Fort Lauderdale Reckless Driving Accidents Lawyer
While no accident is fair, getting into an accident with someone because they were driving recklessly can be extremely frustrating, and cause a lot of resentment because of their irresponsible behavior. If you have been involved in an accident that was caused by someone’s reckless driving, contact us immediately to learn about your legal rights for compensation beyond the initial offer from their insurance company.
Friedland & Associates offers a free initial consultation, which you can book immediately, where you can speak with a legal professional about your situation and understand your options. We will be able to give you an idea of how we would handle your case, and explain to you the ways that we can help alleviate your stress while fighting for the payments that you deserve. Contact us immediately, and read more below about reckless driving accidents.
What Is Reckless Driving?
The Florida Statutes explain this crime very simply: “Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.” Additionally, the statutes specifically address anyone fleeing law enforcement in a motor vehicle is reckless driving as well. While this definition is pretty self-explanatory, here are a few examples that we commonly deal with in Florida:
Speeding
Speeding is possibly the most common form of reckless driving, and although many people commonly exceed the posted speed limits, it is unacceptable and dangerous.
Racing
Illegal racing encourages extremely reckless behavior, and puts everyone at risk in the area — other drivers as well as pedestrians.
Passing Where Prohibited
Drivers are only allowed to pass along a dotted line — if there is a solid line, it indicates that passing is illegal and dangerous. Ignoring these lines is reckless.
Passing On the Inside
In the United States, passing must take place on the left side of vehicles, either in the left lane of a multi-lane road or in the oncoming lane in a passing zone.
Tailgating
Tailgating is the act of driving dangerously close to the car in front, and can cause a rear-end accident because of the tailgating drivers inability to stop on time.
Failure To Yield
A failure to yield can happen anywhere that a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic light indicates that a driver must stop or yield to oncoming traffic, but they do not.
There are many other examples of reckless driving, but hopefully, with this brief list you are able to get an idea of what behaviors constitute recklessness, and you may be able to determine if your accident was caused by similarly-reckless behavior.
What To Do After a Reckless Driving Accident
If you have been involved in any accident, the first and most important thing to do is to make sure that you and your passengers are in a safe place, to the best of your ability. If you suspect that you or your passengers have suffered from spinal injuries, it is important that you DO NOT move them, as you can cause further damage.
Contact 911 immediately to be sure that the police, fire department, and EMTs will be there as soon as possible to secure the crash site, direct traffic, and administer first aid to any injuries while getting people the medical attention they need. If you have injuries of any extent, make sure that you get medical help. There are a few reasons for this: primarily, unaddressed injuries can cause serious long-term issues; secondly, it is important that you establish contact with your doctor shortly after the accident to start a record of any injuries. If you wait too long to get your injuries looked at, the insurance company may claim that the injuries are not from the accident in question.
Contact Us Today
When you are working with our team, you can be confident that the insurance company will not manipulate you into taking an offer that does not fairly address your injuries. We will handle all negotiations, and if we are unable to reach an agreement, will move the case into a civil lawsuit in the Florida court system. It is our top priority that our clients get the compensation that they are truly owed, no matter the actions we must take in order to ensure that this happens.
