Injuries can be expensive. In addition to costly medical bills and lost wages, you may experience other long-term effects that impact your daily life. If someone else’s negligence or recklessness caused your injuries, you may have a personal injury claim.
Personal injury lawsuits seek to restore you to your pre-accident condition. While this may not be entirely possible due to the severity of your injury, recovering compensation for your pain and suffering can help support you in finding a new normal after your accident.
The responsible party’s insurance company may have already contacted you about compensation. Remember that insurance companies generally prefer to settle matters as quickly as possible and for the least amount of money in order to protect their bottom lines. As such, it is critical to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney before accepting any settlement offer from an insurance adjuster. Hiring a Doral personal injury lawyer gives you a knowledgeable advocate to fight for your best interests and pursue compensation to meet your needs.
Do I have a personal injury claim?
If you were injured in a preventable accident, you may have a personal injury claim. Whether you were involved in a car accident, subjected to poor medical treatment, or injured by another person’s negligence, your standing to sue hangs on your ability to establish that the responsible party 1) owed you a duty of care, 2) breached that duty, and 3) this breach injured you.
Are my injuries serious enough to pursue compensation?
Under Florida law, there is a medical threshold that helps identify a serious injury for which the responsible party may be liable. If you experienced an injury of the following nature, you may have a claim:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability
- Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Death (Florida Statute §627.737(2)).
What should I do if I am injured?
If you were injured due to someone else’s negligence you should contact an attorney as soon as possible. Under Florida law, the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is four years. This means that a lawsuit must be filed within four years from the date of the accident.
In some circumstances, the deadline to file suit may be extended if the injury is not discovered until later. However, some cases like medical malpractice or claims against state or local government may have a shorter timeline. Therefore, you should contact an attorney to discuss your options as soon as you can after the injury to avoid the statute tolling – and thus missing your chance to file suit
What if I was partially at fault? Do I still have a claim?
In short, yes. Florida follows the pure comparative negligence rule. This means the damages you can recover may be reduced by an amount that is equal to the percentage at which the accident was your responsibility. For instance, imagine you stand to recover $100,000 for your injuries, but a Florida judge or jury determines you were fifty percent at fault. You would then recoup $50,000 in damages.
Personal injury claims our Doral attorneys handle
Our firm has a history of helping accident victims in the following types of cases, among others:
- Automobile accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Dog bites
- Slip and fall injuries
- Wrongful death
Contact us today to see if you have a case.
