Lake Worth Award-Winning Attorneys Advocating for Florida Turnpike Car Accident Victims
Car accidents on the Florida Turnpike and other highways often cause serious, if not fatal, injuries. Of course, the turnpike and similar roadways were designed to help drivers save time. Unfortunately, that means that in many cases speeds can reach 80 miles per hour or higher—creating the risk for potentially catastrophic accidents. At Gonzalez & Cartwright, P.A., our top-rated Florida turnpike car accident lawyers have the legal skills and resources needed to successfully handle these cases. Car accidents that happen on the Florida Turnpike tend to be more complex than other cases for several reasons:
- The injuries sustained may be extremely serious, if not catastrophic or fatal,
- High speeds can make it difficult for witnesses and drivers to know what happened to cause the accident, and
- The cause of the accident may require action against the agencies responsible for maintaining the road itself, meaning that a more complicated set of rules may apply.
Regardless of what happened in your case, you need the best possible lawyer by your side to protect your rights. Our team is ready and available to begin investigating your case immediately. If you or a loved one were hurt in a Florida Turnpike car accident, call or contact our Florida turnpike car accident lawyers today for a free consultation.
Causes of Florida Turnpike Car Accidents
Examples of issues encountered when driving on the Florida Turnpike that can lead to car accidents include:
- Excessive speeds. Speed limits on the Florida Turnpike are set at 65 or 70 miles per hour—meaning that many drivers are traveling at even higher speeds, which magnifies the impact of a crash.
- Poorly designed ramps. Exit and entrance ramps that leave insufficient time for drivers to slow the car’s speeds when exiting—or that are too short when entering—can lead to accidents even when the driver is following all traffic rules.
- Inadequate signs. Road signs are often placed to provide drivers with adequate warnings about changes in the road. When signs are inadequate to advise of a sharp curve or other hazards, rollovers, sideswipe collisions, and other serious accidents can result.
- Driver distraction. Even with efforts to increase penalties for texting and driving, many drivers continue to use their phones and other distracting devices while driving. In fact, many turnpike drivers are lulled into a false sense of security by the wide roadway, leading to an increase in device usage. At high speeds on the Florida Turnpike, even taking eyes off the road for a moment can have disastrous consequences.
- Road conditions. A defective shoulder design or a crumbling shoulder can cause car accidents with vehicles who have pulled over to the side of the turnpike or rollovers if the car drifts slightly into the deteriorating shoulder.
- Vehicle defects. When traveling at high speeds, even a slight defect in a component of a vehicle can cause a crash—and the manufacturer or designer may be financially responsible.
- Adverse weather. Florida rainstorms can arise quickly and lead to extremely poor visibility, especially in the summer months.
At Gonzalez & Cartwright, P.A., we handle all types of car accident cases, including Florida Turnpike car accidents involving:
- Rear-end collisions,
- Head-on crashes,
- Sideswipe crashes,
- Hit and run accidents,
- Rollover accidents.
Expert Injury Lawyers Gonzalez & Cartwright Stand Ready to Protect Your Right to Full Compensation After a Florida Turnpike Car Accident
Whether the negligent party in your case was the at-fault driver, the government agencies responsible for maintaining the roadway or even the manufacturer of a car involved in the crash, our highway auto accident attorneys in FL are here to protect your rights. Examples of our past success in recovering compensation for Florida car accident victims include:
- $1.25 million recovered for a car accident victim requiring surgery because of the accident,
- $700,000 for a car accident victim who suffered lower back injuries,
- $500,000 for a bicyclist who was struck by a car,
- $375,000 for a client who suffered neck injuries in a rear-end collision.
Call us today to see how we can put our skills and experience to help your family get the compensation you deserve for injuries sustained in a Florida Turnpike car accident.
Call Today for a Free Case Review with Our Trusted Florida Turnpike Car Accident Lawyers
If you or a loved one were hurt in a car accident on the Florida Turnpike, don’t wait to speak with a lawyer. Conditions at the accident scene can change rapidly and witnesses may not remember the trauma accurately as time passes. Call our office or contact us online immediately to discuss options in your case. Our lawyers speak both English and Spanish for your convenience.
About the Florida Turnpike
The Florida Turnpike is a highway that runs about 309 miles across the state of Florida from the southeast to the northwest. It runs from approximately 48 miles south of Miami, at Highway 1, through Miami Gardens (crossing I-95) before turning northwest toward its end at I-75 in Wildwood. Known as “The Less Stressway”, the Florida Turnpike is one of the busiest toll roads in the country—running through major Florida cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando.
Because the Florida Turnpike crosses I-95 and other major highways at various points throughout Palm Beach County and elsewhere in Florida, it operates via a complex interchange system. Plans to widen and expand the Florida Turnpike and interchanges are already in progress, with work to expand the road from four to eight lanes expected to be completed in the coming years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Florida Turnpike Car Accident Claims
First, pull over to the side of the road if you are able to do so. Remain calm and call 911 for assistance and medical help. If you are able, and after checking to see if anyone requires immediate medical help, try to:
-Document as much of the accident scene as you can by taking photos and videos,
-Get the contact information of any witnesses who pulled over on the side of the turnpike, as well as the other drivers,
-If you were an accident victim and are not seriously injured, get medical attention immediately to make sure you aren’t suffering from an injury that may have manifested immediately,
-Call a car accident lawyer experienced with handling accident claims involving the Florida Turnpike. We can help you proceed with your insurance claim and understand your legal right to compensation, as well as help you determine the cause of your accident.
The Florida Turnpike is a particularly dangerous stretch of highway for a number of reasons, not the least of which is high speeds. Factors contributing to the dangerous conditions include:
-The Florida Turnpike is used by tourists, who are traveling more slowly and are often unfamiliar with the roadways, and locals who often travel at extremely high speeds and use the road to commute on a daily basis,
-The complex interchange system makes it difficult for unfamiliar drivers to find their exits/entrances, leading to situations where drivers may rush across several lanes to make an exit or enter the highway at dangerous speeds (whether high or low)
-The Florida Turnpike is used by large trucks and commercial vehicles that can create heightened accident risks,
-The highway passes directly through a number of exciting tourist areas, meaning that drivers who are simply passing through are often distracted by attractions on the roadside.
Attorneys are often asked, ‘What should I do if I’ve been in an accident?’ The first thing you want to do if you’ve been in an accident is call the police. Give them an opportunity to document the accident and the accident scene.
Are there any witnesses? Try and get the witness information so you can contact them later if there’s any dispute as to what happened in the accident, and ask them to please stay until the police officer gets there.
If you are able to, take photographs of the vehicles and the other vehicle. If you’re injured, seek medical attention immediately. And finally, contact an attorney. They can control the information if you allow them to contact the insurance company for you first. We want to control the information so that we can present your case in the best possible light to make the best possible recovery for you.
We’re often asked by clients when they first call us, ‘How much does it cost to hire an attorney to represent me for my car accident?’ If you call Gonzalez and Cartwright, we operate on a ‘no recovery, no fee’ basis. What that means is, you’ll never see me knocking on your door saying, ‘Hey, you owe me $500,’ or ‘You owe me $1,000.’
It means we get paid at the end of the case, out of the settlement in the case, and it’s a percentage of the settlement. Oftentimes in cases, there are costs involved, especially if you go to litigation. There may be filing fees, expert witness fees, and costs for paying doctors to come to trial and testify for you. We front all those costs; we pay all those costs for you and get them reimbursed at the end of the case. So, again, as I said, you’ll never see my face at your door saying, ‘Hey, you owe me money.’ If you call Gonzalez and Cartwright, it’s ‘no recovery, no fees.’
A few important things to know about contingency fees: One, it applies to the bodily injury portion of your case; it doesn’t apply to your vehicle. So, if we help you get your vehicle repaired, or we help you recover for a total loss of your vehicle, you are going to receive the full amount from the insurance company; we don’t take a cut beyond that.
The second important thing to know about a contingency fee is, we only get paid if you get paid. So, there’s not going to be a circumstance where, for some reason, no recovery can be made in your case, and an attorney from our office or anyone from our office is going to come to your house and say, ‘Hey, I know we didn’t make a recovery in the case, but you still owe me.’ That’s not the way it works; we only get paid if you get paid.