So, you’ve been involved in an accident in Florida. You have lost someone you love, and now you’re having to seek compensation to cover medical bills, funeral costs and other necessities.
In Florida, you can work with the Bureau of Motorist Compliance and your attorney to regain the money you need to make this time in your life a little less stressful financially. Your attorney may obtain a crash report and any information on the driver who caused the accident, so that information can be used to seek a judgment.
After this information is sent off to the Bureau of Motorist Compliance, you’ll want to go to court. Your attorney may be able to help you stay out of court by working with the other driver’s insurance carrier or privately to obtain a settlement you can agree on, or you may need to obtain a judgment from the courts that states who the at-fault party is.
Once that takes place, a final judgment, which is then a certified judgment, needs to be sent to the BMC. If the other party didn’t have insurance to cover the accident, the BMC has the ability to suspend the person’s license for up to 20 years or until you’ve been compensated as required by the judgment. If the other party does have insurance, then the person’s license could be suspended for up to three years or longer for the accident or until you’ve received the compensation you’re entitled to. This helps guarantee that the other person is not on the roads until your situation has been resolved.
Source: Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, “Vehicle Insurance Questions and Answers – Involved in a Crash,” accessed Nov. 05, 2015
