If you’ve just been through a truck accident in South Florida, you’re probably wondering what’s next—and more specifically, what damages you can actually sue for. Between the phone calls, insurance forms, and the pain of injuries that seem to get worse each day, you’re suddenly dealing with more questions than answers. Let’s address that all-important question: How do you get the compensation you deserve after the collision?
You can sue for medical costs, pain and suffering, vehicle repairs, replacement of a totaled vehicle, lost income, and other economic and non-economic losses. Being able to sue is just one concern. Successfully securing fair compensation (though a lawsuit or insurance claim) is even more important. Let us help.
Englander Peebles is a highly respected, proven Fort Lauderdale– and Miami-based injury firm serving truck accident victims throughout South Florida. Whether you need guidance from truck accident lawyers in Hollywood, FL, or representation anywhere in the region, don’t wait to call us today at (954)-500-4878 or contact us online for your free consultation.
Key Takeaways
- Truck accident victims can generally sue for both economic and non-economic damages: The array of recoverable damages can include medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, property damage, and emotional distress, among others.
- Not every truck accident requires a lawsuit: Many victims receive full compensation through the insurance claims process, but suing a trucking company is an option that may be available to you (and our team at Englander Peebles).
- Florida’s no-fault insurance rules affect when you can sue: You may only file a lawsuit when your injuries meet specific “serious injury” thresholds or exceed your PIP coverage, and our truck accident lawyers handle such details for our clients.
- An attorney can manage the insurance claim from start to finish—plus any lawsuit you file: Our truck accident attorneys gather evidence, calculate damages, negotiate assertively with insurers, and handle all necessary legal proceedings while our clients rest and heal.
- Truck accident cases can involve substantial and unexpected challenges: Insurance companies and liable trucking companies have a knack for making this process unnecessarily complicated, and these are worries you don’t need to face—let us handle them for you.
- You should contact a lawyer as soon as possible after a crash: From fleeting evidence to strict filing deadlines and aggressive insurance companies, there are several reasons to contact Englander Peebles now.
What Damages Can Florida Truck Accident Survivors Sue For?
Financial recoveries after a truck accident shouldn’t just cover a few medical bills. Settlements and judgments must help the survivor get their life back, and that means covering all the damage inflicted by the collision.
Truck accident lawsuits typically include the cost of two primary types of damages:
Economic Damages: The Costs You Can See and Measure
Economic damages are the financial losses that come with being injured or having your property destroyed. They’re the expenses that show up in bills, receipts, and bank statements, and often include:
- Medical expenses
- Rehabilitation costs
- Lost income and loss of earning power
- Property damage (not only vehicle repairs or replacement, but also the cost of temporary transportation and replacing damaged personal items)
- Out-of-pocket costs related to the accident
For many South Floridians, these expenses quickly add up. Medical care is more costly for severe or lingering injuries. These costs can be even more glaring when insurance companies lowball you and delay the payment of a fair settlement amount.
Having a truck accident attorney from Englander Peebles means having someone to handle this pressure, negotiate with insurers, make sure every penny of your loss is accounted for, and ensure financial concerns don’t become too much for you to handle.
Non-Economic Damages: The Unseen Cost of a Truck Accident
Financial losses can be easy to see. Medical bills and lost paychecks provide obvious proof of those economic damages.
Some accident-related damages are more difficult to see and, in many cases, invisible. We call many of these unseen damages “non-economic damages,” and they can include:
- Pain and suffering, such as daily physical discomfort, chronic pain, and lost quality of life
- Emotional distress such as anxiety, depression, and other forms of emotional and psychological trauma—many accident survivors even grapple with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Loss of consortium, which refers to the impact your injuries and trauma have on your relationship with your spouse or family
- Loss of enjoyment of life, which addresses the fact that life is just not the same after your accident, and may never be as enjoyable as it was before the crash
Englander Peebles’ attorneys know how to document and humanize these damages for judges, juries, and insurance adjusters. Although the value of non-economic damages has a subjective element, we use tried-and-true methods to document and calculate these losses.
Some Lawsuits Also Result in Punitive Damages
Florida law allows punitive damages in rare circumstances, typically when the at-fault driver’s behavior was so reckless it showed a “conscious disregard for the safety of others.”
Drunk driving remains a scourge in Florida and throughout the United States, and it is one example of conduct that might result in punitive damages.
How We May Calculate the Value of Your Truck Accident Case
Every truck accident claim is unique. The value of the victim’s damages often depends on:
- The severity of your injuries, as more serious or permanent injuries typically require more compensation
- The length of your recovery, as prolonged recoveries often result in greater medical costs
- The duration of your absence from work, which may dictate how much your income, earning power, and other professional damages are worth
- Your total medical expenses, which will be a key consideration in your case value
- The nature and severity of your pain and suffering, as these non-economic damages are unique to each accident survivor
- Any lasting disfigurement or disability, which can add a costly item to the list of your accident-related damages
Lawyers at Englander Peebles often work with medical and economic experts to formulate and review our case valuations. Settlements can reach substantial figures depending on the case, and every successful recovery starts with well-documented damages.
An Important Question: Will I Actually Need to Sue After My Truck Accident?
Here’s a secret that surprises a lot of people: Most truck accident cases never make it to court. Even when survivors file a lawsuit, they most often settle before seeing a courtroom.
Florida’s insurance and civil justice systems encourage settlements rather than lawsuits. But whether you can settle your case fairly depends primarily on the insurance company’s willingness to be reasonable. As our injury attorneys are well aware, insurers are often unwilling to do so.
Some circumstances that might motivate you to file a car accident lawsuit are:
- You’ve suffered a “serious injury” that exceeds Florida’s no-fault limits, making you eligible to file a lawsuit.
- The insurance company denies your claim without a legitimate reason.
- The insurer offers a lowball settlement that doesn’t cover your losses.
- The at-fault truck driver’s insurance coverage is insufficient or nonexistent (uninsured motorists are another chronic problem in Florida).
- A trucking company is clearly liable for the accident (and may have even contributed to it through negligence beyond the truck driver’s own recklessness).
Englander Peebles attorneys are known throughout South Florida for demanding that insurers pay what’s fair. We make the same demands of truck companies and other parties that are liable for our clients’ damages.
Ultimately, it is up to those insurers to do what is right. When that doesn’t happen, we don’t hesitate to take the truck accident case to court.
When Truck Accident Lawsuits Become Inevitable
Even the most promising negotiations can break down. When that happens, a lawsuit may be the only way to secure the compensation a truck accident survivor deserves.
If you and your lawyer from Englander Peebles decide to file a lawsuit, that doesn’t always mean you’re headed for trial. But the moment your attorney files suit, the tone of your case shifts. Suddenly, the insurer faces the cost and risk of litigation—and that often motivates them to negotiate more seriously.
Should you ultimately file a lawsuit, your lawyer will:
- File a complaint outlining your legal claims (possibly including negligence by a liable trucking company)
- Engage in discovery to obtain critical evidence
- Handle all motions, hearings, and negotiations
- Prepare for trial if a settlement is in doubt
With experienced trial lawyers like those at Englander Peebles, you’ll know your case is built for any eventuality—whether that’s a settlement or a trial.
What Florida’s No-Fault Insurance Framework Means for You
Florida is a no-fault insurance state. Post-accident insurance processes unfold according to this no-fault framework. For one, it means after any accident, your own insurance provider (through Personal Injury Protection, or PIP coverage) pays for your medical bills and certain expenses, up to coverage limits.
PIP coverage has limits, though, as it only covers:
- 80 percent of reasonable medical expenses, which includes emergency care and follow-up treatment up to your coverage limit
- 60 percent of lost income, which is a hefty portion of lost income (but obviously not the entirety of your lost income)
- Up to $10,000 total, which is significantly less than what many truck accident survivors need for healthcare and professional losses
If your injuries meet Florida’s serious injury threshold—which might be met by life-threatening injuries, significant scarring, permanent loss of function, and other significant ailments—you can pursue a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance for the rest of your damages.
Your South Florida Attorney from Englander Peebles Will Handle Every Step of the Claims Process
Insurance is a headache, and it’s not one you have to suffer. With the pain you are already dealing with, let the attorneys at Englander Peebles handle every step of the claims process, including:
- Gathering police reports, witness statements, and other direct and indirect evidence from the crash
- Securing all relevant medical records, medical images, and testimony from healthcare providers
- Calculating your current damages, tracking new damages as they arise, and projecting future damages as necessary
- Dealing with insurance adjusters and companies on your behalf
- Negotiating the insurance settlement offers you deserve
If one or more insurance companies delay, undervalue, or attempt to underpay, your lawyer, they will quickly realize we’re not the firm to play games with. We don’t hesitate to file legal papers when insurers show bad faith in resolving claims like yours.
Why Engaging a Truck Accident Lawyer Early Can Make All the Difference in Your Case Outcome
As attorneys, we must never guarantee results to our clients. We would be dishonest, though, if we did not tell you that an experienced attorney can make an immense difference in your case.
Hiring a lawyer from Englander Peebles right away means:
- You get immediate protection from insurance companies’ (and trucking companies’) pressure, badgering, lowball offers, and other types of bad faith.
- We preserve evidence through several means, including collecting evidence right away and sending letters to trucking companies and others who must preserve evidence that is not immediately available.
- Your case value is accurate, as our experience, resources, collaboration with learned experts, and attention to detail result in spot-on case valuations.
- You have tenacious fighters occupying the front lines of your case, and we won’t let up until we have recovered the compensation you deserve.
Englander Peebles treats every truck accident case we handle like an emergency. The faster you call, the sooner we can income our fight for the compensation you deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before you ask, let us present some questions that we hear from truck accident survivors throughout South Florida:
1. How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a truck accident in Florida?
Under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a), the general statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is two years from the date of the accident. However, wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the incident.
2. What if I was partially at fault for the crash?
You may still recover compensation, but your percentage of fault may reduce the amount of damages you receive. Speak with our team for a personalized evaluation of your case.
3. Can I sue for emotional distress even if I wasn’t physically injured?
Possibly, but it depends on the circumstances. In most cases, Florida law requires a physical injury or demonstrable emotional harm supported by expert testimony. Again, we will evaluate your unique personal circumstances when you speak with our intake team.
4. How much does it cost to hire a truck accident lawyer?
At Englander Peebles, consultations are free, and you pay nothing unless we win your case. This “contingency fee” arrangement means your attorney is fully invested in your success, as their compensation depends on your case outcome.
Why You Should Call a Truck Accident Lawyer Now
Truck accident victims often wait too long to call a lawyer, usually because they think they can handle the claim themselves or that the insurer will “do the right thing.” Don’t make this mistake, as time is not on your side.
Englander Peebles has helped countless South Floridians rebuild their lives after serious accidents. If you need guidance from experienced personal injury lawyers in Hollywood, FL, call us today at (954) 500-4878 or contact us online to complete your free consultation.