Helping injured Coconut Grove residents understand their rights so they can get the compensation they deserve
Welcome to Redondo Law, your trusted personal injury attorney for Coconut Grove residents. While we proudly serve the greater Miami area, including West Palm Beach, we are dedicated to helping residents here navigate the aftermath of a personal injury.
Suffering a personal injury is not only physically debilitating but emotionally overwhelming as well. At Redondo Law, our dedicated team understands the complex legal and medical landscape you’re navigating, and we’re committed to fighting for the compensation you deserve.
Whether you’re a long-time resident who’s been injured in a boating accident or a visitor who’s been injured in a car accident while traveling through our beautiful city, Coconut Grove personal injury attorney Mike Redondo can help you understand your rights and be your advocate during this difficult time.
Reach out today for a free consultation, and let Redondo Law help you turn the page toward a brighter, more secure future.
Were you injured in one of these types of accidents in Coconut Grove? Redondo Law can help!
Car accidents
These accidents occur when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal or stationary object. Injuries can range from minor scrapes to severe conditions like paralysis or internal bleeding. Top causes include driver negligence, hazardous road conditions and vehicle malfunction.
Truck accidents
Involving larger commercial trucks, these accidents often result in more severe injuries due to the size and weight of the vehicles. Common causes include driver fatigue, overloaded trucks and poor vehicle maintenance. Injuries often include spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injuries.
Motorcycle accidents
These occur when a motorcycle is involved in a collision with other vehicles or obstacles. Due to the lack of physical barriers around the motorcyclist, injuries are often severe, including road rash, fractures, and injuries to the spinal cord and head.
Boating and fishing accidents
These are accidents that occur on watercraft, ranging from small fishing boats to large yachts. Causes often include operator inexperience, intoxication or equipment failure. Injuries can include lacerations, blunt force trauma, and even death from drowning.
Catastrophic accidents
These are severe incidents that result in long-term or permanent disability. These can occur in various settings and often involve multiple organ systems. Injuries can include severe burns, amputations, paralysis and traumatic brain injuries.
Wrongful death accidents
A wrongful death is a fatal accident that results from someone else’s negligence or intentional act. These fatalities often occur in vehicle accidents or because of a medical mistake. Family members may bring lawsuits for loss of companionship, emotional distress and other economic and non-economic damages.
Traumatic brain injuries
These injuries often result from blunt force trauma to the head, affecting cognitive and physical functioning. They can occur in various types of accidents, including car crashes and falls. Symptoms may include headaches, confusion and memory loss.
Spinal cord injuries
Occurring often in vehicle accidents or falls, these injuries can result in partial or complete paralysis and may require lifelong care. The severity typically depends on the area of the spine that’s damaged.
Slip-and-fall accidents
Common in public places like restaurants and grocery stores with wet or uneven surfaces, these accidents can result in a range of injuries, from sprained wrists to severe head injuries. The cause is usually environmental hazards or lack of maintenance.
Pedestrian accidents
These occur when a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle. Causes often include driver negligence and poor visibility. Injuries can be severe due to the vulnerability of the pedestrian, often involving multiple fractures, head injuries and internal injuries.
Bike accidents
Often involving a collision between a cyclist and a motor vehicle, these accidents can result in injuries like fractures, road rash, and head trauma. Causes often include driver distraction and failing to yield the right-of-way.
Bus accidents
These involve public or private bus vehicles and can result in mass casualties. Causes can include driver negligence, poor road conditions, or mechanical failure. Injuries vary but often include whiplash and fractures.
Dog bites
Typically occurring in residential settings, dog attacks can lead to injuries that range from minor puncture wounds to severe lacerations and infections.
Nursing home abuse
This involves the mistreatment of elderly residents in nursing homes, ranging from physical abuse to financial abuse to neglect. Injuries can include bedsores, malnutrition and emotional trauma.
Dangerous drugs
These cases involve pharmaceuticals that cause harm due to side effects, lack of adequate warnings or manufacturing defects. Injuries can range from mild allergic reactions to severe health conditions like organ failure or even death.
Did you know?
Spanning just over 5 square miles, Coconut Grove is 1 of 34 incorporated municipalities in Miami-Dade County.
On average, Miami-Dade County had almost 60,000 car crashes per year over the 3-year period from 2019-2021, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). In 2021 alone, there were 62,536 car crashes, a 21.33% increase from the previous year.
Other accidents in 2021 included:
- Bicycle accidents (795)
- Motorcycle accidents (1,010)
- Pedestrian accidents (1,509)
As with car accidents, the number of each of these types of accidents increased from 2020 to 2021.
How do you prove negligence in a personal injury case?
In personal injury law, the concept of “negligence” plays a central role in determining whether you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries. Essentially, negligence refers to the failure of an individual or entity (like a company) to demonstrate the standard of care that a reasonable person would have demonstrated in a similar situation.
The concept is rooted in the idea that people have a duty to avoid causing harm to others, and if they fail in that duty and harm results, they should be held financially responsible for the damages.
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s actions or failure to act, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover damages. However, to win your case, you’ll generally need to prove that the other party was negligent.
Here’s how negligence is established in a personal injury case:
- Duty of care. The initial step in proving negligence is to establish that the defendant had a “duty of care” toward you. This duty varies depending on the relationship between the parties and the situation at hand. For instance, drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles responsibly to avoid causing harm to other road users.
- Breach of duty. Once the duty of care is established, you must then prove that the defendant breached this duty. In legal terms, a breach occurs when someone’s conduct falls below the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in a similar situation. For example, a driver speeding in a school zone could be considered to be breaching their duty of care.
- Causation. The next step involves showing that the breach of duty directly led to your injuries. This is known as causation. Simply put, you have to prove that your injury would not have happened if not for the defendant’s breach of duty. This often involves gathering evidence such as accident reports, medical records, and sometimes expert testimony to establish a clear link between the breach and your injuries.
- Damages. The final element to prove is that you suffered actual damages as a result of the defendant’s negligence. These damages can be economic, like medical bills and lost wages, or non-economic, like pain and suffering.
Meeting the burden of proof for these 4 elements often involves complex legal procedures and extensive evidence-gathering, which is why many people opt to work with a qualified personal injury attorney to build and present their case.
What if I’m partially responsible for the accident that caused my injury?
As of March 2023, Florida uses a legal doctrine known as modified comparative negligence, which allows a plaintiff (injured party) to recover compensation after an accident as long as they were 50% or less at fault. However, their compensation will be reduced in proportion to their degree of fault.
Here’s how modified comparative negligence could impact a personal injury case:
Let’s say you’re involved in a car accident at an intersection. You were going slightly above the speed limit, but the other driver ran a red light and hit your car. Both of you are injured and sustain damages. You decide to file a personal injury claim against the other driver.
During the court proceedings, it’s determined that you were 20% at fault for the accident because you were speeding, while the other driver was 80% at fault for running the red light. If your total damages, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc., amount to $100,000, your compensation would be reduced by your percentage of fault.
In this example, your 20% fault would reduce your compensation by $20,000, leaving you with $80,000. On the other hand, if you were found to be 51% or more at fault, you would not be eligible to recover any damages under the modified comparative negligence rule.
Understanding the impact of modified comparative negligence is essential for anyone involved in a personal injury case in Florida. It highlights the importance of gathering all evidence and witness accounts that could prove the other party’s negligence while mitigating your own percentage of fault. Working with an experienced personal injury attorney can help you navigate these complexities and potentially maximize your compensation.
What types of compensation can I get through a personal injury lawsuit?
In a personal injury lawsuit, the types of compensation you may be eligible for generally fall into 1 of 3 categories: economic, non-economic, and sometimes punitive damages.
Economic damages
Economic damages refer to the measurable financial losses incurred due to an injury. These damages are quantifiable and are intended to compensate the injured party for the direct financial impact of the injury.
- Medical expenses. This includes past, current, and future medical bills related to the injury.
- Lost wages. Compensation for the income you’ve lost while unable to work due to the injury, as well as future earning capacity if you’re unable to return to your previous employment.
- Property damage. If any personal property, like a car, was damaged, the cost of repair or replacement could be included.
- Other expenses. Any miscellaneous costs incurred as a result of the injury, like the cost of hiring someone to perform a task that you’re no longer able to do (like mow your lawn), can also be included.
Non-economic damages
Non-economic damages aim to compensate for the intangible and subjective losses an injured person experiences, such as pain and suffering or emotional distress. Unlike economic damages, these are not easily quantified and can vary widely depending on the circumstances of the case.
- Pain and suffering. Monetary compensation for physical pain and anguish.
- Emotional distress. Sometimes separate from pain and suffering, this is for psychological impacts such as anxiety, depression or emotional trauma.
- Loss of enjoyment. Damages for the inability to enjoy activities or hobbies that you could participate in prior to the injury.
- Loss of consortium. Compensation for negative impacts the injury has had on your relationship with a spouse, including loss of companionship, affection and sexual relations.
- Reputation damages. In some cases where defamation or malicious intent has played a part, you might be eligible for damages related to harm to your reputation.
Punitive damages
In certain cases where the defendant’s actions were especially negligent or malicious, the court might award punitive damages on top of economic and non-economic damages. This is intended to punish the defendant and serve as a deterrent for similar behavior.
It’s essential to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney to understand the types and amount of compensation you may be eligible for in your specific case.
How much can you get for pain and suffering in Florida?
There is no limit on the amount you can be awarded for pain and suffering in Florida, with the exception of medical malpractice cases, which are limited to $500,000 in most cases.
The amount awarded for pain and suffering in a personal injury case is typically determined by a judge or jury based on a variety of factors. These may include:
- The severity and nature of the injuries
- The level of pain experienced
The duration of suffering
- Any long-term or permanent effects
- How the injuries have impacted the person’s daily life and emotional well-being
Medical records, expert testimonies, and personal accounts can all help paint a detailed picture of the victim’s suffering. Since the assessment of pain and suffering is subjective, it can vary from case to case. Judges and juries may also look at precedent, or similar cases, to guide them in determining a reasonable amount.
How long does a personal injury lawsuit take in Florida?
The duration of a personal injury lawsuit in Florida can vary widely depending on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the willingness of the parties to settle, court availability, and any legal complications that may arise.
Generally, after an injury, you have 2 years to file a personal injury claim in Florida, according to the statute of limitations. Once the lawsuit is filed, a straightforward case may be resolved in a few months, especially if it settles out of court.
However, if the case is especially complicated or goes to trial, it can take up to 3 years (and in rare cases, more) to reach a resolution. Additionally, if there are appeals, this can extend the timeline even further.
Consulting with a knowledgeable attorney can give you a more accurate estimate tailored to the specifics of your case.
Get help from an experienced Coconut Grove personal injury attorney
If you’ve suffered an injury because of someone else’s negligence in Coconut Grove or the surrounding area, contact Mike Redondo at Redondo Law to help you with your claim. Mike and his team have years of experience in personal injury law, successfully helping injured Coconut Grove residents recover maximum compensation.
Learn more about your rights with a free consultation by filling out the form below.
References
Traffic Crash Facts Providing Highway Safety and Security through Excellence in Service, Education, and Enforcement. (n.d.). https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/crashreports/crash_facts_2021.pdf
