Depending on the point of impact and the speeds of each vehicle, a car accident may cause a crushed door or a person to be trapped under the steering wheel or dashboard. These events can cause serious arm and leg injuries.
After a devastating Orlando car accident, you may need to undergo months of physical therapy treatments or time in a rehabilitation facility to relearn how to walk. In addition, you may need a cane, walker, or wheelchair for life.
A lawyer can help you pursue compensation for the losses you have suffered and continue to endure. Call today to discuss your claim with an Orlando arm and leg injury lawyer.
What an Attorney Can Do for You After an Arm or Leg Injury
Knowing what to do next can be difficult if you’ve been involved in a car accident. You may be dealing with physical pain, emotional trauma, and financial losses due to medical bills and lost wages. Your accident lawyer can:
Negotiate With the Insurance Companies
When you have suffered a severe arm or leg injury, it is important to negotiate with the insurance companies to get the best possible outcome for your personal injury claim.
Insurance companies are often reluctant to pay large sums of money for injuries, so you or your attorney must be prepared when negotiating with them.
An attorney can help you understand your legal rights and help you negotiate with claims adjusters to get you a fair settlement. If a favorable settlement agreement cannot be reached, your lawyer can help you bring a lawsuit and represent you in court.
Gather Evidence
You must present evidence to the insurance company to get the most out of your personal injury claim. Your car accident lawyer can also help you gather evidence to support your claims, such as medical records, police reports, and witness statements.
Handle All Paperwork
An attorney can also handle the paperwork associated with filing a personal injury claim and going back and forth with insurance companies. They will also advise you on how best to proceed throughout the claims process to maximize your chances of recovering fair compensation.
Sort Out a Complicated Accident
Personal injury cases are often complex and contentious. The parties may disagree about what happened and who was liable. It may be challenging to figure things out without independent witnesses to back up either person’s claim. The legal process could take months or years to resolve.
While all of that is playing out, you may be unable to work, and your family might struggle to make ends meet. An attorney can work toward a timely settlement while you relax and focus on your recovery.
Pursue Full Compensation
While every case is different, in general, accident victims represented by an attorney tend to walk away with more money even after legal fees are taken out.
We know you need money to keep up with your mortgage, utilities, and other basic living expenses in addition to a mounting stack of medical bills.
Our team of experienced attorneys is dedicated to helping victims of accidents seek justice and financial compensation for their losses. We understand how devastating an arm or leg injury can be and are committed to fighting for your rights.
Types of Arm and Leg Injuries That Can Occur in a Car Crash
Common injuries caused by a car crash can range from minor cuts and bruises to more serious fractures, dislocations, and amputations. Here are some auto accident injuries involving arms and legs:
Broken Bones
Broken bones are common in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents. A broken arm or leg can interfere with many daily activities, such as walking, getting dressed, preparing meals, working, and caring for children (if you have kids).
If you suffer one or more broken bones, you may still be able to carry out some of your regular activities, or you may be forced to spend most of your time on the couch or in bed. Depending on the type of work you did before the accident, you may or may not be able to earn a living while you recover.
Deep Cuts
Cuts on the arms and legs can range from minor to serious. Broken glass and twisted metal may cause deep gashes that could require surgery.
In some cases, a cut may cause permanent neurological damage that affects your ability to move. If a cut is not kept clean, it can become infected, causing dangerous complications.
Tendon, Ligament, or Joint Damage
A collision may damage tendons, ligaments, and joints. Some of those injuries may be relatively minor, but others may require surgery to repair and could have a long recovery period. Weeks or months of physical therapy may be necessary.
Nerve Damage
Nerve damage is an unpleasant consequence that can result from an injury. It can cause severe pain, numbness, and loss of sensation in the affected area. Nerve damage can also lead to paralysis, muscle weakness, and other long-term complications.
Ulnar Nerve Entrapment
Bracing yourself before an impact can result in painful arm injuries. For example, ulnar nerve entrapment is a condition that occurs when the ulnar nerve, which runs from the shoulder to the hand, becomes compressed or irritated. This can cause pain and numbness in the arm, wrist, and fingers.
The symptoms of ulnar nerve entrapment can range from mild to severe, and they may require surgery or physical therapy to resolve.
Dislocation
Dislocations are another type of injury that can occur in a car crash. A dislocation occurs when the bones of a joint become displaced from their normal position. This can cause intense pain, swelling, and difficulty moving the affected limb.
Depending on the severity of the dislocation, surgery may be necessary to realign the bones and repair any damage to surrounding tissues. In some cases, you may need physical therapy to restore your previous range of motion.
Amputation
A car crash may cause the loss of one or more limbs. An arm or leg may be severed, or a collision may cause injuries that are so severe that doctors are unable to save the limb. If a person loses a limb in a crash or surgery afterward, that will impact virtually every aspect of their life.
Losing an arm or leg can be excruciatingly painful and emotionally traumatic. Adjusting to life without a limb and learning to use a prosthetic can be a long and difficult process.
Spinal Cord Injuries Affecting the Limbs
Spinal cord injuries can also affect the arms and legs. A spinal cord injury can cause paralysis in the limbs, which may be partial or complete. Depending on the accident’s severity, a person may have difficulty walking, standing, or using their arms and hands.
In some cases, a person may retain the ability to move their limbs but experience numbness or tingling due to the damage caused by the crash.
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How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Seek Justice
Florida is a no-fault state. That means you will have to seek compensation for some of your medical bills and lost income from your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, which is included in your car insurance policy.
If the other driver was liable for the collision and you suffered serious injuries that meet criteria set in Florida Statute § 627.737, you may be able to seek additional compensation from the at-fault party for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
An Orlando personal injury lawyer may be able to help. For example, we can review the police report to learn more about what happened. If it is unclear who was liable for the crash, we may have to investigate further to gather more information.
We may interview you, others in your vehicle, and eyewitnesses and review surveillance or cellphone video to figure out who was responsible for the crash.
Determining Liability for Your Injuries
Determining who is financially responsible for your injuries is important in seeking justice after a car crash. If the other driver was at fault, you could seek compensation from their insurance company.
We may also be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against an individual on your behalf.
Shared Fault
We may still be able to pursue a financial award if you share some of the blame for the accident.
Under Florida’s comparative negligence law, Florida Statute § 768.81, you may be entitled to a financial award, even if you contributed to the accident. Your amount of compensation can be reduced based on your percentage of fault in the accident.
One of our experienced car accident lawyers could help ensure that fault is assigned accurately, so the insurance company doesn’t take advantage of you.
Proving Negligence in an Auto Accident
Proving negligence in an auto accident is essential to recovering compensation for your arm and leg injuries. To prove negligence, you must show that the other driver owed you reasonable care, breached that duty of care, and caused your injuries.
The first step in proving negligence is establishing that the other driver owed you a duty of care. All drivers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely and reasonably.
The next step is to show that the other driver breached that duty of care. This may involve showing that they were speeding, driving while distracted, or otherwise operating their vehicle unsafely.
Finally, you must prove that the other driver’s breach of duty caused your injuries. You must provide evidence such as medical records and witness statements; your lawyer can help you collect this information.
Recoverable Compensation for Arm and Leg Injuries
Pursuing justice after your accident can help you gain financial security and peace of mind. An arm and leg injury lawyer in Orlando can help you determine the value of your case by tabulating all the expenses associated with the accident.
This includes economic damages like medical costs and non-economic damages like emotional pain. You may be able to seek financial awards for the following:
- Medical bills: You may have incurred substantial medical expenses related to your arm or leg injury, including hospital bills, doctor visits, physical therapy, and prescription medications.
- Ambulance bills: If an ambulance transports you to the hospital, you may be able to seek compensation for those costs.
- Lost wages: If you had to miss work due to your injuries, you should seek recovery for that financial loss.
- Decreased earning capacity: If your arm or leg injury has caused you to lose the ability to earn a living, you may be able to seek compensation for lost or reduced earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering: You may be able to seek compensation for pain and emotional distress caused by your injuries.
- Emotional distress: You could also seek compensation for the emotional distress caused by your injuries, such as anxiety and depression.
- Prosthetic device: If you need a prosthetic device due to the loss of your arm or leg, you could seek compensation for the cost of this expensive device.
- Home and vehicle modifications: If you need to modify your home or vehicle due to your injuries, your lawyer can include those costs in your demand letter.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: You may be able to seek compensation for the loss of enjoyment of life if the accident left you permanently disabled.
- Punitive damages: You could seek punitive damages if the at-fault party acted with gross negligence or recklessness. These are designed to punish the at-fault party and deter similar behavior in the future.
- Wrongful death expenses: If a loved one dies due to an arm or leg injury, you may be entitled to compensation for funeral and burial expenses and loss of companionship.
Wrongful Death Due to a Fatal Arm or Leg Injury
We extend our deepest condolences if you recently lost someone due to a fatal accident. The death of a loved one due to an arm or leg injury can be devastating. While nothing can bring your loved one back, we are here to help with the financial side of things.
If another person’s negligence caused the accident, you might be able to seek compensation for wrongful death expenses. Under Florida law, certain family members may recover compensation for funeral and burial expenses and loss of companionship.
You may also be able to seek punitive damages if the at-fault party acted with gross negligence or recklessness.
Our Orlando wrongful death lawyers understand the emotional and financial toll an accidental death can take on the victim’s family. We are dedicated to helping you seek justice and the compensation you deserve for your loss.
Time Limit for Taking Legal Action in a Florida Personal Injury Case
The time limit for taking legal action in a personal injury case is known as the “statute of limitations.” In Florida, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit is four years from the date of the accident.
It is important to note that this time limit applies to all types of personal injury cases, including those involving arm and leg injuries caused by car accidents. If you fail to take legal action within this time frame, the court may bar you from seeking compensation for this incident.
According to Florida Statute § 95.11(3), the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit in a case related to negligence, such as a car crash, is four years. However, time is of the essence in these cases for other reasons, so it is always best to get started as soon as possible.
Contact an Orlando Arm and Leg Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one has suffered an arm or leg injury in a Central Florida car accident, contact the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today to discuss your case with an experienced Orlando arm and leg injury lawyer. We can review the details of your case and explain your legal options for seeking compensation.
Our team of experienced attorneys understands the complexities of personal injury law and will fight to get you the recovery you are entitled to. We are dedicated to helping our clients get justice. Our initial consultation is free, and you won’t pay upfront for our services.
Contact us today so our team can begin working on your case immediately.
