Some vehicle accidents you can walk away from. You exchange insurance information with the other driver and everyone gets on with their lives. Think of it as a no-harm, no-foul sort of situation. Things are noticeably different when it’s a jackknife truck accident. Injuries and property damage tend to be severe and sometimes life-threatening.
Fatalities also aren’t unheard of in a jackknife truck accident. While the common causes of Orlando jackknife truck accidents like driving too close to a turning big rig are pretty easy to figure out, the same can’t be said for the claim process. Navigating Florida’s accident claim process can take a lot of patience and some legal knowledge.
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Filing an Injury Claim After a Florida Jackknife Truck Accident
What you do immediately after being involved in a jackknife truck accident can impact pretty much every step of the insurance claim process.
Know Who to File an Accident Claim With
If you’re getting ready to file a claim against the truck driver or their company’s insurance provider, drop the form. This isn’t who you should be contacting. Instead, you’re filing a claim with your insurance provider. Yep, this applies even when there’s absolutely no way you’re the at-fault driver. The Sunshine State follows no-fault insurance rules and this means everyone initially files a claim with their provider.
What does your insurance cover? This depends on your policy. All drivers with vehicles registered in Florida must carry at least liability insurance. You’re also required to have personal injury protection (PIP) Coverage.
If you only have liability insurance, your property damage isn’t covered, at least not yet. Put your property damage on temporary hold and concentrate on your PIP coverage. PIP covers medical costs and lost income if your injuries are keeping you out of work. How much PIP covers depends on your policy’s cap. PIP either pays up to the cap or 80% of your medical expenses and lost wages.
Dealing with Modified Comparative Negligence
Florida seems to love insurance rules and here’s another one that can impact your accident claim. Along with being a no-fault insurance state, Florida also follows comparative negligence guidelines. This really doesn’t matter when you’re filing a claim with your insurance provider. However, when it’s time to file a claim for damages not covered by your insurance, modified comparative negligence can be a pain.
In a nutshell, modified comparative negligence lets more than one party involved in the accident be liable for the resulting damages. As long as you’re not more than 50% responsible for causing the accident, you should be able to recover at least some of your remaining damages. Your compensation amount is going to be reduced by your assigned percentage of blame.
So, if you’re assigned 25% of the blame for the jackknife truck accident and your possible compensation is $75,000, you’ll end up receiving $50,000 for your damages.
Filing a Claim Against the At-Fault Truck Driver
Even though jackknife truck accidents are typically the driver’s fault there can be exceptions. Before you can claim your remaining damages from the accident, you need to figure out who you’re naming as a defendant. This can be the truck driver, the company they work for, individuals responsible for securing loads, or the manufacturer/parts supplier.
Sometimes figuring out who’s the liable party is harder than going through the claim process. Thankfully, if you’re working with an experienced accident attorney you shouldn’t run into a ton of problems.
Report the Accident
This really isn’t a suggestion, it’s Florida law. All vehicle accidents in the Sunshine State with injuries, fatalities, and/or property damage exceeding $500 must be immediately reported to the authorities. Yep, this means waiting around at the accident scene. However, this shouldn’t be too difficult. You’re just involved in an accident with a commercial truck. Even if you got away without any serious injuries, your vehicle probably isn’t drivable.
Besides, reporting the accident immediately has some distinct advantages. Even jackknife truck accidents can present a few challenges when you’re trying to establish liability. When the authorities can investigate the accident right after it happens, things tend to go a little more smoothly. Don’t forget about modified comparative negligence. Sometimes, the best way to avoid being unfairly assigned fault is to immediately report a vehicle accident.
You can usually pick up your accident report about ten days after the incident occurs. You’re going to need the report when you file your personal injury claim.
Seek Medical Attention
Jackknife truck accidents tend to result in serious injuries so seeing a healthcare provider shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Even if you’re up and walking around the accident scene, you still should make an appointment with a physician. You may have soft tissue injuries or even internal bleeding. The signs and symptoms can take a bit to start appearing so it’s always best to be proactive about your health.
Besides, you’re going to need your medical records for both your PIP and personal injury claim. This also means turning into a bit of a pack rat. You want to save every bill and receipt, including prescriptions, relating to any injuries sustained in the jackknife truck accident.
Start Calculating Your Damages
You’d think this would be the easiest part of the insurance claim process. When you’re dealing with your insurance provider, it usually is. However, this is your second claim for the accident and things are getting a little complicated. Remember, you can only claim damages not covered by your insurance. So, deduct any medical expenses, property damage costs, and lost income already taken care of by your insurer.
Now it’s time to move on to your non-economic damages. These are things like your pain and suffering. Since PIP doesn’t touch non-economic damages, you can claim the full amount. This is also when it helps to have a personal injury attorney. They’re familiar with the formulas used to calculate non-economic damages.
Simplifying the Insurance Claim Process
A jackknife truck accident can be terrifying, there’s no reason to extend this feeling to the insurance claim process. Working with a personal injury attorney can simplify the process and help ensure you can recover financial compensation.
