Being injured in an accident can be a scary, painful, and confusing event. It can be challenging to know what you should do and what actions you should take to support your personal injury claim. Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you are in an accident through no fault of your own:

Call 911

The dispatcher will send paramedics to take care of your injuries and police to assess what happened. The police will write a report of what happened, which can be used as leverage when negotiating with the insurance company.

Never Apologize or Admit Responsibility

Always remember that anything you say can be used against you. For some people, it is human nature to feel guilty about a terrible accident—even if they are not at fault. People may feel compassion and empathy towards the other person and apologize or admit fault. Insurance companies will use this to deny your claim or severely reduce your compensation. In the event of an accident, it’s always better to say as little as possible.

Apologizing can be misconstrued as an admission of guilt or fault, so don’t do it even if you feel like consoling the perpetrator. Also, avoid talking about your injuries and accident on social media since the other person’s insurance company will use it against you.

Get as Much Evidence From the Accident Scene as Possible

If you can, document the accident scene to build your personal injury case. Take pictures of your injuries, the surroundings, and anything related to the accident. Also, get the contact information of any witnesses.

Go to the Hospital or Doctor

No matter what kind of personal injury you’ve suffered in Destin, FL, or even if you feel pain, you should always get your injuries examined after an accident.

There are many reasons you should prioritize your health. First, you may be in shock and not realize how bad your injuries are, like with whiplash or organ damage. We recommend going to the emergency room so that you can get medical care ASAP.

Secondly, it is incredibly helpful to have a paper trail of evidence concerning the extent of your injuries when it comes to potential litigation. Waiting a week or two before seeing a doctor could hinder your insurance claim.

Finally, seek the legal services of a Destin personal injury lawyer.

Filing a personal injury claim in Destin requires several steps, and you must ensure that each step is done correctly to give your claim the best chance of success. Our professional legal team knows how to handle personal injury cases, and we are here to help you start the process.

The personal injury process in Florida involves:

• Filing a claim against the at-fault party to notify them that you are seeking compensation
• Negotiating for a favorable settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company
• Filing a personal injury lawsuit with the court if the negotiations cannot be settled
• Pursuing alternative dispute resolutions
• Having your personal injury lawyer litigate the case in court if an agreement cannot be reached in any other way

At Fasig | Brooks, we handle all possible approaches so that our clients can get the compensation they deserve. We inform our clients of their rights, notify them of all their options, and help them find the path that will be the most effective.

We represent our clients’ interests throughout the entire process, and we will fight for the appropriate payouts based on their claims.

Contracts Claims vs. Tort Claims

There are two kinds of personal injury claims that you can file in Destin, FL: contracts claims and tort claims. Most injury cases resulting from someone else’s negligence typically fall under tort law. This means that you can file a lawsuit against the responsible party to receive financial compensation after an accident.

Tort Claims

The following steps must be taken to file a tort claim:

• You must file a written complaint with the Clerk of Court
• The defendant must be served the complaint
• If the defendant fails to respond, they automatically default, and you win your case by default

Contracts Claims

Contracts claims happen when one party owes another party service unrelated to recklessness or negligence. For example, if you hire a contractor to work on your home and they fail to finish the job to reasonable standards.

At Fasig | Brooks, our legal team can aid you in filing either a contract or tort claim in Florida. We have helped many clients handle these claims over the years, and we will fight every step of the way to get you the financial compensation you deserve. Call us to schedule a free case evaluation and learn more about your legal rights.

Your Deadline for Filing a Personal Injury Claim

In the state of Florida, you must abide by a statute of limitations, which is four years from when the accident happened. In order to receive the total compensation that you are legally entitled to, you must meet this legal deadline.

Our personal injury attorneys will do everything in their power to gather all the evidence you need to meet this deadline.

Damages in a Personal Injury Case

Here are some common damages found in different types of personal injury cases:

• Medical costs: This can include surgery costs, medical care, physical therapy, medications, and future medical treatment that result from serious injuries.
• Lost wages: This means income that you lose due to inability to work. This also includes future wages that you are unable to earn.
• Property damage: This covers damage to your property, such as your phone, the cost of repairs following car accidents, etc.
• Pain and suffering: Destin accident victims can seek compensation for all the pain and unhappiness they have suffered because of someone else’s actions. This can include a diminished quality of life.
• Emotional distress: Severe accidents in Destin, Florida, can create psychological issues that include anxiety, stress, fear, PTSD, depression, and more.
• Loss of enjoyment: If an accident has taken away your ability to do something that makes you happy, like going on walks, painting, biking, or reading, your injury lawyer can help you get compensated for such a drastic change in your life.
• Loss of consortium or relationships: If your accident has resulted in your relationships suffering, like with your spouse, child, or parent, you can recover damages.

At Fasig | Brooks, we also handle wrongful death cases. These are personal injury cases in which someone has passed away from their injuries. In a wrongful death case, the personal injury lawyer helps surviving family members recover compensation for medical bills, funeral costs, loss of services, lost income, pain and suffering, and emotional loss.

Your personal injury lawyer is here to fight for your right to receive a fair settlement. We go above and beyond to bring you justice and a fair settlement amount, so you and your loved ones do not need to struggle needlessly.

If you or a loved one has been injured in Destin, Florida, you are entitled to recover monetary compensation due to someone else’s negligence. Personal injury cases can be complex. You may need to seek the legal services of a personal injury law firm. Your attorney will be by your side every step of the way of your personal injury claim.

At Fasig | Brooks, we represent clients and streamline the personal injury process for them so we can get them a favorable resolution.