Florida Auto Accident Law

More than 16,000 motor vehicle accidents occur each day in the United Sates alone; about half of those 16,000 accidents will result in physical injury, permanent or partial disability, or death. Would you know what to do if you were involved in a serious auto accident? Several state and federal laws are in place today in order to protect people just like you. Owning and operating a motor vehicle is not a civil right, rather it is a privilege in the United States. The law requires each owner and /or operator of a motor vehicle to hold a valid license and carry a minimum amount of auto insurance coverage in order to pay for damages incurred by the driver or vehicle.

Florida law requires the owner to carry a minimum insurance amount of $10,000 in order to pay for bodily injury or harm, death of one person, property damage, or destruction of property caused by the driver of the vehicle. In the case of injuring or causing death to two or more people, the minimum amount the state of Florida requires is $20,000. Florida statute covers this topic under motor vehicle liability insurance, which means if you own or operate a motor vehicle in the state of Florida, you must legally have the minimum amount of liability coverage in case you are involved in an auto accident, along with proof of insurance coverage.

Sometimes a driver is unable or refuses to carry the minimum amount of motor vehicle liability insurance. If you are involved in an auto accident where the at-fault driver does not have the minimum amount of coverage that the law requires, there are options. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage helps protect you from the financial hardships that may follow an auto accident. This coverage, which you obtain through your insurance company, compensates you for bodily harm or injury, death, property damage, or destruction of property when the at-fault driver does not have adequate insurance coverage. Your insurance then treats the accident as a no-fault accident and must compensate you for your losses and/or damages.

No-fault insurance covers accidents where no one driver is legally proven to be at fault; it pays no matter what happened. Case in point, you park in a busy department store parking lot, enter into the store, and proceed to shop for an hour; then upon your arrival back to your parked vehicle, you notice a dent in the bumper that was not there before. Most likely, another driver rear-ended or backed into your vehicle and left the scene of the accident. This is illegal, however if no one was present to witness the accident or record the license plate number of the at-fault driver’s vehicle, then you cannot prove who is responsible for the damage to your vehicle. If you carry a no-fault policy, then your insurance company must recover the damage to your vehicle.

No one wants to be in an auto accident, but unfortunately, motor vehicle crashes are the most common accidents in the United States. Millions of people trek the many highways, bi-ways, interstates, and county roads each day. In fact, you are over 50 percent more likely to be involved in an auto accident than in a fatal airline crash. If you are in an auto accident, the law requires certain acts immediately after the mishap. Legally, you must stop your vehicle after the accident occurs and park it where it will not get in the way of other motorists. If the collision left your vehicle not drivable then you are responsible for calling a tow-truck, or some other service to remove your vehicle from the road. When one or more people are injured, you are responsible for calling medical help immediately. Florida law also requires uninjured drivers to stay at the scene of the accident until law enforcement officials arrive.

When you or someone you are riding with collides with an unoccupied or parked vehicle, you are legally required to inform the owner or operator of the other vehicle of the accident and your liability. The same is true for property damage. For instance, if you are driving down an unlit road late at night and unexpectedly come upon a sharp curve, the curve is too sharp to make, and you crash your vehicle into a neighbor’s fence. It is after midnight and you do not wish to wake your neighbor. Florida statute requires that you legibly write your name, address, and license plate number on paper and attach the note to the damaged property or vehicle. By law, you must also inform law enforcement officials immediately following the accident. Failure to do so may result in you (the driver) being penalized in a court of law.

Florida auto accident laws not only pertain to the driver, but also the driver’s victim or victims. Owning and operating a motor vehicle is not a Constitutional right, but rather a privilege in the United States. In order to enjoy this privilege, people must abide by the law, which includes carrying a legal driver’s license, minimum liability insurance, and reporting all accidents to the proper authorities. Like many states, Florida penalizes drivers for disobeying these basic motor vehicle laws. If you or someone you know is involved in an auto accident that results in bodily injury or harm, property damage, or destruction of property where the at-fault driver is uninsured, underinsured, or fails to report the accident, know that you have rights. These rights include financial compensation for not only medical payments, disability, and dismemberment, but also replacement vehicle costs, reconstructive surgery, and time off work.

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