If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Pinellas Park, FL call Catania and Catania Injury Lawyers at (813) 212-7614 for a free consultation. You may have the right to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and suffering. Since 1992, our experienced Pinellas Park car accident lawyers have recovered hundreds of millions in life-changing compensation for crash victims just like you.
Our personal injury law firm offers a free case evaluation and since we work on contingency, there’s absolutely no risk in getting us in your corner. Contact our law office to schedule a time to discuss your legal options today. We’re standing by to take your call, 24/7/365.
How Catania and Catania Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Pinellas Park Car Accident
If you’ve been involved in a car accident in Pinellas Park, Catania & Catania is here for you. As your dedicated Pinellas Park car accident lawyer team, we bring comprehensive legal expertise to your case.
Hiring an experienced Pinellas Park personal injury lawyer is the best way to level the playing field and set yourself up for a win. Our approach includes thoroughly investigating the accident, collecting vital evidence, and negotiating assertively with insurance companies.
We handle all the heavy lifting – legal paperwork, court communications, and strategic planning – to ensure you can focus on recovery. If negotiations don’t result in a fair settlement, our skilled attorneys are prepared to advocate for you in court, leveraging our extensive experience to seek the best possible outcome. Call (813) 212-7614 today to schedule a free consultation and learn more.
Pinellas Park, FL Car Accident Statistics [2023]
Like most busy suburban areas, Pinellas Park experiences a fair number of motor vehicle accidents. Being aware of these statistics and the risks posed by many different factors can help Pinellas Park residents avoid danger as much as possible.
Based on 2023 data provided by the FLHSMV, Pinellas County reported:
- Nearly 15,000 crashes, including car, motorcycle, and bicycle accidents
- More than 110 accident-related fatalities in Pinellas County alone
- Close to 10,000 injuries resulting from crashes
- More than 4,100 hit-and-run incidents, including nearly 800 injuries, leaving many victims to face complicated legal processes
If you are one of the many individuals affected by a car accident, Catania & Catania can help. We will provide you with a dedicated Pinellas Park car accident lawyer who has the experience, skill, and resources to fight for fair compensation in your case, freeing you of the burden of financial hardship.
We Handle All Types of Auto Accidents in Pinellas Park, FL
Every car accident is different. The type of crash you’re involved in can have a huge impact on how a related case unfolds.
You deserve to work with a law firm with experience representing clients who’ve sustained injuries in all different types of auto accidents in Florida.
Catania and Catania can help you after you’re hurt in a:
- Rear-end collision
- Front-end or head-on collision accident
- T-bone or sideswipe accident
- Rollover accident
- Single-vehicle wreck
- Multi-vehicle crash
- Hit and run accident
- Intersection accident
- Highway accident
- Accident involving an uninsured or underinsured driver
- Drunk driving accident
- Distracted driving accident
- Truck accident
- Pedestrian accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
Our Pinellas Park car accident lawyers can also provide the support and guidance you need if a loved one has recently been killed in a fatal crash in Pinellas County. We’ll pursue compensation for your loss and suffering through a wrongful death claim so that you can focus on grieving and moving forward.
We’re here to help, 24/7
What are the Leading Causes of Car Accidents in Pinellas Park, FL?
Car accidents in Pinellas Park, FL, often result from various preventable actions. Key causes of car accidents in the area include:
- Speeding: This significantly reduces a driver’s ability to react to traffic changes or unexpected road hazards and is a common cause of accidents in Florida and across the U.S.
- Distracted Driving: Using smartphones or other devices while driving leads to many collisions. Drivers can also be eating, drinking, or even applying makeup while driving, failing to pay attention to their surroundings properly.
- Driving Under the Influence: Alcohol and drugs continue to be a major factor in accidents despite awareness campaigns.
- Poor Weather Conditions: Bad weather, including rain, fog, and wind, can affect driving conditions and visibility.
- Ignoring Traffic Signals: Failure to obey stop signs and lights contributes to numerous accidents.
Understanding these causes is crucial for any car accident lawyer in Pinellas Park, FL, who aims to build a strong case for their clients and achieve favorable outcomes.
What Is My Case Worth If I’ve Been Injured In A Pinellas Park Crash?
It depends. The most telling factor is the seriousness of the injuries you’ve sustained.
The more serious the trauma suffered in a collision, the higher a related personal injury case is typically worth.
According to the National Safety Council, the average economic cost of a crash in 2019 ranged anywhere from $12,500 (no injury observed) to $28,500 (evident injury) to $1,704,000 (fatal wreck).
Those amounts do not, however, even take things like pain and suffering or disfigurement into account. When you add in the non-economic consequences of a collision – regardless of the physical injuries a victim sustains – the true value of a motor vehicle accident case can be much, much greater.
Catania and Catania have won compensation totaling more than $500 Million for crash victims near the Pinellas Park area. How? By making sure that our client’s cases are valued properly and being relentless in pursuing full compensation on their behalf. Our Pinellas Park car accident lawyers are ready to fight for you, too. All you have to do is contact us to get started.
Common Injuries Caused by Car Accidents in Pinellas Park, FL
Car accidents in Pinellas Park, FL, commonly lead to various injuries from minor to severe. At Catania and Catania Injury Lawyers, our car accident attorneys represent clients who have suffered different types of injuries, including:
- Whiplash: This injury often occurs due to the rapid back-and-forth motion of the neck during accidents, causing significant pain and mobility issues.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): These include concussions and more severe brain injuries that can have long-lasting cognitive and physical effects.
- Fractures and Lacerations: Car collisions often result in broken bones and cuts, which can range from minor to severe.
- Contusions: These are bruises that result from the impact on parts of the vehicle or road, often leading to painful and swollen areas.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: These injuries can vary widely from minor back strains to severe spinal cord damage that may lead to temporary or permanent paralysis.
- Emotional Trauma: Many victims experience significant emotional distress, including symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, following the traumatic event of a car accident.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries caused by an auto wreck, seek medical attention as soon as you can. Then, reach out to our Pinellas Park car accident lawyers to discuss your legal options. Each case requires careful evaluation by a knowledgeable car accident attorney to ensure victims receive the right medical care and fair compensation for their injuries.
You have a two-year time limit to file a car accident lawsuit. The statute of limitations begins to run the moment an accident happens or when a victim discovers their injuries (if not immediately apparent after a wreck), whichever is later.
What Compensation Is Available For a Pinellas Park Car Accident Victim?
Florida law explains that two types of damages – economic and non-economic – are typically available in personal injury cases.
Economic damages, which are awarded to make you financially whole after an accident, include:
- Current medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Nursing care
- Rehabilitation
- Lost wages
- Lost income
- Disability
- Property damage
- Funeral costs, if an accident is fatal
You have to be able to prove you lost money to get these types of awards.
Non-economic damages, which are awarded to compensate for consequences that don’t have a set financial value, include:
- Emotional distress
- PTSD
- Disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Chronic pain
Often referred to as “pain and suffering” damages, these are highly subjective and difficult to value in terms of dollars and cents. It’s critical to have solid evidence and expert testimony to support any demands for these awards. In some situations, punitive damages might also be available. However, there has to be clear and convincing evidence of intentional or grossly negligent conduct for punitive awards to apply.
Can I Get Compensation If I Share Fault For a Crash?
Yes. Since Florida has pure comparative negligence rules, you can recover damages after a crash in Pinellas Park FL even if you contributed to the wreck.
However, your financial award will be reduced by however much fault you’re assigned. If you’re allocated 30% of the blame for the auto accident, your damages will be reduced by 30%.
Other parties and insurance companies will try to shift as much of the blame for a crash to you as they can. It’s important to fight back against these allegations. The more blame you’re assigned, the lower your financial award will be.
Our Pinellas Park car accident lawyers know how to protect you from these tactics. Contact us for help protecting yourself and your financial award.
When Should I Consult a Pinellas Park Car Accident Lawyer?
You should consult with a Pinellas Park car accident lawyer as soon as you can after the accident occurs. Of course, receiving medical attention and alerting the authorities are your first priorities after an incident. But beyond that, reaching out to an attorney early on in the process is highly beneficial.
The immediate aftermath of a car accident could be critical to the ultimate success of your claim. You should be careful not to accept blame for the accident or make statements that could hurt your case down the line. Sometimes the right and wrong things to say and do after an accident are not easy to determine.
That’s where consulting with an attorney early on becomes important. Your attorney will be able to advise you on how to proceed – with an eye toward maximizing your compensation from the at-fault party. Catania and Catania Injury Lawyers offer a free initial consultation as well; so contact us about your case today.
Choosing the Right Car Accident Lawyer
After an incident, it’s critical to hire the right Pinellas Park car accident attorney. You’ll want to look for an attorney with:
- Experience: It’s highly important to hire a lawyer with experience. The attorneys at Catania and Catania have over 120 years of collective experience.
- Accountability: You’ll want an attorney who is accountable to you and who keeps you informed on the status of your case. You should be able to contact your attorney whenever you want to discuss your case.
- Trust: Make sure you can trust your attorney. Look up reviews and awards that the firm you’re considering has received to make sure they are reputable.
- Local Connections: Car accident cases tend to be localized in nature. An attorney who is familiar with the area where the accident occurred could greatly benefit your case.
Once you’ve considered these factors, you’re well on your way to hiring the right lawyer for your case.
What Are My Options For Recovering Compensation After a Car Accident?
There are two primary courses of action after getting hurt in an accident: pursuing insurance benefits and filing a lawsuit.
Submitting an Insurance Claim After an Auto Accident
Florida currently operates under a “no fault” car insurance system where drivers are required to carry minimum amounts of PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage in the event of an injury. You’re required to turn to your own provider for benefits if you’re injured in an accident, regardless of fault.
That might soon be changing – the legislature has passed a law to make Florida a fault-based state. That would mean pursuing insurance benefits from the provider of whoever is responsible.
Filing a Lawsuit in Pinellas Park
Insurance is the primary source of compensation for victims of automobile accidents in Pinellas Park. However, sometimes insurance providers find ways to deny claims or limit their liability.
Other times, at-fault parties have no insurance, or the costs of a victim’s injuries exceed policy limits. In these (and other) situations, injured victims have the option of filing an injury lawsuit against those responsible for a wreck.
You might be able to file a lawsuit against:
- Other motorists on the road
- Truck drivers or trucking companies
- Bicyclists or pedestrians
- Employers of negligent parties
- Government entities, or
- Companies responsible for designing, manufacturing, or selling defective products.
Anyone who was negligent – or strictly liable for your injuries under the law – can potentially be named as a defendant in your car accident lawsuit. Most auto accident cases begin with an insurance company. Whether it’s your provider or someone else’s, it’s best to have an experienced attorney representing you throughout the car accident claims process. Your lawyer can make sure that adjusters play by the rules and offer you a fair car accident settlement – knowing that the threat of litigation in a courtroom is very real if they don’t.
Dealing With Insurance Companies in Pinellas Park
Dealing with an insurance company is more complicated than it seems on its face. Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize the value of your claim and they will go to great lengths in order to do so. Keep in mind that insurance companies exist to make money first and foremost.
After an accident occurs and you contact the insurance company, the insurance adjuster will likely send you an early settlement offer. It is almost always a good idea to turn this offer down. The initial settlement offer from the insurance company will almost certainly be for less than your claim is worth.
Having an experienced Pinellas Park car accident attorney at your side is crucial when dealing with the insurance company. The attorneys at Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers know the tactics and strategies employed by insurance adjusters all too well; we’ll make sure that they don’t take advantage of you and get you the settlement offer you deserve.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident in Pinellas Park?
The following steps can help to keep you safe and help you maximize your financial recovery after a car accident in Pinellas Park:
- Remain at the scene
- Call to report the accident and have police sent to the scene
- Document the scene and your injuries, if possible
- Seek medical care as soon as you can – regardless of whether or not you think you’ve been injured
- Refuse to provide a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster or answer anything other than very basic questions
- Direct all communications from an insurance company and other parties to your attorney.
The things you do – and the decisions you make – in the days and weeks after a wreck are crucial. In fact, they can have a big impact on your ability to recover insurance benefits or damages in a third-party claim.
When should you contact an attorney if you’ve been in a car accident? As soon as you can. The sooner you secure legal representation, the sooner you can begin to focus on getting better and have the peace of mind that your pursuit of compensation is in good hands.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer in Pinellas Park, FL?
How much it will ultimately cost you to hire a Pinellas Park car accident lawyer will depend on the facts of your case as well as the exact outcome. However, at Catania and Catania Injury Lawyers we operate on a contingency fee basis.
What this means is that you pay nothing to us upfront and you pay nothing unless we win. Our payment will be taken as a portion of your ultimate winnings from the settlement. The exact terms of this contingency fee arrangement depend on the facts of your case.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Pinellas Park Car Accident Lawyers
Catania and Catania Injury Lawyers have been fighting for auto accident victims for more than 28 years. Collectively, our Pinellas Park car accident attorneys have more than 120 years of experience that can directly benefit you after a wreck. We’ve recovered more than $500 Million in compensation, and we’re ready to help you and your family fight for every last dollar you deserve.
Contact expert Pinellas Park car accident lawyers at Catania & Catania today, to learn more about how we can help. Your first case evaluation with our team is always free, so call (813) 212-7614 now.
