Motor Vehicle Accidents

Do I need an attorney when I am injured in an auto accident?

Yes. When you hire an attorney at Tuttle Law, you will get a team of people organizing and collecting evidence as well as negotiating and advocating on your behalf. Without an attorney, you will be forced to navigate your injury claim not knowing the applicable laws and can make a mistake that no attorney can fix.

What does it cost?

Tuttle Law gets paid the same way every injury attorney in the state of Florida gets paid, on a contingency fee basis. Our fee is typically 33 1/3% of your recovery. That means that we only get paid if we get a recovery for you.

Why should I hire Tuttle Law?

We are different than the firms you see on TV and billboards. At Tuttle Law, you will speak to an attorney, not a case manager, about your case and your injuries. We understand that this is a difficult process and we do everything we can to make ourselves available for you.

Tuttle Law almost exclusively handles personal injury cases so we have made a strong impression on insurance companies by proving time and again that we will fight to defend our clients from their aggressive tactics.

What are the initial steps of my auto accident case?

Who will pay for my medical bills?

In Florida, motorists are required to have $10,000 of personal injury protection (PIP) coverage on their automobile insurance policies. When you are injured in an auto accident, your own PIP coverage pays your medical bills and lost wages until the PIP coverage is exhausted. PIP pays 80% of your medical bills and 60% of your lost wages. At the conclusion of your case, the defendant’s insurance company will pay any unpaid amount of your medical bills and lost wages. Once your PIP coverage is exhausted, you can also use your health insurance to pay your accident-related medical bills, if you have health insurance. If your health insurance pays accident-related medical bills, you will likely be required to reimburse your health insurance company for these payments at the conclusion of your case.

In the beginning stages of your case, we will notify the other party and any involved insurance companies that you have retained us to represent you. We will also request the insurance company to give us a copy of any statements you may have given them before you retained us.

We will send letters to your doctors and hospitals, notifying them that you have retained us to represent you and requesting that they do not give medical information to the insurance adjuster for the other party. We will contact the investigating officer and witnesses for their statements. We may also request your employment information to document your economic loss.

How long will my auto accident case take?

It is important to understand that your case cannot be settled until your injuries have been fully evaluated. It generally takes some time to obtain the necessary medical information because a doctor cannot answer many questions until your treatment has reached a plateau. Typically, we will have to wait six to nine months from the date of an accident before we receive a full medical report regarding your injuries from your doctor. Once we have a clear picture of your injuries, we can then prepare a settlement demand letter to the responsible party.

What is my case worth?

What do I need to prove to win my auto accident lawsuit?

First, you must prove that the other driver was negligent. Second, under Florida law, you must prove that you sustained a permanent injury to be eligible for compensation for your pain and suffering. For this reason, you will need to have your injuries thoroughly evaluated and we will need to obtain a final report from your doctor before we can move forward with your case.

What are the most common causes of auto accidents?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the leading causes of auto accidents are speeding, distracted driving, running red lights, drunk driving, and rain.

Determining the worth of a personal injury claim depends on many factors some of which are: how seriously you are injured, the specific facts of the case, and the insurance limits that are available. Ultimately, there is no special formula to decide your case value but the attorneys at Tuttle Law have years of experience that will be utilized to maximize your compensation.

How much auto insurance is required in Florida?

Under Florida law, drivers are only required to carry $10,000 of property damage coverage and $10,000 of personal injury protection coverage. Unfortunately, Florida is one of only a few states that does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage. Bodily injury liability coverage pays for injuries a negligent driver causes to other people.

If a negligent driver does not have this coverage, the injured party can look to their own insurance policy to see if they have purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage provides protection when the at-fault driver doesn’t have any coverage, or doesn’t have enough coverage, to compensate the injured party for all damages.

How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit?

For the most part, you must file a lawsuit in a personal injury case no later than four years after the date of the incident, or you will be forever barred from pursuing your claim. Please note, there are a number of situations which require lawsuits or notice to the defendant much sooner than four years. If you are considering the possibility of hiring a lawyer, it is generally best to do it as soon as possible.