Florida Personal Injury Guide
If you are injured by someone else’s negligence, you need to consider the following things to make sure that your personal injury claim is settled fairly and quickly:
• Note down everything you remember about the accident or injury. For example, when and where it happened, the names, addresses and contact numbers of your witnesses, police officers, your insurance company representatives (or worker’s compensation representatives in case you got injured at your workplace).
• Consult a Florida personal injury lawyer before you make any statements to your insurance company representatives.
• Let the person or organization you think may be responsible for the injury, know immediately that you are going to file a claim against them.
• Collect all the evidence and keep them safe. For example, photographs of your automobile and the location of injury, clothing and other damaged belongings.
How You Can Find Out The Person At Fault?
In most of the personal injury cases, the claimant needs to prove that the person responsible for the injury was negligent. In Florida, you need to prove that:
• The person responsible for your injury owed you a duty.
• The person responsible for your injury broke or breached that duty.
• You suffered damages.
• The personal responsibility for your injury was negligent.
Under the contributory negligence law of Florida, if you got injured due to your own negligence, the amount you may recover is reduced by your degree of fault. It means you may still recover the damages for your injury even if you were most at fault.
Florida law doesn’t consider a joint and several liability rules where every individual who is responsible for your injury has to pay all your damages. Instead, it considers a comparative negligence rule. Each party responsible for your damages will pay according to their degree of fault.
In case, you have been injured by a consumer product, the company or seller may be responsible under strict liability. Basically, it makes some people responsible for the injuries caused by their products, no matter whether they were at fault or not. Under Florida Laws, the claimant has to prove:
• The company or seller of the product has an absolute duty to make their product safe, but they were negligent.
• Their products were harmful and caused your injury.
• Suffered damages.
What’s Your Personal Injury Claim Worth?
• Under Florida laws, the person who caused you personal injury must be responsible for:
• Your past, current and future medical expenses.
• Your work time plus the time you spent on medical appointments or treatment.
• Your property damage. For example, automobile.
• Your expenses for hiring a caretaker or servant
• Any permanent disfigurement or disability.
• Your mental distress plus the anxiety, depression and any interference with your family affairs.
• All the expenses that are a direct result of your injury.
In Florida, there is no limitation on the amount of economic damages you may recover. The economic damages that you can recover include your lost earnings¸ your medical expenditure and other damages that are a direct result of your injury. On the other hand, there are some limitations on the non economic damages. The non-economic damages include your pain and sufferings, mental distress and disfigurement. These limitations depend on the nature of injury and the person who caused your injury.
In some personal injury cases in Florida (FL), you may need a professional to explain your injuries and the compensation you deserve for certain damages. This is quite usual in medical malpractice cases, you are recommended to hire a personal injury lawyer who knows what type of professional to hire to prove your damages.
How Long Do You Need To File A Legal Personal Injury Claim?
In most of the Florida (FL) personal injury cases, the claimant has 4 years to file a personal injury claim against the person who caused the injury. In case, your attorney hasn’t been able to negotiate with any involved insurance companies or person at fault, you must definitely file a legal personal injury claim before the 4 year statute of limitations comes to an end.
The law firm of Lawlor Winston White and Murphey provides the very best representation to their clients – ensuring they are represented at the highest and most effective levels, focusing on protecting the rights of individuals and families. Practice areas include Catastrophic Personal Injury including Wrongful Death, Auto Accidents, Premises Liability, Insurance Bad Faith Disputes, Professional Malpractice, Commercial Litigation, Maritime/Admiralty, Labor & Employment Disputes and ERISA Claims. The firm is headquartered at 2211 Davie Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312. They may be contacted at 954-525-2345. Additional information about Lawlor Winston may be obtained from the Firm’s website at www.lwmcruiseinjurylawyers.com.