Injured While Visiting Tallahassee? What Out-of-Town Accident Victims Need to Know

Whether you’re traveling to Tallahassee for business, attending an event at Florida State, or just visiting the area, your agenda likely didn’t include getting hurt in an accident, so when an injury catches you by surprise, it is important to know what to do to protect yourself. If you were injured in a car accident, you need to understand how Florida’s no-fault insurance scheme affects you as an out-of-state resident. In any accident situation, you need to understand how to safeguard your rights and recover compensation for losses that were caused by someone else’s negligence.

With decades of experience helping accident victims, we know out-of-town accident victims often face specific issues and questions, so we wanted to share information to make the process easier.

What Should You Do If You Are Injured While Visiting Tallahassee?

If you’re hurt while traveling in the Tallahassee area, here are some suggested steps to take:

• Get medical care even if you think you’ll be “fine” later. For emergencies, call 911 or go to an emergency or urgent care facility, such as those in the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare network or the HCA Florida Healthcare system.
• If symptoms worsen or new symptoms develop, go back for further treatment. Many serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries and internal organ damage do not present symptoms until hours or even days after an accident.
• Report the accident to Tallahassee Police or Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and if appropriate, the property owner or business
• If possible, take photos to document the conditions on the scene at the time of the accident
• Collect contact information from any witnesses
• Make notes about what you remember and the impact of your injuries. Keep copies of all medical records and receipts.
• If you’re in a motor vehicle accident, make a brief report to your insurance company, but don’t speculate about the cause. Do not talk to any other insurance companies until you’ve obtained legal advice because they may try to trick you into saying something that enables them to blame you for causing the accident.
• If your injuries are serious, contact a personal injury lawyer to help you establish liability and recover full compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Does Being From Out of Town Make a Florida Accident Claim More Complicated?

Unfortunately, if you’re hurt while visiting Tallahassee, you may face several challenges: you may need to deal with multiple locations, gather evidence before you leave the area, and navigate unfamiliar local laws and procedures.

Dealing with Multiple Locations

Your accident scene is in Tallahassee, but you live somewhere else. You may receive medical care from different providers in both places, making it complicated to keep your records organized and to coordinate treatment. Witnesses to the accident are likely in the Tallahassee area, but they may also be visiting from elsewhere. Managing your legal recovery can be difficult in this situation, but a Tallahassee injury attorney can coordinate matters from a site near the scene of your injury.

Gathering Evidence in Tallahassee

No matter how severely you have been hurt, you need evidence to prove that someone else’s negligence caused your injuries. Most of this evidence is likely in Tallahassee, so it can be difficult to obtain if you’ve returned home. You may need to extend your stay or hire an injury attorney to investigate and preserve evidence for you.

Understanding Local Laws and Procedures

If you don’t live in Tallahassee, you may not need to be familiar with our local laws and legal procedures—but they will still affect you if you are injured in an accident. For instance, if you were in a car accident, Florida’s no-fault insurance system would control the case. Drivers in the state are required to carry personal injury protection insurance to cover the first $10,000 of your injuries. If you’re from out of state, you probably don’t have that coverage. However, your policy may include an out-of-state extension clause that provides this coverage if you’re hurt in Florida. In addition, an injury attorney can help you file a claim against the driver who caused the crash to recover compensation for your losses.

Your attorney can manage the claims process, obtain accident reports from local police, and other tasks.

FAQs About What to Do if You’re Injured While Visiting Tallahassee

What types of accidents happen to visitors in Tallahassee?

Some of the most common accidents that cause injuries to visitors in Tallahassee include:

• Car crashes, including rideshare and rental car collisions
• Truck accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Injuries caused by defective products
• Boating and swimming accidents

Should I wait to see my own doctor or see someone in Tallahassee?

It is wise to get initial medical care as soon as possible, which means going to a facility in the Tallahassee area. Waiting until you return home could allow your injuries to get worse, and delays in treatment also make it harder to recover compensation from the parties responsible for causing your injuries. The insurance companies will argue that your injuries were caused by something else or that they must not have been serious or you would have sought treatment sooner.

Can You File a Personal Injury Claim in Florida If You Live Somewhere Else?

In most cases, yes, you can file your claim in Tallahassee courts even if you live elsewhere. Working with a Tallahassee injury attorney allows for efficient local case management.

Get Help If You’ve Been Injured While Visiting Tallahassee

At Searcy Denney Tallahassee, we have decades of experience recovering full compensation for accident victims in complicated circumstances, and we know how frustrating it can be to deal with an accident while you’re traveling. Our team is ready to help in any way we can.

For a free case evaluation and consultation to find out your next steps after an accident, call us at 888-549-7011 or contact us online now.