Boca Raton Car accident attorney, Tim Nies, a former motor vehicle insurance defense attorney, of the accident law firm Van Riper and Nies fights for drivers and passengers injured in rear-end car accidents in Palm Beach and Broward counties in Florida. Tim, a veteran of the United States Army Rangers, has been a personal injury trial lawyer since September 2001. This article discusses Boca Raton Rear-end Car Accident Law and answers the question of who is liable in a rear-end auto accident.
Boca Raton Rear-End Car Accidents
When we are driving, we obviously have a certain amount of control over our own cars. On the other hand, the driving behaviors and actions of other drivers are entirely out of our hands. Take a rear-end crash, for instance. We can be prudent and safe drivers. We may obey all traffic laws and still end up involved in an automobile crash with another who has crashed into us from behind.
Rear-End Car Accident Law in Boca Raton, Florida
Under Florida Law, there is a rebuttable presumption that the rear driver is at fault in a rear-end crash. Florida Law prohibits drivers from following vehicles too closely. This means that a victim of a rear-end collision does not have to prove negligence, as long as the victim proves that the driver rear-ended him/her. A rear driver may attempt to present evidence that the driver to the front did something wrong and that the driver to the front should be to blame for some of the blame, which is known as comparative negligence. For example, the rear driver may allege that the driver to the front changed lanes right in front of the rear driver or that the brake lights of the driver to the front were not working.
What to Do After a Rear-End Car Accident in Boca Raton, Florida
If you are rear-ended in Boca Raton, here is a checklist of what you should do:
- Take photographs of the car accident scene.
- Take photographs of your car from all angles and all areas, the front, the rear, the sides, below the rear, and of your tail lights. Take a video if you can of your tail lights working.
- Take photographs of the other vehicles involved in the car accident.
- Make sure to email all photographs to yourself, so they are not lost, if you have problems with your phone or the cloud.
- Write down the names and contact information of all witnesses.
- Go to a hospital or urgent care center right away if you at all feel injured. If not, that day, as soon as possible; however, make sure to do it within two weeks of the rear-end accident.
- Do not speak with the insurance company of the rear driver. You should report the injury to your own insurance company right away.
- Speak with a Boca Raton car accident attorney for free.
For more information about rear-end collision law in Palm Beach County, Florida, contact personal injury lawyer, Tim Nies, of West Boca Raton Car Accident Law Firm Van Riper and Nies Attorneys, at 561-948-5588. Our Boca Raton car accident law firm charges no fee unless we win. The Boca Raton car accident lawyers at the firm outwork insurance company lawyers in fighting for their clients’ rights after rear-end car accidents.