Electric scooters are part of an emerging trend of micro-mobility options for commuters, tourists, and simply just exploring the city. These scooters offer a new view of your surroundings, an enjoyable way to get fresh air, and a simple transportation device that is simple to park and store. However, these are not perfect solutions to safe transportation, as the increase in electric scooter accidents in Florida has shown over the past few years. As with any new transportation trend, it is not surprising that accidents have increased as more riders hit the roads, but regardless of the reasons for this increase, it is important to take the necessary safety precautions to stay safe.
Part of the problem is that, according to preliminary research, many scooter riders do not wear helmets, especially when using scooter rental services where riders can locate scooters across the city, and then leave them where they are once they arrive at their destination. This type of simple and convenient vehicle rental system runs counter to the inconvenience of carrying a helmet around all day, so it makes sense that this is the case.
Hurt in a Scooter Accident? Contact Us Today
1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service. After you are injured in an accident, the last thing you probably want to do is to hunt for an attorney who has experience in situations like yours, is available for your case, and is willing to take you on as a client. Instead of having to deal with this additional stressor, you can use our referral service in order to connect with an available and experienced attorney as soon as possible.
Read more below to get a general sense of scooter accident insurance claims below, and contact us as soon as possible to take the next step towards getting the money that you deserve. Working with an insurance company on your own can be an overwhelming experience that often ends with the victim receiving far less than they deserve – partner with someone who can walk you through this process towards a fair settlement.
Seeking Fair Compensation After an Electric Scooter Accident in Fort Myers
Filing an insurance claim and waiting for them to send a check is a fairly easy process, but if you are looking to get the money that you deserve, then the steps necessary are more complicated—and more stressful. Luckily, when you are working with a personal injury attorney they can take on all of this stress for you while working towards getting you the money that you are rightfully entitled to. Since personal injury lawyers work on contingency fees, you do not pay for their services out of pocket; instead, they will take a percentage of your final settlement.
The following steps are common, but not necessarily the exact experience that you will have when it comes to properly seek compensation as the victim of a scooter accident or any other personal injury. To determine exactly how you will move forward, start working with an attorney as soon as possible who can set your expectations and give you their own plan for getting you what you deserve.
Initiating an Insurance Claim
To begin this process, you will need to file a claim with the responsible party’s insurance company. Once filed, you will be connected with an insurance claims adjuster who will act on behalf of the insurance company to investigate the accident and all of the associated issues in order to determine how much they will offer you for a settlement.
While the insurance adjuster is probably a very nice person, you must always remember that they are not working on your behalf: they are an employee of the insurance company and are working to save their employer as much money as possible—unfortunately at your expense. Your attorney will be able to handle most communications with the adjuster so that you do not need to worry about making any seemingly harmless statements that could come back to haunt you.
Determining Fault
The question of fault is central to a personal injury claim because it determines who is responsible for paying out damages. Florida uses a rule called pure comparative negligence, which allows for a victim to take partial responsibility for an accident and still be entitled to damages. Without this rule, a victim would not be able to seek compensation for their injuries if they were found to be at all responsible for an accident.
If a victim is found to be 10% responsible for an accident, their final damages will be reduced by 10% to account for their contributory negligence. This is completely fair, but the insurance company will attempt to pin additional fault on the victim in order to save themselves money. Your attorney will need to work aggressively in order to ensure that if you are assigned any fault at all, that it is no more than you are actually responsible for.
Calculating Damages
At the same time that your attorney is working to determine degrees of fault in the accident, they will be doing investigations into the damages that you have suffered, and working to calculate them as a comprehensive package that they will then negotiate with the insurance company about. Damages are divided into economic and non-economic damages, which each seek compensation on specific types of impacts on a victim’s life following an accident.
Economic damages are the easiest to calculate and require the least amount of negotiation because they simply seek compensation for measurable damages like your medical bills, lost wages, and other financial impacts on your life that are directly related to the accident. Non-economic damages, though, are more difficult to calculate, and therefore more aggressively contested. They seek monetary compensation for emotional and psychological impacts such as pain and suffering.
Negotiations a Settlement
Your attorney and the insurance company should both conclude their independent investigations into damages around the same time, at which point the insurance company will make you an offer for a one-time settlement. In exchange for this settlement, you will be required to waive your rights to any future legal action, regardless of whether or not new information arises, or new injuries become apparent. NEVER accept this offer without consulting with an attorney.
This offer is actually the start of negotiations, where your attorney will fight to close the gap between their calculations and the insurance company’s offer. In most cases, a settlement is preferred over a lawsuit in order to save time and money, but in certain cases, an attorney may determine that it is better to either go straight to the Florida courts or file a lawsuit if negotiations seem to be going nowhere.