consultation

If you or a loved one was injured in a car crash, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today. Prosper Shaked has experience trying cases in court and fighting to get compensation for his clients. If you need help understanding what your case is worth or how to best get the compensation you need to cover your expenses, contact our office today to set up a free consultation on your case. Our number is (305) 694-2676.