Car Accident FAQ

Q & A with a Nashville Car Accident Lawyer

At the Law Offices of Luvell L. Glanton, we believe that all injured car accident victims and their loved ones should have a clear understanding about their rights as victims and how they can use available legal avenues to recover their damages. While our immediate attention and services are available to those who reach out to our firm, we also make a point to equip visitors to our website with a solid foundation of the facts about car accidents and the claim process.

What exactly is a personal injury claim?
In the most basic of terms, personal injury claims are civil lawsuits when litigation is necessary. In the context of car accidents, personal injury claims are typically filed against negligent drivers and defended by auto insurance companies of the party who is responsible for causing the accident and injury. In the event that a business or corporation is at fault, claims may be filed against the company itself.

Similar to insurance claims for property damage, the objective when pursuing a personal injury claim is to assert that damages were caused, that another party is responsible for causing the damages, and that this party should be legally required to pay for the damages.

What is liability and how does it apply to car accidents?
Liability is a legal term that is essentially synonymous with “legal obligation.” When a person is determined to be at fault for causing an accident and injury, they can be held liable, or legally responsible, for financially compensating an injured victim for the damages they suffered. Establishing liability is often the primary objective during the personal injury claim process. Florida’s no-fault insurance system allows each driver to recover compensation from their own insurance company, up to the policy limits, rather than collecting from the “at fault” driver’s insurance.

What are my rights?
As a victim injured by the negligence, carelessness, or wrongful act of another, you have the legal right to pursue compensation from the responsible party. You have the right to file a personal injury claim and show evidence that another person is at fault for causing your injuries. By asserting your rights through the available legal avenues, you can recover the compensation to which you are entitled.

What compensation can I recover?
The value of your claim in entirely dependent upon a variety of circumstances related specifically to your accident and injury. When a court determines that another party is liable for your injuries, they will award you compensation for your physical, emotional, and / or financial damages. As injuries and victims are always unique, so is their compensation.

In the most general terms, you can recover damages for:

• Physical injuries, which can also include your pain and suffering, disabilities, limitations, etc.
• Emotional damages are intangible and difficult to equate in monetary sums, courts will also award compensation for non-economic damages such as your psychological injuries, mental anguish, loss in the quality or enjoyment of your life, and the harm caused to your loved ones.
• Financial damages are more easily determined, and can include past and future medical expenses, lost work wages and future earnings, and other financial harm directly resulting from your injuries. In cases that involve egregious acts of negligence and / or misconduct, such as in drunk driving accidents.
• Punitive damages as a way of further penalizing wrongdoers. Our firm works to show clear evidence of all the damages you sustained and aim to maximize your compensation in any way possible.

Do I need an attorney?
While you are not legally required to have an attorney when filing a personal injury claim, the benefits of working with an experience lawyer far outweigh the consequences of undertaking this complex process alone. Simply put, personal injury claims can be legally complex and rife with technical information. When claims are contested by powerful insurance companies that do everything in their power to pay victims as little as possible, the threat of receiving less compensation than you require and deserve should prompt you to work with proven legal representation.