Hobe Sound Car Accident Lawyers

Each year, thousands of Floridians are involved in motor-vehicle accidents, many of which result in devastating injuries. If you were hurt or lost a loved one in a crash with a negligent driver, the Hobe Sound car accident attorneys at Donaldson & Weston can help you bring a claim for any damages that you and your family have incurred.

With a dedication to providing tenacious and effective legal representation, our auto accident lawyers have recovered several multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts in complex personal injury and wrongful death cases. Call us today at 772-266-5555 for a free consultation.

Healthcare expenses and lost income can add up quickly in the wake of a serious car wreck. Our Hobe Sound auto accident attorneys will calculate your financial and non-economic losses to ensure your claim includes all damages to which you may be entitled.

Depending on the facts of your case, you may be able to recover compensation for:

• Property damage;


• Medical expenses (past and future);


• Lost wages;


• Reduced earning capacity;


• Other objectively calculable losses related to your injuries;


• Physical impairment or disfigurement;


• Pain and suffering;


• Loss of consortium;


• Loss of enjoyment of life; and


• Exemplary damages.

To recover exemplary damages, also called “punitive damages,” it must be shown that the at-fault driver’s behavior constituted intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Punitive damages may be recoverable if the defendant was drunk, fleeing from law enforcement, or partaking in other criminal or egregious behaviors.

You should expect the insurance company or defendant to investigate your accident to find reasons to dispute the value of your claim. They might use photos from your social media accounts to dispute the severity of your injuries. They might try to manipulate you into unknowingly admitting fault during a recorded statement.

The Hobe Sound car accident lawyers at Donaldson & Weston will help you avoid critical mistakes that would put your claim in jeopardy. We will perform a meticulous review of your collision, compile all available evidence, calculate your damages, and arrange testimony from expert witnesses to support your case.

If you were injured or lost a family member in a car accident that a negligent driver caused, you have the right to bring a personal injury or wrongful death claim. Even if you or your loved one was partially at fault for the collision, this does not necessarily bar you from recovering compensation.

The auto accident attorneys at Donaldson & Weston will evaluate your case for free to determine if you have sufficient grounds for a claim. We will answer your questions, explain what will happen during the claims process, and educate you on the laws related to your case.

When you hire a Hobe Sound car accident attorney from Donaldson & Weston to handle your case, you won’t have to worry about corresponding with the insurance adjuster at all. Our legal team will take care of the logistics of your case so you can focus on your health.

It’s wise to contact an attorney as soon as possible because any statements you provide to the insurer—including in the immediate aftermath of the wreck—could end up jeopardizing your case. At the end of the day, insurance adjusters and claimants have competing goals, and adjusters are not above using devious tactics to protect the financial interests of their employer.

Such tactics may include:

• Offering a Premature Settlement: Insurance adjusters know that a claimant’s damages can increase considerably as the indirect costs of their injuries become apparent. Adjusters also know that claimants are often desperate for a settlement if they don’t have the savings to make ends meet in the wake of the crash. For this reason, adjusters might try to take advantage of the situation by offering a premature payout. By accepting an early settlement, though, you’re essentially releasing the company from having to cover any future damages the settlement does not include, such as unanticipated medical care.


• Misrepresenting Recording Statements: Insurance adjusters often try to get claimants to make compromising statements that either contradict prior statements or bring the severity of their injuries into question. If they can’t get you to make such statements, they may just end up misrepresenting whatever recorded statements they do obtain to justify undervaluing your claim or even denying it altogether.


• Disputing Liability or Contesting the Extent of the Damages: Building a strong car accident claim starts at the scene. In order to secure a settlement, you need sufficient evidence of both liability and damages, which might include photographs of the wreckage, statements from eyewitnesses, and medical records. Gathering such evidence from day one is essential for preventing unnecessary disputes and delays.


• Shifting Fault to the Claimant: If the insurance adjuster can shift some portion of fault to the injured party, the insurer may only have to cover a percentage of the total damages. Florida follows a pure comparative fault rule, which means claimants may recover compensation even if they’re partially liable for the incident that caused their injuries; however, their total payout will be reduced by their own percentage of fault. In other words, it’s in the insurer’s best interests to shift as much blame as possible to the claimant. And if they cannot prove the claimant was liable for the accident, they may attempt to prove that the claimant failed to mitigate damages. For example, if you did not seek medical care in a timely fashion, the insurance adjuster might argue that your own negligence caused your injuries to worsen.


• Scanning Social Media Profiles: Personal injury claimants should expect the insurance adjuster to scour their social media profiles. This may seem like an invasion of privacy, but it’s a fairly common practice nowadays since nearly everyone has at least one social media account. For this reason, it’s wise to stay off social media altogether as long as your case is pending. At the end of the day, there’s no way to predict how the insurance adjuster might interpret something you post and use it to dispute your claim.