South Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Broken glass injuries can be some of the most serious injuries suffered in a car wreck. When broken glass flies through the air, it poses a serious threat to everyone in the vehicle. If you have been injured by broken glass in an accident that was not your fault, you need to seek the help of a Miami car accident attorney who can determine whether or not you may be entitled to compensation.
A broken windshield and broken windows can cause pieces of glass to dangerously fly in every direction in the car. Newer vehicles are equipped with windshields that are designed not to shatter on impact. However, these designs are not always effective in high-velocity wrecks. Broken glass can cause a variety of injuries, including surface level cuts, deep level lacerations, severed limbs, and shock. In the most serious cases, a person could bleed to death due to a broken shard of glass striking a main artery.
If your glass injuries are a result of an automobile accident that was not your fault, you may be able to file a negligence claim against the at-fault party. Negligence is a failure to take reasonable care behind the wheel that causes injury or death to another person. Reasonable care is defined as how a prudent person would act in the same or similar circumstances. In order to establish negligence, you must demonstrate the following by a preponderance of the evidence: i) the defendant owed you a duty to use reasonable care behind the wheel; ii) the defendant breached this duty owed to you; iii) the defendant’s breach was a direct and proximate cause of your harm; and iv) you suffered actual damages.
In some cases, the at-fault party may turn around and say you are to blame for the accident as well. If you do share some amount of fault in the accident, it could affect the amount of compensation you get from the defendant. Florida follows the “pure comparative negligence rule,” under which the amount of compensation you are entitled to receive will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, say you got into an accident because the other driver ran a stop sign, but you were speeding. In such a scenario, you may determined to be 20 percent at fault for the accident, while the defendant may be determined to be 80 percent at fault. If your damages were originally $100,000, that amount will be reduced by your percentage of fault, namely 20 percent, and you will walk away with $80,000.
If you or someone you know has suffered a broken glass injury in an accident that was not your fault, we can help. At the Law Offices of Robert Dixon, our Miami car accident attorneys can thoroughly examine the facts of your case and help you seek the compensation you deserve for your harm. We understand this is a stressful time, which is why you can expect the utmost compassion from our entire team. We proudly take on clients from across South Florida. To learn more, call us at 1-877-499-HURT (4878) or contact us online today.
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