Articles Posted in Multi-Vehicle Accidents

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Determining who is at fault in a Florida car accident is not always as straightforward as it may seem. While some accidents involve a clear error on the part of one driver, other accidents present a much more difficult situation. For example, chain-reaction accidents can involve multiple parties, each of whom may be partly at fault for the collision. Determining who is at fault in these accidents and dividing up the fault according to each driver’s actions is a difficult task that is most often left to the courts.

Florida uses the comparative negligence rule when determining which accident victims are permitted to recover compensation for their injuries and how much they should recover. Under the comparative negligence doctrine, each party who is injured in an accident is entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit against the party or parties they believe to be responsible for their injuries. If the jury determines that a plaintiff is partially at fault for their own injuries, that plaintiff’s total award amount will be reduced by their own percentage of fault.

Florida’s comparative negligence method is considered to be much more plaintiff-friendly than the alternative doctrine applied in other states, called contributory negligence. Under a contributory negligence analysis, any person who is determined to be even the slightest bit at fault for an accident cannot recover for their injuries.

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According to an October 12, 2016 CBS News article, the number of teenagers involved in deadly car crashes is rising for the first time in nearly a decade. In 2015, there was a 10-percent increase in teen driving deaths. “In fact, teenage drivers are more than one-and-a-half times more likely than adults to be involved in a deadly crash,” said personal injury attorney Erick Santana, a founding partner at Cecere Santana.

To help prevent fatal accidents involving teens, Santana and Cecere Santana co-founder Michael Cecere share the following three tips:

No. 1: Always wear your seat belt. “Of the teens who died in passenger vehicle crashes, approximately 55% were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash,” said Cecere. “Research shows that seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half.”

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Determining fault in Miami vehicle accidents is not always as straightforward as it may seem. In some cases, the nature of the injuries sustained prevents those involved from accurately remembering what happened in the moments leading up to the accident. In other cases, so many vehicles are involved in an accident that it is difficult for authorities to determine who was at fault and who was merely an innocent victim of another’s negligent or reckless driving.

In most accidents involving serious injury or death, an accident reconstructionist is called in to help recreate the accident so that authorities have a better idea of what caused the accident. This can be very important for insurance issues as well as to help determine if any of the parties involved should face criminal charges for their role in the accident. While this is not a primary function of an accident reconstruction, it may also be used to help those injured in the accident obtain compensation for their injuries through a personal injury lawsuit.

After a serious accident, people injured as a result are left with more than just their physical injuries. They must also deal with the emotional aftermath. Add to the mix mounting medical expenses and time away from work, and it can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Florida law allows for those who suffer a serious injury in the wake of an accident to seek compensation though a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

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