Inman, GA Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

In Florida, recoverable damages, as a result of a motor vehicle accident, are of two basic types - economic damages and non-economic damages. The first type of damages, economic damages, basically consists of medical bills and wage loss which have not been paid by your insurance, primarily under your Personal Injury Protection ("PIP") coverage. Economic damages include not only your past (unpaid) medical expenses and your past (unpaid) wage loss, but also your reasonably anticipated future medical expenses and your impairment of future earning capacity which basically means the amount by which your ability to earn money in the future has been impaired by your accident-related injuries. The second type of damages, non-economic damages, consists of damages (both suffered in the past and which you can reasonably be expected to suffer in the future) which are subjective and the value of which is often times difficult to estimate. These non-economic damages consists of pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, impairment or disability, and loss of the ability to enjoy life's pleasures. In order to be entitled to any non-economic damages, the injury suffered must basically entail death, serious permanent disfigurement or permanent injury (other than serious permanent disfigurement). Any award of money damages will be reduced by the injured person's comparative negligence, such as carelessness which contributes to the accident, if any, and payments made by collateral sources, such as medical insurance coverage you might have available to you. In terms of estimating the value of your damages, there are many variables. Several of the important factors regarding the "value" your claim are the extent and severity of your injuries (based on objective diagnosis scans, such as MRI, x-ray or CT scans); whether your diagnostic scan findings are considered to be "degenerative" or "traumatic" in nature; whether you have any prior or subsequent trauma which might be the cause or at least a contributory factor regarding your injuries; the type and duration of your treatment, e.g., chiropractic or medical/osteopathic doctor managed care; whether you have undergone or had surgery recommended; whether you have had pain management injections; whether you have gaps in your treatment, e.g., long periods of time when you were not being treated; your medications and whether you take them regularly; the extent of the property damage to your vehicle; whether you have had an "independent" or "compulsory "medical examination and, if so, the results of that IME/CME; the experience and reputation of your attorney; the insurance company and adjuster with whom you are dealing; and many other factors. As you will no doubt appreciate after reading these above comments, given the general nature of the information you provided, it is not possible to give you an opinion regarding the settlement value of your claim.

Generally speaking, the answer to your question is "probably not." I say "probably" only because the judge does have a right to sentence you to jail for reckless. Typically, judges do not impose jail time for reckless by speed unless your speed is around 90 MPH or above.

Yes, you can sue, and will likely need an attorney. Whether you should is a question I cannot answer without viewing your medical records, however, most cases like yours do not require a lawsuit once an attorney enters on your behalf.