Florida Personal Injury Lawyers

A wide array of scenarios can cause injuries leading an individual to bring a lawsuit against another party to recover damages related to injuries. At Viles & Beckman our practice areas include:

Auto Accidents

More than 400,000 traffic collisions occurred on Florida’s roads and highways in 2018, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), with more than 12,000 of them in and around Fort Myers in Lee County. When auto accidents caused by driver negligence result in injury, victims turn to a qualified personal injury attorney to sue for damages related to their injuries.

Truck Accidents

Truck accidents rank among the most dangerous and deadly of all traffic collisions. The size and weight of large trucks and semis create a dangerous impact when a collision occurs, causing more property damage, more severe injuries, and a higher likelihood of fatality. The FLHSMV estimates more than 45,000 commercial vehicle accidents on Florida’s roads in 2018, many of them involving heavy trucks

Motorcycle Accidents

Florida’s warm climate and scenic background make it the perfect location for motorcycle enthusiasts. Fort Myers area bikers have the added enjoyment of panoramic ocean views while cruising around on their bikes. Yet, approximately 10,000 motorcycle accidents occur on Florida roads each year. Although motorcyclists can and do cause accidents, many bike accidents are a result of negligent motorists. When a severe motorcycle accident results in serious injury, victims need legal counsel to hold careless drivers accountable.

Bicycle Accidents

The FLHSMV estimates almost 6,500 bicycle accidents, including 148 fatalities, occurred across Florida in 2018. Whether riding a bike for fun or as a form of transportation, cyclists risk collisions with cars driven by negligent motorists. With no protection, those on bicycles, especially children, run the risk of severe injuries or death. While helmets can protect cyclists from head injuries, they don’t protect from all the other injuries which might occur. A severe bicycle crash can quickly turn an enjoyable activity into a life-altering event.

Pedestrian Accidents

Like all of Florida’s coastal cities, Fort Myers offers great sites for shopping, dining, and exercising outdoors. Yet, those on foot must be careful to avoid reckless drivers who might collide with them, even in crosswalks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports pedestrians are more than one and a half times more likely to be killed in a traffic crash than those in motor vehicles. In 2018, approximately 9,300 traffic collisions involved pedestrians, resulting in almost 700 fatalities across Florida, with 23 of those fatalities in Lee County. Distracted drivers pose special risks to pedestrians.

Boat Accidents

Florida has hundreds of miles of coastline, as well as rivers and canals, which tourists and residents use for boating, fishing, and watersports, making boating accidents commonplace. Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) estimates more than 65 boating accident-related fatalities each year and thousands of accidents and injuries. Most of these accidents are preventable and attributed to inattentive boat operators, excessive speeding, reckless operation, and alcohol use. Those who suffer injury as a result of a boating accident might be able to hold the boat owner liable in Florida court.

Premises Liability Cases

Florida property owners have a legal responsibility to maintain a safe environment for patrons and visitors to their properties. When they fail to uphold their duty, accidents happen. Premises liability cases can include a wide range of accidents which include theme park accidents, slip and fall accidents, elevator accidents, escalator accidents, swimming pool accidents, and any other accident which might occur on another party’s property. Slip and fall accidents are of special concern in Florida because of the large senior population; unintentional falls are the number one cause of injury for those over age 65.

Nursing Home Neglect Cases

Florida is the state with the highest senior population as well as the highest percentage of seniors living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Unfortunately, a quick internet search uncovers story after story of elder abuse and negligence in Florida nursing care facilities. The elders you love deserve to be treated with dignity and the utmost respect in addition to receiving exceptional care. When resident rights are violated, we are here to help you stop the abuse and hold parties financially liable for their actions.

Defective Product Cases

When companies introduce new products to the marketplace, they have a responsibility to ensure those products are safe for use or consumption. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) collects data and warns consumers of dangers related to a wide variety of products such as chemicals, home decor, kitchen items, furniture, toys, and children’s products. Any party involved in bringing a product to market might be liable for injuries in a Florida court. Defective consumer products might be a result of poor design, poor manufacturing, or the failure to provide information to consumers about the hazards of a particular product.

Many people involved in accidents don’t sustain injuries and can return to their daily routine without seeking medical treatment or suing for damages. Yet, when accidents are severe and lead to injury or death, victims and their families can face astronomical financial loss. When accident victims seek compensation for damages, they might recover the following losses in a settlement or verdict in their favor:

Medical Costs

Florida is a no-fault insurance state, so victims who are involved in a motor vehicle accident will seek compensation under their mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.

Unfortunately, these policy limits are typically low and barely make a dent in the cost of medical treatments for severe accidents. With a personal injury lawsuit, victims can recover damages beyond what insurance pays for including ambulance and emergency services, hospital stays, radiology, surgery, and prescription medication. When a severe injury causes a lifelong condition or requires extensive recovery, victims might also pursue future medical expenses to cover things like long-term healthcare, physical therapy, and assisted devices such as crutches, wheelchairs, and artificial limbs. Victims of nursing home abuse might require trauma counseling as an added expense.

Lost Wages

Injury, treatment, and recovering can require weeks or months away from work for a full recovery. Those with labor-intensive jobs might face work restrictions even after many weeks of healing and rehabilitation. Injured victims can claim lost wages as part of their lawsuit, to recover income associated with time away from work. When an injury prevents a victim from returning to work, he or she might also claim the loss of future earnings due to permanent disability.

Non-Economic Losses

In addition to medical expenses and lost wages, many injured victims suffer non-economic losses for which a Florida court might award damages. These intangible losses are difficult to calculate and cannot be measured by adding up receipts, bills, and pay stubs from work. Non-economic damages which a court might award to a defendant in a personal injury lawsuits include physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of quality of life, scarring and disfigurement, and loss of consortium with a spouse.

When you hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to recover damages in a Florida court, he or she will pursue the best course of action for your individual circumstances. If you have been harmed because of another party’s negligence, then your attorney can guide you through a series of steps to help you recover damages. This process includes the following:

Case Evaluation

When you schedule an initial consultation with our firm, we will review your case and determine your eligibility for compensation. You can share details with your attorney and he or she can offer advice on the best way forward.

Investigation

Viles and Beckman and other firms investigate events and accidents to build a strong case against the defense. This might include interviewing eyewitnesses, obtaining relevant documents such as police reports and medical reports, and reaching out to experts who can support the facts of a particular case.

Valuing Your Claim

Your attorney needs to place a monetary value on all damages you suffer as a result of injury to determine fair compensation. This includes adding up medical bills, pay stubs, and other relevant receipts, as well as placing a value on the non-economic aspects of your claim.

Filing an Insurance Claim

Insurance claims are not part of every personal injury lawsuit, but if you are involved in an auto accident, you will have to deal with your insurance company. You will need to file a claim under your Florida PIP policy. With other types of accidents and injury, you might have to file a claim with a property owner’s commercial or homeowners’ insurance carrier. Your attorney can help you with these claims, and handle communications and negotiations. In some cases, you might be able to recover damages without taking legal action.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

When insurance companies deny your claim, try to undermine your claim, or act in bad faith, you need a personal injury attorney to file a lawsuit to seek compensation. Sometimes this may result in a settlement; other times, your attorney may need to litigate your case so you can receive the full and fair compensation you deserve.

If you or one you love has suffered injury or harm as a result of another party’s negligence, you deserve compensation for the losses you have incurred as a result of your injury. If you live in the Fort Myers area, contact the skilled legal team at Viles and Beckman at (239) 334-3933. We advocate for our clients’ rights to recover the maximum amount of damages possible for their cases. We handle cases on contingency, collecting attorney fees from any compensation we secure for our clients.

What is a personal injury?

A personal injury claim is a legal action taken to obtain compensation for injuries you sustained because of someone else’s negligence or wrongful conduct. It is not the same as a criminal prosecution.

The success of a personal injury claim depends upon whether you (the “plaintiff”) can prove that the party who acted negligently or wrongfully (the “defendant”) violated a legal duty and, in so doing, caused you harm. Let’s look at a car accident for example. Whenever you get in your car, you have a legal duty to other drivers to follow traffic laws and drive safely. If you hit another vehicle with yours, the driver of the other vehicle may claim that you violated your duty. If that driver suffered injuries in the accident, you may have legal liability for damages.

But personal injury claims cover far more than car accidents. Any time you sustain an injury or loss because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful actions, you may have the right to pursue a personal injury claim.

Do I need an attorney?

Let’s begin by saying that you are never required to hire a personal injury attorney. The choice to hire a personal injury attorney is one that only you can make. That said, it is never a bad idea to consult with a qualified personal injury attorney after sustaining an injury that wasn’t your fault.

An experienced personal injury attorney helps you navigate interactions with insurance companies, particularly an insurer of the person who harmed you. Insurance companies have one thing in mind—profits. When it comes down to it, these companies will try to resolve your case as quickly and inexpensively as possible. In most cases, this means that they will not offer you the compensation you deserve off-the-bat. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you negotiate with insurance companies to achieve a more favorable outcome or, if necessary, to take legal action to assert your rights to fair compensation.

How much will a personal injury attorney cost?

Most personal injury attorneys handle cases on a contingency basis. In other words, we only get paid if you get paid. In these arrangements, the attorney and the client agree at the beginning of the case that the attorney will receive a percentage of any final monetary recovery.

I was injured in an accident. How do I pay my bills?

One of the scariest parts of an accident is worrying about how you are going to pay your bills. The thing about accidents is nobody plans for them. Medical bills can add up quickly and unless you have money set aside for unexpected medical costs or have great medical insurance, the thought of paying for these expenses can cause an enormous amount of stress. Thankfully, there are many resources available to help with medical costs. These include:

• Personal injury protection coverage (PIP): PIP is part of your auto insurance policy. In the event of a car or truck accident, PIP helps pay for your medical costs. PIP will only cover 80 percent of your costs meaning you will still be responsible for a 20 percent copay.
• Worker’s comp: If you are injured on the job your employer’s worker’s compensation insurance should cover the cost of any medical treatment. If you are in a car accident while on the job, your worker’s compensation insurance will help manage your care.
• Private health insurance: Being in an accident does not preclude you from using your private healthcare insurance to pay for medical expenses (although in many cases, your health insurer will require you to resort first to your PIP coverage).

What is PIP?

In Florida, the law requires all drivers to carry personal injury protection, more commonly known as PIP. This insurance can help cover medical bills and lost wages in the event of a motor vehicle accident. The law requires all drivers to carry a minimum of $10,000 PIP coverage.

Florida is a so-called “no-fault” state. That means your own PIP coverage covers your initial medical expenses resulting from an accident, regardless of who is at fault. Your PIP insurance will cover your injuries while the other driver’s PIP will cover their injuries. If you have passengers in your car your PIP benefits may extend to them as well. Your PIP insurance will also cover you if you are a pedestrian involved in an accident. If you exceed the limits of your PIP coverage, depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may also have the right to pursue a claim against the at-fault party.

To receive benefits under your PIP policy, you must visit a qualified medical professional within 14 days of your accident. If you miss this window, you will not be able to use any of your PIP benefits, and you may lose the ability to use other insurance also. To qualify for the entire $10,000 limit you must be diagnosed with an emergency medical condition. If you are not diagnosed with an emergency medical condition you will only be able to use $2,500 of your PIP coverage.

Keep in mind that PIP is a form of insurance specific to car accidents. As we said above, personal injury law covers many other types of accidents that have nothing to do with motor vehicles. In those cases, your options for seeking compensation from at-fault parties will differ from those in the car accident context.

The insurance company called me. Should I talk to them?

You were recently in an accident that was obviously someone else’s fault. You have pictures, the other party apologized, and you just want to get your settlement and move on. There’s no harm in talking to the insurance company, right? Wrong.

No matter how straightforward your case is, insurance companies will use an array of tactics to try to discredit your case. They’ll look for inconsistencies in your story, try to get you to admit some fault, and bring up your medical history. If an insurance agent contacts you, refer them to your attorney. If the other party’s insurance company calls you and you have not hired an attorney, you can refer them to your insurance company.

The same logic goes to overtures from the at-fault party’s attorney. It is their job to save the insurance company money. If you have hired your own attorney, the law prohibits other attorneys involved in the case from contacting you.

What type of compensation can I recover?

Every case is different. The damages you will be able to recover will depend on the specific circumstances of your case. Some of the most common damages for personal injury cases include:

• Medical costs
• Lost wages
• Vocational retraining
• Home modifications
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment
• Loss of consortium

I’m partially to blame for my own injuries. Can I still sue?

The short answer is, yes. Being partially at fault does not bar you from filing a personal injury lawsuit in Florida.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit?

Florida’s statute of limitations outlines how long victims have to file a lawsuit after they have been injured in an accident. The amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit depends on what type of injury they sustained. That’s why it’s always important to talk to a lawyer if you are planning on making a personal injury claim. For most personal injury claims, including auto accidents, the statute of limitations in Florida is four years from the date of the accident (statutes of limitation vary from state-to-state). But, for cases of medical malpractice or wrongful death in Florida, a plaintiff only has two years to file a lawsuit.

Will I have to go to court?

Most personal injury claims are settled outside of court. But not all of them. You want a personal injury law firm that is prepared to take your case to court and aggressively fight for the compensation you deserve. But of course, the decision of when to settle and when to go to court is always yours.