Did you or a family member suffer injuries in a car accident involving a taxi in St. Petersburg, FL? You may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and your personal pain and suffering. A St. Petersburg taxi accident lawyer at Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.
Collectively, our lawyers have over 119 years of experience handling complex personal injury claims. We have the resources to help you recover the meaningful financial compensation you need to get back on your feet again.
If you need help proving your case, contact our law offices in St. Petersburg, Florida, to schedule a free consultation today at (727) 314-5988.
How Can Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers Help With a Taxi Accident Claim in St. Petersburg?
Like any motor vehicle accident, most taxi accidents are preventable. They occur because someone was careless. If you were injured, you shouldn’t have to pay the financial price, as well. Our St. Petersburg personal injury attorneys can help you recover the money you need to get you through this difficult time.
We’ve devoted our entire legal practice to helping injured clients recover fair compensation. Our primary goal is to maximize your financial award.
Our legal team can help to do this by:
- Launching an investigation into the circumstances of your accident
- Determining who was liable for your injuries
- Identifying all sources of bodily injury liability insurance coverage
- Protecting you if you’re blamed for the accident
- Working with leading experts when they can strengthen your case
- Handling all negotiations with the insurance companies and defense teams
- Representing you in court if the insurance offer isn’t fair
It’s never too early to start learning about your legal options after an accident. Our St. Petersburg personal injury lawyers offer a free case review, and we work on a contingency fee basis–so you don’t have to worry about any up-front costs.
How Much Compensation Can I Recover if I Was Injured in a Taxi Accident in St. Petersburg?
Filing a lawsuit can be difficult and time-consuming. Most people want to know how much their personal injury case is worth before starting the legal process.
The unsatisfying answer is: it depends. The value of any personal injury claim depends on the nature of your injuries and the unique ways that the injury will impact your life.
Factors that are relevant in assessing your case value include:
- The cost of your medical treatment and other expenses
- The amount of your lost wages
- How the injury will impact your future earning potential
- Damage to your quality of life and lifestyle changes made necessary by the injury
- The physical and mental suffering you have endured
- Whether your actions contributed to the accident
Most personal injury cases are settled with the insurance company out of court. While filing an insurance claim is the most common way to recover compensation, it’s by no means an easy process. The insurance company may go to great lengths to minimize your damages–especially if your injuries were severe.
To learn more about how an experienced attorney can protect you, contact Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free case evaluation today.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims in Taxi Accident Cases?
The compensation you recover in a personal injury case is referred to as your “damages”. There are two primary types of damages that you can recover: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Your economic damages are your financial losses, including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Nursing care
- Property damage
Your non-economic damages are the intangible losses you suffer due to the accident and injury, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Diminished quality of life
- Permanent disfigurement or scarring
- Mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD
- Loss of consortium, or damage to relationships
You only have one chance to recover full compensation for all of your losses. Our lawyers can help you identify and document the losses you have incurred. We can also help you assess the value of your difficult-to-value personal losses.
You can schedule your free case review today. Just call our personal injury law firm in St. Petersburg to speak with a lawyer who can help.
Can I Recover Damages If I’m Being Blamed for Causing a Taxi Accident in Florida?
Accident claims are rarely cut-and-dry. Multiple parties can share fault for the same accident. Unless you were a taxi passenger at the time of the crash, it’s likely that someone will try to blame you for contributing to the accident.
That doesn’t mean you’ll lose your right to recover damages. Under Florida’s pure comparative fault laws, liability is divided between all parties who share fault. If you’re partly responsible, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
It isn’t a perfect system. If you’re being blamed for an accident, it’s important to have a lawyer in your corner to help minimize the impact of the shared fault rules. Otherwise, you risk walking away with less money than you really deserve.
Our Taxi Accident Attorneys Will Fight To Recover Compensation for All of Your Injuries
Car accidents involving taxi cabs often cause serious injuries. Taxi passengers don’t always wear seat belts. That can exacerbate the injuries they sustain in a crash.
At Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers, we often represent victims who have sustained:
- Broken bones
- Whiplash
- Concussions
- Cuts and lacerations
- Burns
- Soft tissue damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head and neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Organ damage
- Amputations and loss of limbs
- Paralysis
- Catastrophic injuries
We also represent grieving families in cases involving wrongful death. If you lost a loved one in a fatal taxi accident, don’t hesitate to reach out to our accident lawyers in St. Petersburg today.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Taxi Accidents in St. Petersburg, Florida?
Taxi-cab accidents occur for all different reasons. Many of the most common causes of taxicab accidents overlap with the common causes of car accidents in general.
Some of the leading causes of taxi accidents include:
- Speeding and aggressive driving
- Distracted driving
- Fatigued taxi cab drivers
- Failure to yield the right-of-way
- Tailgating
- Impaired or drunk driving
- Unsafe passing
- Illegal lane changes
- Illegal or unsafe turns
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Racing through intersections
- Road hazards
- Failure to maintain the taxi in a safe condition
- Failure to conduct background checks on taxi drivers
Even if the taxi driver was responsible for the accident, it’s possible that someone else could be liable for your damages. Unlike rides sharing drivers, cab drivers are employees. Their employer can be held responsible for the cab driver’s negligent driving.
Examples of the parties who may ultimately be liable for your damages include:
- The taxi company
- Companies responsible for inspecting the cabs
- Maintenance companies
- Manufacturers of defective vehicles
- Third-party motorists
- Government agencies responsible for oversight
Determining the cause of your accident is the first step toward identifying the responsible parties. To learn more about how our lawyers can help you prove what caused your accident, call for a free initial consultation today.
How Do I Establish Negligence if I Was Injured in a Taxi Accident in Florida?
Negligence is a legal term for careless or reckless acts. Someone is negligent when they fail to exercise reasonable caution, and someone is injured as a result.
The four basic elements of a negligence case are:
- A legal duty of care existed
- The at-fault party breached the duty of care (made a mistake)
- The breach, or mistake, caused the accident
- You suffered damages, typically in the form of physical injuries
Taxi drivers are common carriers in Florida. Under Florida law, they’re held to a heightened standard of care because they transport passengers to make a profit. Still, you’ll need to produce evidence to prove your case.
That evidence might include:
- Video surveillance footage from a dash cam or traffic light
- Taxi inspection and maintenance records
- Evidence about the cab driver’s licensing and safety record
- Police and accident reports
- Eyewitness statements
- Evidence from the crash scene
- Opinions of medical professionals
Let our lawyers step in and locate the evidence you need to establish negligence. Give us a call and schedule a free case review today.
How Long Do I Have To File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Taxi Accident in Florida?
The statute of limitations is a deadline for taking legal action after an accident. In Florida, you have four years to file a personal injury lawsuit. After four years from the date of the accident, you simply lose your right to seek compensation for your injuries.
Keep in mind that you may have less time to sue for damages if a government agency is a defendant in your case. For more information about the deadlines in your specific case, call our law firm for a free consultation.
Contact a St. Petersburg Taxi Accident Lawyer for a Free Case Review
The time after an accident can be overwhelming, especially if you’re struggling with serious injuries. Our experienced lawyers at Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers can help. Contact our offices to schedule a free consultation with an experienced St. Petersburg taxi accident attorney today.