St. Petersburg Car Accident Lawyer

If you or someone you love has suffered injuries in a traffic accident, knowing what to do can be overwhelming. You may be able to recover compensation to help pay for medical bills, lost wages, and more. 

However, it can be difficult to deal with the insurance companies, manage the claims process to collect your damages, and follow your doctor’s orders all at the same time. A St. Petersburg personal injury lawyer from our law firm can help.

The St. Petersburg car accident lawyers from Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers understand your situation and can analyze the personal and financial damages in your case, build a strong claim, and fight aggressively to ensure you receive every available penny owed to make you financially whole once more. Call us today and speak with a member of our team about your case during a free case consultation. 

Potential Compensation You Can Collect After a St. Petersburg Car Wreck

While every case is different and outcomes cannot be guaranteed, the amount of compensation you could potentially receive from your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit can be estimated with help from a lawyer.

What is certain, however, is that as an auto accident victim injured due to the negligent actions of another, Florida law gives you the right to pursue the maximum compensation possible for the injuries and losses you have suffered. 

There are several types of damages you may be legally entitled to recover in a personal injury claim or lawsuit against negligent parties responsible for your injuries. Documenting all eligible damages is crucial to maximizing the compensation you deserve.

Potential damages you could pursue include the following:

Current and Future Medical Expenses

Car accident victims often suffer from severe to catastrophic injuries, such as: 

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Spinal cord injuries
• Internal bleeding and organ damage
• Burns and lacerations
• Broken bones and dislocations

Tampa General Hospital is the closest level-one trauma center equipped to handle such injuries, but the costs will be expensive. The medical treatment you receive, though, is a damage you can recover. 

This damage includes all bills for emergency transport, hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, prescription medications, physical therapy, psychiatric treatment, assistive devices, home healthcare, and any other treatment needed now and anticipated over the course of your lifetime as a result of the accident injuries.

Lost Wages While You Recover

If you are unable to work during recuperation or missed self-employment or overtime income, you can seek this loss as well. Lost pay can also include any tips, bonuses, or benefits you missed. You may even seek compensation for missing promotional opportunities. Additionally, you can request compensation for the cost of hiring help to cover household duties while you recover.

Reduced Earning Capacity

If your injuries permanently limit your ability to pursue your prior career path or higher pay, we can help you seek compensation that addresses your lost income potential going forward. You may also be eligible to collect compensation for training and education in a new field. 

Pain and Suffering

You also have a right to recover compensation for any non-economic losses you sustained. Unlike financial losses, non-economic damages reflect the impact your injuries have had on your quality of life. 

Monetary damages are allowed for physical injuries and emotional distress experienced during recovery, as well as any ongoing suffering from chronic pain or mental anguish stemming from crash injuries.

Disfigurement and Scarring

You can pursue damages for any prominent scarring or disfigurement on visible areas of your body from lacerations or surgery.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

These damages apply when adjustment is needed for loss of normal daily activities and life enjoyment due to permanent functional limitations or disability as a result of collision injuries.

Personal Property Damages

You may also receive reimbursement for the repair or replacement costs of your vehicle and any damaged possessions inside your vehicle at the time of impact, like a smartphone, laptop, clothes, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

An experienced car accident attorney in St. Petersburg can vigorously advocate on your behalf to ensure compensation addresses future lost earning capacity, lifetime medical costs, and other projected economic impacts stemming from your crash. Though rare, you may even be eligible to receive punitive damages. 

Our priority is obtaining full and fair compensation for all damages caused, both short-term and long-lasting.

Filing a Wrongful Death Claim After a Car Accident in St. Petersburg, FL

If you lost a family member in a fatal car accident, your family may be entitled to recover damages from a wrongful death claim or suit. Some damages you may be entitled to receive include the following:

• Funeral expenses and burial costs
• Medical expenses from your loved one’s injuries
• Loss of wages and benefits
• Loss of consortium, which addresses the support your loved one provided around the household

To learn more, you can discuss your case with our wrongful death lawyers in St. Petersburg, FL. Our legal team can give you an estimate of what your family’s losses may be worth and tell you what one of our lawyers can do to recover the damages to which you may be entitled.

A lawyer from Chalik & Chalik will handle all the legal aspects so that you can focus on healing after the loss of your family member.

Our St. Petersburg Auto Accident Attorneys Can Handle Your Case from the Initial Investigation to Trial

After an accident, you deserve to focus on your health and spend time with your family. Our St. Petersburg car accident lawyers can take care of your insurance claim or lawsuit from start to finish. Debi Chalik and Jason Chalik will personally handle your case. They will keep you updated throughout the legal process, but they also believe your time should be spent on healing from your injuries, not on fighting for what you deserve. 

Our legal services include:

Investigating Your St. Petersburg Car Accident

Our car accident lawyers can investigate your accident and gather the necessary evidence to support your case. We can collect the police report and medical records, as well as eyewitness statements. This evidence will help us to identify the at-fault driver in your case and demonstrate negligence.

In some cases, we will call upon expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists, to counter an insurance adjuster’s determination of fault.

Dealing with the Insurance Companies for You

Your St. Petersburg auto accident lawyer will negotiate your accident claim with the insurance providers on your behalf and pursue fair compensation for your damages. We can prevent you from accepting an unfair initial settlement offer by understanding the full extent of your injuries and losses. 

Your medical records and the doctor’s opinion help to determine how your injuries will affect you in the future. We can speak with financial advisors about your future employment prospects. We can also review all your losses so that we can then accurately calculate your damages and present our strong evidence to the insurer.

When our personal injury law firm takes on your case, we will handle all the necessary paperwork involved with a claim for damages, and you will not have to speak directly to the liable party or their insurer. 

Fighting for You in Court

If we cannot reach a fair settlement during negotiations with the insurers, we will fight for your case in court. We can file a lawsuit within the state-mandated deadline and pursue a court-awarded offer.

Call Chalik & Chalik today for your free case consultation.

Examples of Negligence You Can Include in Your St. Petersburg Claim

Motor vehicle accidents can occur for a variety of reasons, but your case depends on proving the other party acted negligently, causing your injuries. Once we investigate your case, we may find that the following behaviors led to the collision:

• Distracted driving, which includes looking at a cell phone, talking to the passenger next to you or in the back seat, changing the radio station, or just admiring the scenery around you
• Driving under the influence, which involves having a blood-alcohol content level of 0.08 or above or being under the influence of substances
• Speeding, which reduces a motorist’s ability to avoid an accident in time and increases the likelihood of severe injury or fatality
• Reckless driving, including aggressive driving, tailgating, and running traffic lights

If you suspect the driver who hit you violated any laws or behaved negligently, you may have a case for financial compensation. We can investigate your accident and build a claim. 

Proving the Four Elements of Negligence

Making a case against a negligent driver involves proving four elements. First, you must establish that the other driver had a duty of care to keep you reasonably safe. This duty applies to anyone operating a vehicle.

You must prove the other driver breached this duty by acting negligently behind the wheel. Then, you must prove that their negligence led to or contributed to the accident that caused your injuries. Furthermore, you must demonstrate that you suffered losses due to those injuries, such as medical expenses and pain and suffering.

We offer a free initial consultation so you can learn what your legal options are in pursuing damages after your accident.

Florida’s Statute of Limitations Could Impact Your Case

Florida Statutes § 95.11 places a limit on the amount of time that victims have to pursue damages after an automobile accident. In most cases, you typically have two years for personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits.

If you fail to file your lawsuit with the Pinellas County courthouse, you may not be able to pursue compensation through legal action. Our car accident attorney in St. Petersburg, FL, will make sure your paperwork is filed within the appropriate deadline.

How You Can Protect Your Rights After a Car Accident in St. Petersburg

There are a few things you can do after an accident to help your case and protect your right to fair compensation.

Obtain a Police Report

Whenever an accident occurs, you should call the police to the scene. An official crash report can go a long way in providing evidence for your case. Even if you did not call the police to the scene, you should report your accident to the proper authorities.

Document What You Can from the Accident Scene

If your injuries allow you to move, take pictures of what you can, such as your car, the accident scene, the other vehicle, and your injuries. Ask to exchange contact information from the other driver and any witnesses. 

Seek Medical Aid

Do not assume your injuries to be minor. You should always seek medical attention after a car accident. Some injuries, such as whiplash, do not display symptoms immediately, but you could begin feeling the effects of such injuries months or years after a crash.

It is better to play it safe and see a doctor. They can run tests and diagnose injuries, preventing any from worsening. Additionally, medical documentation can help your lawyer prove and calculate your damages.

Stay off of Social Media

After an accident, do not post any information about the other driver on social media. Refrain from posting pictures, making any statements about fault, or going into detail about your legal case.

How Can You Afford a St. Petersburg Car Accident Attorney From Our Law Firm?

Some accident victims worry about how to afford a personal injury attorney and forgo seeking legal representation altogether. We advocate for victims of negligence, which is why we take our cases on a contingency-fee-basis.

When we handle the legal process of your case, you will not have to pay any upfront fees. You will not owe us a dime unless we secure compensation. This arrangement allows us to get started on your case right away. Take advantage of our free consultation to determine your legal options.

Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm for a Free Consultation

A car accident can have long-term consequences that cost you months and years down the road. Our aim is for you to suffer no further losses as a result of your accident-related injuries. Our legal team can fight for the maximum compensation and take legal action on your behalf if necessary.

The St. Petersburg car accident attorneys of Chalik & Chalik can handle your personal injury claim from start to finish. Take advantage of our risk-free consultation. We want to help your family by reviewing your case and identifying what options you have available for recovering damages.

Contact Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation.