$50M+ RECOVERED FOR CLIENTS
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Have you been injured in a car accident in Pinellas or elsewhere in Florida? Before speaking with the insurance company, talk to a Pinellas Park car accident lawyer. Herman & Wells offers a free case evaluation for people dealing with injuries, medical bills, and lost income after a crash. Call (727) 440-3045 or fill out our online form to get started.
What you do after a crash can directly affect your claim. Insurance companies start building their case immediately, and the statements you make early on may be used to reduce or deny compensation. If another driver caused the accident, our experienced injury attorneys can help protect your rights and pursue compensation through the insurance claim process.
Insurance companies are businesses. Their goal is to settle claims for as little as possible. If you handle your case alone, you’ll probably be offered far less than your claim is actually worth.
The claims process can become complicated quickly, especially when serious injuries, long-term treatment, or disputed fault are involved. The insurance company will likely drag its feet while your case gets worse and worse. A car accident lawyer can help gather evidence, calculate damages, communicate with insurers, and prevent mistakes that may hurt your claim.
Insurance adjusters are trained to protect the company’s interests — not yours.
Herman & Wells has a team of experienced car accident lawyers serving Pinellas County. When you hire our firm, you’ll work with attorneys who are accessible, direct, and prepared to stand up to insurance companies when necessary.
Note: It’s important to hire an attorney with experience handling Florida car accident and personal injury claims.
Insurance companies often try to minimize payouts after a car accident. Adjusters may look for statements, delays in treatment, or gaps in evidence that they can use to reduce or deny your claim. This is one reason many injured drivers speak with a Pinellas Park car crash lawyer before giving detailed statements to the insurer.
Important evidence can disappear quickly after a crash. Security footage will probably be deleted, witnesses will forget details, and physical evidence may no longer be available days later. Still, it is often the critical evidence, such as witness testimonials or video footage, that can make or break a case in Florida. This evidence isn’t available for very long after a car accident occurs, so we highly recommend contacting a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after the incident.
After a car accident, adrenaline and shock may temporarily mask pain. Injuries involving the neck, back, shoulders, knees, or head may not fully appear until hours or days later.
Even seemingly minor crashes can lead to soft tissue injuries, concussions, ligament damage, or other complications.
Seeking prompt medical attention may help protect both your health and your injury claim. Delays in treatment may allow the insurance company to argue that the accident did not cause your injuries.
Our Pinellas County car crash lawyers always recommend going to seek a doctor after this type of traumatic incident.
Pinellas Park and the surrounding parts of Pinellas County see a wide range of car accidents every year. Busy roads like US-19, Park Boulevard, and nearby intersections often become dangerous when drivers are distracted, impatient, or driving too fast for traffic conditions. Understanding how these crashes happen may help injured people better understand who may be responsible for their injuries.
Rear-end accidents are among the most common crashes in Pinellas County, Florida. These accidents often happen when drivers are texting, following too closely, or not paying attention to stopped traffic ahead. Even a low-speed rear-end collision may lead to painful neck, shoulder, or back injuries that never completely heal.
T-bone accidents are also common at intersections throughout Pinellas County. These crashes may occur when a driver runs a red light, fails to yield while turning, or speeds through an intersection. Side-impact crashes can cause severe injuries because there is less protection on the sides of a vehicle.
Other common accident types include rollover crashes, head-on collisions, multi-vehicle pileups, and accidents involving pedestrians or bicyclists. Florida’s heavy tourism traffic and year-round congestion increase the chances of serious collisions.
Some common causes of car accidents in Pinellas County include distracted driving, drunk driving, and speeding. It is also not uncommon for crashes to occur because of driver fatigue, careless lane changes, and aggressive driving behavior. In some injury cases, a negligent company may also share responsibility if a commercial vehicle driver caused the crash while working.
Many people underestimate how expensive a serious car accident can become. Medical bills may accrue long after the crash itself, depending on the seriousness of the accident. Some injuries require physical therapy, surgery, follow-up appointments, or ongoing pain management. A car accident injury case may involve both economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages involve financial losses connected to the accident. These damages may include:
Non-economic damages involve losses that are harder to measure financially but still affect daily life. These damages may include unquantifiable losses, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, physical impairment, scarring, and even loss of enjoyment of life.
Some injuries may prevent a person from returning to the same type of work he or she performed before the crash. Others may leave someone dealing with chronic pain or mobility limitations for years. Our Pinellas Park car crash attorneys work to understand how an accident has affected every part of a person’s life, not just the immediate medical expenses.
Our team also keeps clients informed throughout the process. We believe communication matters after a serious accident, especially when people are already dealing with stress, financial pressure, and uncertainty about the future.
When choosing a car accident lawyer in Pinellas Park, look for someone with experience handling Florida injury claims, strong communication, trial experience, and the resources to properly investigate and manage your case.
The lawyer you choose should have extensive experience handling car accidents in Pinellas Park.
While many cases settle outside of court, insurance companies often take claims more seriously when the attorney is prepared to go to trial if necessary.
With a contingency fee arrangement, you do not pay attorney’s fees upfront. Fees are only collected if compensation is recovered through a settlement or verdict.
An attorney should be able to explain what is happening to you in a way that you understand.
After a car accident, the last thing you need is an attorney who won’t return your calls. You deserve regular updates about your case, not silence. When you don’t hear from your lawyer, it’s easy to assume the worst. You may start to wonder if your case is being ignored or whether you’ve already lost. That stress is unnecessary, and it’s avoidable.
If your lawyer isn’t communicating, you have options. Switching attorneys is easier than most people think. You won’t lose your case, and you won’t have to start over. At Herman & Wells, we handle the transition for you.
Our 30-Day Communication Promise means every client hears from their legal team at least once every 30 days. This applies to every case, with no exceptions. This isn’t just a lofty goal that we hope to achieve. We track it firm-wide, review it every week, and a firm owner gets involved personally if any file falls behind. Even when there’s no major news, you’ll hear from us. You’ll know what we’re working on, what we’re waiting for, and what comes next.
No one should have to work hard just to get a status update from their own attorney.
If you feel overlooked by your current attorney, get a second opinion on your case at no cost to you. Talk to a responsive attorney today. Our team is ready to listen and tell you honestly where things stand.
You can contact Herman & Wells today to request a free case evaluation.
When you get in a car accident, shock is probably the first thing you’ll feel. Having this “feeling” may make you feel too numb to realize that you have injuries, such as broken bones. Therefore, you should call 911 as soon as you stop your vehicle. It’s also best not to move your car from the accident scene unless it’s causing traffic.
Tell the 911 operator the exact location of the accident. If possible, provide specific details such as highway mile markers and landmarks.
It will take the police and paramedics less time to reach you if you provide more details. The operator should not be told who caused the accident. A description of the scene and the type (and extent) of injuries are all the operator needs to know.
The police do not need to be notified of all Pinellas car accidents, such as a minor fender-bender. When it’s a hit-and-run or a crash that causes property or personal damage worth $500 or more, call the police as soon as possible. However, if you called 911, the operator should have already notified the police. Calling the police is important, even if the accident turns out to be minor. If the other driver is drunk or has fled the scene, or if the accident was caused by negligence, this is of even greater importance.
As you wait for the police, try to recall what you remembered before the accident. Remember the direction you came from before you were hit by the other driver. Did the traffic light turn green, red, or yellow? What symptoms of DUI may the other driver have displayed? Were they swerving, speeding, or showing any other signs? Maybe you saw the other driver using a mobile phone while operating the vehicle.
Describe everything you can about the other vehicle in the event of a hit-and-run. It’s important to note the make, model, year, and color of the vehicle. It will help the police to identify the offender if they can find even a small detail, such as a sticker or a dent on the bumper.
You should exchange vehicle and insurance details with the other driver if they stay on the scene. List the make, model, year, license plate number, and vehicle identification number.
The other driver’s full name, address, date of birth, contact information, and license number should be obtained. Ask for the name and contact information of the vehicle owner if the driver isn’t the owner. You should ask the police officers for their name, contact information, and badge number as well.
Make sure you take photos and videos from different angles of the involved vehicles. You can also determine road obstructions and weather conditions from these images and recordings.
You should also include street signs in your visual evidence. Record videos with sound since this can provide clues to a person’s state of mind. Slurred speech may indicate intoxication. It’s possible that you can catch the other driver admitting fault.
If there is a cooperative witness, ask them to recount what they saw in a video. Make sure you get their name and contact information. It’s possible that your insurance company will contact them.
With such evidence in your possession, the other driver would find it difficult to alter their story. This can be used to dispute what they said right after the accident.
Even if you aren’t sure you want to hire an attorney following a car accident, it is worth speaking to one before you file your claim with your insurance provider. If you call the car accident lawyers at Herman & Wells, then you’ll be speaking with an expert who can walk you through what to expect during the insurance claims process. Remember that this is a free evaluation and an excellent opportunity to learn more about your claim may really be worth.
Florida is a no-fault state, so you’ll be filing a claim with your insurance provider following a car accident. If you aren’t sure what to expect and still not comfortable contacting an attorney, we’ve also created this guide on how to file a car accident claim in Florida.
You deserve compensation if you suffer injuries due to the negligence of another party, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. Here at Herman & Wells, our attorneys in Pinellas, Florida, are ready to help. We want you to recover from your injuries as quickly as possible. Let us take care of the groundwork for you.
Simply call (727) 440-3045 or use our online form to request a free evaluation with a Pinellas Park car accident lawyer.
Herman & Wells handles car accident injury cases on a contingency fee basis, so clients do not pay attorney’s fees upfront. Fees are collected when compensation is recovered, either through a settlement or verdict.
How long you have to take legal action after a car accident in Florida depends on when the accident happened and what type of claim you’re filing.
For accidents that occurred after March 24, 2023, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a negligence claim against the at-fault driver or party. For accidents that occurred before March 24, 2023, the statute of limitations for negligence was four years. There are some exceptions to these timeframes, so it’s worth speaking with our team about your specific situation.
If your claim involves your own uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage — meaning the at-fault driver had little or no insurance — you have five years to file that claim. That part of Florida law has not changed.
Missing these deadlines could mean losing your right to seek compensation entirely, regardless of how strong your case may be. However, we recommend not waiting at all to contact our team after an accident. We’ll need time to secure witnesses and other evidence to build your case, establish who was at fault, and determine what compensation you may be able to recover.
Settlement times for car accident claims are entirely dependent on the circumstances and the insurance companies involved. If they believe their driver is at fault, the insurer must investigate the accident and make an initial settlement offer. A claim can be denied altogether, which will prolong the process even more. If this occurs, you could choose to file a personal injury lawsuit, though those also take some time to resolve.
In a car accident, there is no such thing as a typical settlement, but it should, at the very least, pay for your medical and repair bills. The amount will differ from person to person and case to case. Depending on your degree of negligence, some states allow you to claim only a portion of your losses. Settlements for car accidents vary from case to case, so you may want to consult with an attorney who can evaluate your losses and estimate a fair settlement for your case.
If you are involved in a car accident, you may recover compensation for both economic and non-economic losses, for example:
Depending on your losses, a Pinellas auto collision lawyer can better estimate what you deserve. If you cannot settle your case outside of court, and the negligent party is found to deserve punishment by a judge or jury, you could receive punitive damages.
In Florida, everyone is required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage on their automobile insurance policy. This will usually provide a minimum of $10,000 in coverage. PIP is meant to cover up to 80% of the resulting medical care expenses regardless of who was at fault. The issue far too many people end up facing is that insurance carriers often refuse to pay it all. Even when they do, there’s still 20% left over that you are responsible for if you do not make a claim against the at-fault driver’s bodily injury (BI) coverage. The PIP coverage for medical care goes straight to the medical facilities. You can claim some of that PIP coverage for some of your lost wages as well, but it only covers 60% of those damages.
If the at-fault driver has BI coverage on their car insurance policy, it could cover medical care for the rest of your life as well as:
Unfortunately, many drivers in the state of Florida don’t have adequate (or any) bodily injury coverage on their policy. This is why our personal injury lawyers always recommend adding uninsured motorist (UM) coverage to your auto insurance policy. Here’s a video from Cliff Wells, a board-certified personal injury attorney, that breaks down the impact UM coverage can have if you’re in a car accident in Florida.
Pinellas County, Florida, has many uninsured and underinsured drivers. In some situations, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may help pay for damages related to the accident. There may also be exceptions involving additional insurance policies or negligent companies connected to the crash.
Many injuries do not appear for hours or days after a collision. Neck injuries, soft tissue damage, concussions, and back injuries often worsen gradually. Delaying treatment may also create problems with the insurance company later.
You may not have been injured in a Pinellas County car accident, but your car could have been damaged. You might also suffer psychological trauma and be unable to return to work or your daily routine. In Florida, there is a “no-fault” insurance system, which means that regardless of whether or not you’re at fault for an accident, you can claim damages from the insurance company.
Owners of vehicles are required to purchase Personal Injury Protection (PIP) worth at least $10,000 and Property Damage Liability coverage worth at least $10,000. When you’re involved in a car accident, your insurer should cover medical expenses up to $10,000.
Despite the fact that the law awards you non-economic compensation for “pain and suffering,” you can only claim these damages if you have significant injuries. The injuries and trauma are the cause of the pain and suffering.
For instance, being unable to perform an essential bodily function or having a permanent injury or disfigurement that cannot be reversed. Nevertheless, you can seek damages if the car crash aggravated your pre-existing condition.
Depending on your state of residence, causing a car wreck in Pinellas will affect your ability to collect compensation. As a result of so-called “fault” states, the person who caused the accident assumes responsibility, which usually means their insurance company covers damages.
The injured party in a no-fault state like Florida is entitled to compensation from their own insurance provider after a collision, regardless of who caused the collision. You will be covered for both medical expenses and certain economic losses under PIP.
When you are the at-fault party in a collision, the other parties may file a third-party claim with your insurer. Although no-fault states may allow your insurer to cover damages beyond their own PIP coverage, the other parties may still require it.
When you share some blame in a car accident, some states have comparative negligence rules that can limit how much you are able to recover. According to the “pure comparative negligence” doctrine, your compensation will be reduced by the percentage of your fault. You will only receive compensation if you are found to be 50 percent or more at fault for the crash in states that use “modified comparative negligence” rules.
Other states, however, follow contributory negligence rules, which means that you will not be able to recover damages if the jury finds that you were at least one percent at fault.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 44,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2023, which equates to more than 120 crash-related deaths every day.
Here are some statistics about vehicle crash deaths that do not touch on the pain this loss has inflicted on you:
If you have had a loved one die in a vehicle crash, it will be covered by a combination of laws relating to car crashes, but it will also be covered by the laws involving wrongful death damages. Call our firm in Pinellas Park today to speak to one of our experienced car wreck attorneys for free.
