If you or a family member has suffered personal injuries as a result of a drunk driver it is important to hire an experienced personal injury attorney. Attempting to navigate through the many problems caused by the   drunk driver accident on your own is not in your best interest. You might find yourself with a damaged car, out of work, accumulating medical bills, in need of medical treatment or suffering the emotion associated with the loss and difficulties caused. Doctors will often provide medical care based upon an attorney signing a letter of protection, which assures the doctor of payment at time of settlement. Only if you have an attorney will the doctors office normally accept a letter of protection out of your case because the attorney is bound by regulations to honor the agreement. I suggest you read the pages I, Jack Bernstein, personally wrote in this website on the insurance company perspective on drunk driver accidents, wrongful death, and bar, restaurant and social host liability for drunk driving accidents. You will get a good understanding of the importance of hiring an experienced personal injury attorney to handle your case. There are many variations of what I have written but give you insight on how important it is for an experienced personal injury attorney with extensive knowledge handle your case in a skilled manner.

Attempting on your own to solve the many problems related to the drunk driver accident will be frustrating. There are many laws associated with the Florida No Fault Automobile Act that determine when and how your medical bills and lost wages are paid. There are many laws that only an experienced personal injury attorney will be aware of that help you to obtain the maximum amount of money damages, to get your car repaired quickly or to assist with the total loss payoff, to deal with rental car issues, the presentation of your claim, the negotiation of your claim, and ultimately if necessary the lawsuit that might need to be filed against the drunk driver, the owner of the car he or she was driving or the employer of the drunk driver among other possible parties. It is the ultimate threat of the personal injury attorney filing a lawsuit against the drunk driver that tends to get insurance companies to act quickly on property damage issues, and fairly on the amount of money paid in a settlement. The Florida Bar Contingency Contract (You only pay attorney fees out of any money we win for you) which is fairly standard, that you will sign with our office or with any attorney you hire thoughout Florida, requires the office to inform you up front if they are a litigation office that will personally file a lawsuit on your behalf if they decide it is in your best interest. My office with experienced personal injury attorneys files our own lawsuits. We do not refer your case out to another attorney to file suit. Referring your case to a second law firm can have a significant effect on your case creating the potential for it to settle for less than it should. The insurance company that settles with an attorney's office that does not file their own lawsuits knows that the attorney fee will have to be split between the original attorney and the referral attorney. The original attorney might have an incentive to settle for less than full value since upon bringing in a referral attorney the attorney fee must be split, and to top it off, the first attorney would probably not be the lead attorney and would only get 25% of the attorney fee. It would be unethical for an attorney to settle your case for less than full value so he wouldn't have to split the fee with another office, and that is not supposed to happen. The Florida Bar Rules allow an attorney to bring in a referral attorney and to split the fee with the lead attorney receiving 75% and the original office referring attorney to receive 25%. This must be in writing and any percentage arrangement other than that must be approved by a judge. The law is set up so you are aware of this. The attorney's office who signs up your drunk driving car accident case must explain whether they work only on injury cases under the Florida Bar statement of client rights you must sign and get a copy of. My office handles ONLY personal injury cases.

Insurance companies have licensed insurance adjusters who represent their best interests. The adjusters job is to adjust the claim. Their best interest is to pay as little as possible of the insurance companies money. They are not looking out for your best interest. They DO NOT represent you. They handle hundreds of claims at a time and have a lot of experience. That is why the moment they are aware you have hired an attorney, they are prohibited from speaking to you. It is important to keep in mind that your insurance agent is not an attorney and cannot represent you. They are prohibited by law from sending you to a personal injury attorney to represent you. You should not take legal advice from your agent. You need a personal injury lawyer to advise you.

You should hire an experienced personal injury attorney such as Jack Bernstein with 26 years experience handling personal injury cases as a licensed Florida attorney. Abraham Lincoln, a self taught attorney wisely said that, An attorney who represents himself has a client for a fool. There is truth to what he said. I have worked on tens of thousands of personal injury cases and know the values associated with different personal injuries. I know how to put the maximum pressure on the insurance company of the drunk driver using the laws as tools to make that happen. Negotiation of your injury case is an art. It takes practice and experience to get it right. If you are not a lawyer for example, you would not be aware that the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Insurance Trade Practices Act requires insurance companies settling a personal injury claim to make a good faith offer or be held liable for money damages that could be awarded in excess of the insurance policy, and possibly for attorney fees too. There are procedures that must be followed before that law can be used against them through the Department of Insurance. I take a personal interest in the drunk driver car accident cases my office is handling and work closely with my staff to get you the best possible result. Florida law and Rules of Professional Regulation do not allow an attorney to solicit a case or for a hospital employee to recommend an attorney. My office follows the ethical guidelines closely and represents only clients who call us because they seek out our help. We would be glad to help you with your drunk driving accident whether you are located in Miami, North Miami, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Hialeah, Homestead or any Florida City. Sincerely, Jack G. Bernstein, Esq.