North Miami has everything anyone would ever want. The old-fashioned neighborhood is located at the I-95 and the Palmetto Expressway intersection, roughly halfway between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.
Many people are drawn to this region because of its beaches, stores, business, upmarket neighborhoods, parks, and other amenities.
Thanks to this popularity, North Miami could have a higher risk of accidents, especially during the summer months when tourists swarm the beach, thus rapidly increasing the population.
And when accidents do happen, you will require the assistance of a North Miami car accident attorney to guide you throughout the claims process.
Car Accident Statistics in North Miami
Recent statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles revealed that the Miami-Dade region saw more than 63,400 collisions.
Of these car accidents, around 29,000 resulted in injuries, while roughly 310 were fatal. A more thorough review of the figures shows that:
- About 250 car accidents involved intoxicated driving (alcohol). Roughly 20 of these were fatal, while 160 resulted in injuries.
- Nearly 11 car accidents involved drugs, most of which were fatal.
- About 1,100 accidents involved motorbikes. About 50 of these had fatal outcomes.
- About 1,500 accidents involved pedestrians. There were around 800 injuries and about 95 fatalities.
- Bicycle riders have been involved in around 850 accidents over the last few years, with an average of 17 deaths yearly—except for 2017, which saw 744 fatalities. Every year, there was an average of 730 bicycle-related crashes, except for 2017, which had 476 injuries.
- About 8,500 collisions recorded over the past few years involved commercial vehicles. About 20 of them resulted in death, while about 1300 of them injured people.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) offers additional data on Florida car accident trends and statistics. The number of collisions caused by alcohol in Florida rose from 709 to 1,019 over ten years.
The number of fatal crashes per 100 million miles driven in Florida has also steadily increased over the previous ten years, rising from 1.27 to 1.72. While this may not look like a significant increase, it results in over 1000 more deaths annually.
Where Do Accidents Most Commonly Happen in North Miami?
Long commutes to work, school, and other destinations are an everyday struggle for North Miami locals.
For this reason, you may end up driving a lot on busy roads and highways, which reportedly have more crashes than residential regions.
Some of the routes that record a higher number of car accidents in North Miami include:
- NE 186th Street
- NE 163rd Street
- Biscayne Blvd
- 1-95 Expressway
- W Dixie Highway
North Miami’s traffic is much less than in adjacent places like Florida Turnpike congestion, which frequently happens in Miami Gardens.
Still, it contributes to many car accidents in Miami-Dade County, the region with the highest accident rate in the state.
The Types of Vehicles Involved in North Miami Accidents
Most car accidents involve passenger vehicles. However, other car accidents are increasingly common and can be just as dangerous. These include:
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bus accidents
- Boating accidents
Whichever your means of transport, observing vehicle safety is crucial to keep you and other road users safe.
Adhering to traffic laws, using a seat belt, and reporting any negligent driving or other risky activity you observe can help prevent crashes.
But the accident may have resulted from someone else’s disregard for these safety measures. In that case, you should contact a knowledgeable North Miami car accident attorney to advise you on your best action.
What to Do After an Accident
Car accident injuries could limit you from accomplishing much if anything at all. But if you can still move without harming yourself further, you should:
- Call the emergency services and check on any other accident victims. But if you think approaching the other motorist would put you in danger because they drove aggressively when the accident happened, stay in your car and dial 911.
- Take pictures of the crash site. Make sure to get images from all sides. Include damage to the road and the surroundings’ property.
- Ask other drivers involved in the crash for their contact information, license, and insurance details.
- Obtain witnesses’ names, addresses, and phone numbers, including passengers in other cars.
- Let the first responders examine you even if you think you are not injured or have minor injuries. If injuries appear later – hours or days later – this begins the paper trail.
- Issue your statement to the police.
Visit a hospital as soon as possible once the police have let you leave the accident scene. Lastly, review your case with a North Miami car accident attorney.
Types of Accident Injuries
Accident injuries can range in severity from less serious ones like minor scrapes, mild road rash, bruises, sprains, and strained muscles to more serious ones like torn muscles and ligaments, fractures, and internal bleeding.
Such injuries heal within a few weeks or months.
But depending on the nature of the accident, you could suffer traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries that can result in permanent disabilities.
Amputation and disfigurement or severe scarring are additional injuries that may result in long-term or permanent disability and other problems.
Recovering Damages
After a car accident, you should contact a North Miami car accident attorney to discuss the damages you may recover for your injuries.
These include compensatory damages and punitive damages, depending on the accident details.
You may be entitled to compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Punitive damages need evidence of the driver’s misbehavior and are more difficult to collect.
The process of collecting these damages is lengthy, and it involves two phases. The first phase is to determine whether you qualify for compensatory damages.
You must first receive compensatory damages before punitive damages. Economic damages have a set dollar amount, and most car accident victims collect them.
These may include:
- Medical bills
- Property damage costs
- Lost wages
- Lost capacity to earn
- Burial and funeral expenses
There is no established dollar amount for non-economic damages. Rarely do people without temporary or permanent disabilities get non-economic damages.
You might be entitled to non-economic damages if you lose a loved one in an automobile accident. Non-economic damages include:
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of bodily function
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
Contact a North Miami Car Accident Attorney
Handling your claim alone could affect the compensation amount you recover, especially if you are eligible for non-economic and punitive damages.
But if you work with an experienced lawyer immediately after the accident, you can avoid potential pitfalls and have the best chance of recovering the compensation you deserve.
Legal Giant can connect you to a skilled North Miami car accident attorney if you sustained injuries or lost a loved one in a car accident.
Our dedicated partner attorneys will do everything to negotiate with insurers and represent you in court if necessary to get you the maximum compensation.
Contact us at (855) 740-5024 for a free consultation and case evaluation today.
