Cypress Lakes is best known for the Cypress Lakes Golf Course, and whether you’re heading to the links or just driving down Cypress Trail to get home, there’s always the chance you could get in a car accident. If you do, you may suffer from serious injuries, leading to mounting medical bills and missing significant time for work.
The good news is, you have legal options if you’ve been in a wreck that wasn’t your fault. At Steinger, Greene, we have recovered over $1 billion on behalf of our clients. We know what it takes to get the compensation you deserve. If you’ve been in a wreck, give us a call at (561) 566-5021 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation with a Cypress Lakes car accident lawyer today.
How Personal Injury Protection Insurance Affects Your Compensation
Under Florida law, every driver who is registered in the state must have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. This insurance policy is designed to help you recover compensation after a car accident, regardless of who is at fault. However, unlike other states like New York that have similar laws, Florida PIP only covers part of your expenses.
PIP will only cover 80 percent of your medical bills unless your treatment is considered non-emergency, in which case you would only be able eligible for $2,500 in compensation. In addition, you can recover 60 percent of your lost wages under PIP. In total, PIP will provide a total of $10,000 after your car wreck in Cypress Lakes.
If you’re at fault for the accident, PIP will likely be all you can recover for your expenses. However, if you aren’t at fault for the wreck, you may be able to get more compensation from the other driver’s insurance company. They may send you a settlement offer, but don’t think you have to accept that offer.
The settlement offer the insurance company sends will likely be much less than what you need or deserve. However, once you accept that offer, you can’t sue for greater compensation. So before you accept any sort of settlement offer, give us a call to talk about all of your legal options with a Cypress Lakes car accident lawyer.
Types of Compensation You Can Recover After a Car Wreck
If you weren’t at fault for the car accident, you may be able to recover greater compensation than what you get from personal injury protection insurance. This compensation, or damages, is generally divided into two categories: economic and noneconomic.
Economic damages cover the real money you lost, such as medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, property damage, and more. Noneconomic damages, on the other hand, cover your losses that have nothing to do with money. This may include pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical disfigurement, permanent or temporary disability, and more.
Even if you’re partially at fault for the accident, you may still be able to recover compensation. Under Florida’s comparative fault law, accident victims are able to recover some compensation, no matter who is at fault. However, the amount you receive will be reduced by the percentage you are at fault. So if you are found 20 percent at fault, and you are awarded $100,000 in total compensation, you would only receive $80,000.
Accidents Abound Across Florida
Do you think you’re safe behind the wheel? Don’t get too confident. If you are driving anywhere in South Florida, you stand a higher-than-average chance of being involved in an accident. According to the state government, there were 402,592 crashes in Florida in 2018, 2,958 of which were fatal. Nearly 30,000 of those crashes were located in Palm Beach County, home of Cyprus Lakes.
The county saw 26,959 vehicle collisions in 2018. Close to 200 people lost their lives in these accidents and more than 16,000 suffered an injury. In most cases, people involved in the crashes stopped and handled their business. In 7,449 accidents, one or more parties left the scene, turning the wrecks into hit-and-runs.
Traffic in Cypress Lakes
Traffic is fairly slow within Cypress Lakes. Visitors and residents are not likely to hit congestion or snarls until they venture off the grounds of the beautiful lifestyle community. While the community is one that is self-sufficient, residents will need to travel along local streets and highways to get where they need to go. A trip to Lowes or the local barbecue may require hopping on I-75, I-95 or even I-4.
South Florida is notorious for its terrible traffic patterns. People who live in the area know what a nightmare it can be to commute, travel to a local store, or grab a bite to eat. Drivers can find themselves gripping the steering wheel for all they are worth despite the gorgeous weather and outstanding road conditions.
Top Causes of Accidents Near Cypress Lakes
An accident is just that — an accident. People don’t leave their homes with the intent of hurting someone else and causing catastrophic damage. Unfortunately, thousands of people are involved in car wrecks every day. Some types of accidents are more common than others:
- Rollovers
- Hit-and-Runs
- T-bones
- Head-on Collisions
- Rear-end Collisions
When you are involved in any type of accident that isn’t your fault, you have rights. While you have the right to file a lawsuit on your own, you will not achieve the same result as with an expert legal representative. You need an experienced Cypress Lakes car accident lawyer on your side, fighting tirelessly for your rights.
Se Habla Español
We have a strong non-English speaking population in South Florida and a population for which English is not the first language. We understand that it may be more effective to communicate in someone’s first language. We have staff on hand who are able to speak with our clients in Spanish, and we have a website written entirely in the language. Visit our Spanish site here and reach out to our office for your free case evaluation.
Get Help from a Cypress Lakes Car Accident Attorney
If you get in a wreck in Palm Beach County, you have legal options. At Steinger, Greene & Feiner, we know the tactics the insurance companies use to pay out as little as possible. We also know how to combat these tactics to help you get the full compensation you deserve.
Give us a call at (561) 566-5021 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation with a Cypress Lakes car accident lawyer today.