Practice Areas Personal Injury Scooter Accidents

Knowledgeable Attorneys Assisting Crash Victims Throughout South Florida

As the Sunshine State, Florida offers year-round weather for riding a motor scooter. However, due to the smaller size of a motor scooter and the exposed nature of the rider, injuries suffered by motor scooter drivers in a crash can be serious. It is important to understand your rights and obligations if you or someone close to you has been involved in a scooter accident in South Florida. At The Grife Law Firm, our Boca Raton scooter accident lawyers represent victims and their family members as they pursue claims for compensation from at-fault parties.

Pursue Compensation for Damages Following a Scooter Accident

A crash involving a scooter can lead to serious damage and permanent injuries. Motor scooter drivers do not benefit from the safety features of automobiles, such as seatbelts and airbags. Even at a low speed, scooter accidents can lead to catastrophic, permanent harm. Florida law treats scooters differently from motorcycles and other vehicles. State law defines scooters according to the size of the engine on the vehicle, with an engine of less than 50 cubic centimeters (cc) falling within the category of scooters.

Scooter drivers are expected to obey the rules of the road in the same manner as other drivers. This means that the law requires that they exercise reasonable care and due diligence. Texting while driving, speeding, and other dangerous behaviors may expose the scooter driver to liability if their actions cause an accident and injuries. However, even if a scooter driver takes all of the appropriate precautions, they still may suffer injuries caused by a careless driver of another vehicle.

The first step in a personal injury claim following a scooter accident is to establish fault. A scooter accident attorney in the Boca Raton area must show that the at-fault driver owed a duty of care that was breached, directly causing the accident. All drivers are required to operate their vehicle in a reasonable manner, abiding by traffic rules and regulations. This duty of care extends to adjusting speed for weather conditions, such as rain or high winds.

Evidence of a breached duty of care can take many forms. Witnesses to the accident may attest to the careless behavior of the at-fault driver. If the at-fault driver violated a traffic rule, such as the Aggressive Driving statute, this will be strong evidence of negligent conduct. In some cases, a police report can be helpful to determine the cause of the crash and to show a potential violation of the law.

After showing a breached duty of care, the scooter accident victim must show that this breach directly caused their injuries. Since Florida follows a pure comparative negligence rule, if the victim was partially at fault for causing the accident, their damages will be reduced by their percentage of fault. However, an at-fault plaintiff will be able to recover damages no matter the percentage of their fault, as long as they were not entirely at fault.

After their Boca Raton scooter accident attorney proves liability, a plaintiff may recover monetary compensation. Documented, quantifiable costs are considered economic damages. Hospital bills, property damage, and lost earnings from missed work due to injuries are examples of the types of awards that may be issued to accident victims. Since scooter accidents can lead to catastrophic and lifelong injuries, it is important to set forth a full picture of the future costs so that the injured individual can ease the financial burdens that they face in their recovery.

In some cases, accident victims are unable to return to their former occupation. It is common to recover damages for missed wages at work and a reduced earning capacity. Also, if vocational retraining is required for a new occupation, a personal injury lawyer and experts can help set forth evidence of training costs, as well as any expected change in income.