Personal Injury Common Questions
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What is full coverage?
There really is no such thing. Legal Coverage means that you have PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage and at least 10,000.00 in property damage coverage to pay for property damage that you cause. When insurance agents use the term full coverage that is what they mean.
That is not good coverage! Good, complete coverage means you have plenty of Liability Insurance to financially protect you if you are at fault and Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage which protects you or your occupants should you be in an accident with a person that does not have insurance or not enough coverage. This is very common in West Central Florida.
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Will my insurance company raise my rates if I make a PIP claim, even if the accident was not my fault?
This is America, and in our capitalistic country insurance companies can raise your rates at any time for any reason but most of the time insurance companies will not raise your rates or cancel your insurance if you make a PIP claim.
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If I sue my insurance company will my insurance company drop me?
Answer is sometimes. But that is no reason to not make a claim. If you have Uninsured Motorist and feel as if you cannot make a claim, cancel this coverage because paying for something you will never utilize makes no sense.
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Why does litigation take so long?
It really depends on the state and jurisdiction. In Florida, our court system is horribly overburdened because of a shortage of courtrooms and judges. It simply takes a long time to get a trial date.
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If I paid for Uninsured Motorist coverage for years, why won’t my insurance company simply pay me the policy limits once I make a claim?
Uninsured Motorist coverage costs extra and it simply is a contract between the owner of the policy and the particular insurance company that states coverage exists in the event that an accident occurs and the other party does not have any or enough coverage to cover the loss. The limits are what a particular person pays for. If a person pays for 100,000 dollars in coverage and is killed in the accident, the insurance company pays 100,000. But if the accident involved a sprained finger, the insurance company would pay the fair value of a sprained finger, not 100,000.
Criminal Defense Common Questions
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Am I able to expunge or seal my criminal record if I have been previously convicted of a crime?
NO. You are not eligible to seal or expunge any part of your criminal record if you have previously been convicted of any criminal offense. This also applies to a juvenile record in which the applicant was adjudicated delinquent.
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If I am stopped for a traffic infraction in my vehicle, do I have to give the Officer consent to search my vehicle?
NO. An Officer does not have the right to search your vehicle unless probable cause exists to search the vehicle. In the event that the Officer does have probable cause to search your vehicle, then the Officer does not need your consent to search the vehicle. Therefore if the Officer is requesting consent, then the Officer does not have probable cause and cannot search your vehicle.
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If I am arrested for a charge and the state attorney drops the charge, will the charge still show up during a background check?
YES. Any arrest is public record and can be accessed in a background check. You must file an application with FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) to expunge the arrest. HOWEVER, if you have ever been adjudicated guilty for any previous criminal offense, you will not qualify for an expunction.
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If my criminal arrest record has legally been expunged, will it still show up on the internet?
YES. A legal expunction/sealing does not apply to third party websites that publish arrest information. If you have obtained a legal expunction/sealing, you must contact each website and request said information be removed.
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Does a DUI conviction in Florida come off your record after a certain of amount of time?
NO. A DUI conviction will stay on your record with no drop off date.