Top-Rated Florida Personal Injury Lawyers

What is personal injury law?

Personal injury law (also known as tort law) has two basic components: liability and damages. Is a defendant liable for damages you sustained in an accident and, if so, what is the extent of your damages?

If you can prove both liability and damages, you will be awarded monetary compensation for your loss.

What is a tort?

According to Cornell Law School: “A tort is an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability. In the context of torts, ‘injury’ describes the invasion of any legal right, whereas ‘harm’ describes a loss or detriment in fact that an individual suffers.”

Torts fall into three categories:

• Intentional tort: Injury or harm that is inflicted by a conscious or planned act (e.g. battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional pain).
• Negligent tort: Injury or harm that is inflicted by a failure to behave in compliance with ordinary prudence—can be actions or omissions (e.g. causing an accident by not obeying traffic laws, failing to put a warning sign up when a floor is wet).
• Strict liability: Injury or harm is inflicted by an action, regardless of intent or mental state (e.g. possession of dangerous animals, engaging in abnormally dangerous activities, defective products).

What are the types of personal injury cases?

Generally speaking, personal injury cases most often involve the negligent acts of others. Here are a few examples:

• Transportation accidents: automobile, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, aviation, mass transit, boating, and pedestrian.
• Premises accidents: negligent security, slip and fall, animal bites, attacks, nursing home abuse, construction, commercial incidents, and medical malpractice.

Do I need a personal injury lawyer?

Although you are not required to hire a lawyer to help you deal with your personal injury case, in most cases it is advisable.

And hiring an attorney with expertise in and experience with personal injury law almost always makes sense.

Personal injury attorneys bring many things to the table (e.g. knowledge of the ins and outs of personal injury law, insurance company strategies, etc.).

In particular, here are four scenarios that require that you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you:

Did you suffer a serious injury or permanent disability?

Serious/permanent injuries can bring a lifetime of pain and crippling medical bills. It is important to understand that insurance companies are NOT on your side. They will be represented by a team of lawyers and you need the same type of protection on your side.

Are you unsure of who is at fault?

If you were involved in an accident and you are not sure who is at fault, it is important to talk to an attorney. In cases like these, the other party’s insurance company will be looking to put the blame on you. Hiring a lawyer will help protect your rights.

Were there multiple parties involved?

In an accident that involves multiple parties, all sides will certainly have attorney representation. You can not afford to be the only party without this type of protection.

In addition, should multiple parties be deemed to be at fault, a lawyer will have the skills to ensure you get the compensation you deserve from all negligent parties.

What is negligence according to personal injury law?

Negligence is the most important concept of personal injury law. If you are unable to prove negligence, your case will fail.

So, just what does negligence mean to a court of law?

According to Cornell Law School, the definition of negligence is: “A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act.”

How do you establish what a reasonable person would do in a specific situation?

To establish negligence in your personal injury case, you must prove each of the following four elements of negligence:

Element #1: Duty of Care (also called Standard of Care)

Duty of care means that the defendant had an obligation to act with a certain degree of caution and good sense.

For example: In a slip and fall injury case, a property or business owner has a legal obligation to discover and remedy hazards within a reasonable amount of time.

Element #2: Breach of Duty

Once you prove a defendant had a duty of care, you must prove that they breached (violated) that duty by acting recklessly or failing to do what is reasonable.

For example: In a slip and fall accident, the defendant neglected to put out a warning sign that the floor of their property had just been mopped and was wet.

Element #3: Causation

After proving a breach of duty, you must show that the defendant’s reckless action or inaction led to your injuries. The defendant’s neglect can not be loosely tied to your injuries—it must be the “proximate” (direct) cause. To prove causation, you may need to present testimony from an eye witness or maybe a doctor, etc.

For example: Your slip and fall accident happened because you were not warned that the floor was wet. You stepped onto the wet floor, slipped, fell, and broke your hip.

Element #4: Damages

With this last step, you will need to show proof of actual and future damages and translate this into a monetary amount. The total damages need to reflect things like monetary loss, as well as any pain and suffering you have experienced.

For example: To prove your damages due to your slip and fall accident, you must provide evidence such as medical bills and records, pay stubs to prove lost wages, testimony from witnesses regarding how your injury will affect your ability to work, etc.

So far, we have been discussing negligence as if only one person can be at fault for an accident. However, in the real world, each party to a personal injury tort can be partially responsible.

This is called comparative negligence.

What is comparative negligence?

Investopedia defines this legal term as follows: “Comparative negligence is a principal of tort law that applies to casualty insurance in certain states. Comparative negligence states that when an accident occurs, the fault and/or negligence of each party involved is based upon their respective contributions to an accident. This allows insurers to assign blame and pay insurance claims accordingly.”

There are three types of comparative negligence: pure comparative negligence, modified comparative negligence, and slight/gross negligence.

Florida is a pure comparative negligence state. This means that you can collect damages no matter how much you were at fault for your own injuries, as long as someone else was partially responsible.

For example: If you were 80 percent responsible for your injury and the defendant was 20 percent responsible, you could collect 20 percent of the total damages.

What types of compensation can I receive?

There are several types of compensation you can seek when you become a plaintiff in a personal injury claim.

• Medical expenses
• Loss of income
• Loss of earning capacity
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium (deprivation of association and fellowship between two married people)
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Mental anguish
• Pain and suffering

How does a personal injury case work?

Your personal injury case will most likely proceed in one of these two ways:

• A defendant does something to injure the plaintiff.
• The plaintiff determines that the defendant breached a legal duty of care.
• Settlement talks occur: Most cases of disputes over fault are resolved through negotiations that lead to an informal early settlement. This is known as “settling out of court.” A settlement takes the form of a written agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant and no further action is taken.

OR

• A formal lawsuit is initiated: A personal injury case is a civil complaint (as opposed to a criminal one) from a private individual (plaintiff) against another person, corporation, business, or government agency (defendant), alleging injury or harm as a result of carelessness or irresponsibility in connection with an accident. This action is known as “filing a lawsuit.” In this scenario, the case is presented in court in front of a jury. The jury decides if any compensation is to be awarded to the plaintiff.

There is no law that requires an at-fault party to compensate the people they harm. The victim must take the first step to bring a claim against those who are responsible for their damage—and they must do so within a specified amount of time. This type of time limit is called the statute of limitations.

What is the statute of limitations in a personal injury case?

According to Investopedia: “A statute of limitations is a law that sets the maximum time the parties involved have to initiate legal proceedings from the date of an alleged offense, whether civil or criminal. However, the length of time the statute allows for a victim to bring legal action against the suspected wrong-doer can vary from one jurisdiction to another.”

These time deadlines exist to ensure that lawsuits are brought within a reasonable amount of time in the interest of justice.

Should you fail to file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out, your claim will most likely be barred and you will not be able to hold the at-fault party liable for your losses.

As mentioned in the Investopedia quote above, the statute of limitations vary from state to state. In Florida, the statute of limitations for torts (civil injury claims) vary depending on the following circumstances:

• The nature of the claim.
• When the “clock” starts.
• The alleged at-fault party (i.e. private party or public entity).
• Other factors that in some limited cases extend the statute of limitations for victims.

In general, the statute of limitations for a personal injury case in Florida are as follows:

• Personal injury: four years
• Medical malpractice: two years
• Assault/Battery: two years
• Product liability: two or four years
• Wrongful death: two years
• Workers’ Compensation: two years

When does the “clock” start ticking?

For most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations begins on the date of injury (e.g. the date of a car accident or the date of a dog bite).

However, in some cases, a person might not realize they have been damaged right away or it may take some time to link an injury to its cause (e.g. a medical misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a medical condition). In situations like these, the statute of limitations begins at the time of discovery.

Also, there may be some personal injury scenarios that are beyond the control of the victim (e.g. a victim’s mental competence or the at-fault party has fled the jurisdiction). In cases like these, it may be possible to toll the statute of limitations temporarily. This pauses the clock in the interest of justice so the situation can be sorted out properly.

Are there other considerations that may extend or shorten the statute of limitations in Florida?

Florida Statute Section 95.11(3)(a) states that the personal injury statute of limitations is four years from the date of occurrence. However, there are circumstances under which the filing deadline can be extended or shortened. Here are a few examples:

• Type of case: Claims involving medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death are subject to different statutes of limitation.
• Age of victim: Minors under the age of 18 are often given additional time to file claims (usually seven years).
• Type of injury: Some injuries or conditions take years to manifest—most notably occupational diseases or medical malpractice. In cases like these, the statute of limitations is more forgiving.
• Claims against the government: Personal injury cases filed against public entities are subject to different rules, which may include a shorter statute of limitations.
• Sexual abuse: With this type of claim there are often hidden or latent injuries which are recognized by the state of Florida. Time limits for survivors of sexual abuse can be extended as follows:

– Seven years after the victim turns 18.

– Four years after the victim is no longer dependent on the abuser.

– For victims who were abused under the age of 16, the statute of limitations can be waived indefinitely.

What are the most common types of accidents that develop into a personal injury case?

Personal injury law mainly focuses on bodily injury. Emotional or psychological injury can come into the equation—but the primary focus is physical injury.

Here’s a list of common injury complaints:

1. Abdominal injury
2. Amputation
3. Auditory or visual impairment
4. Back injury
5. Broken bones
6. Burns
7. Dog bite
8. Herniated disc
9. Infection
10. Knee injury
11. Nerve damage
12. Organ failure
13. Polytrauma
14. Significant body laceration or disfigurement
15. Skull fracture
16. Spinal cord injury
17. Traumatic brain injury
18. Whiplash and neck injury

Here’s a list of common accidents that can turn into a personal injury claim:

1. Automotive accident
2. Bike and pedestrian accident
3. Boating accident
4. Dog bite
5. Intentional act
6. Medical malpractice
7. Motorcycle accident
8. Premises liability
9. Product liability
10. Truck accident
11. Worker’s compensation
12. Wrongful death

Has an insurance company denied or delayed your claim?

Insurance companies know that most lay people do not understand the complicated personal injury laws. Because of this, they will often just flat out deny legitimate claims.

Another method insurance companies use to intimidate and mitigate their losses, is to endlessly delay the finalization of your claim. They fully understand that money is tight and medical bills are rolling in, so they delay to pressure you into accepting a fraction of what your claim is truly worth.

If either of these situations happen to you, it is time to hire a lawyer.

What kind of help should I expect to get from a personal injury lawyer?

A personal injury lawyer performs many important duties—the most common of which include:

• Explaining your rights under tort law.
• Providing advice based on knowledge and experience.
• Completing a professional investigation of your accident.
• Connecting you to medical providers.
• Providing an accurate assessment of your damages.
• Negotiating a satisfactory settlement.
• Representing you in court if necessary.

What does a personal injury lawyer cost?

Your initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer is usually free.

Should you decide to retain an attorney to represent you with your case, you will not be charged any upfront fees and you will not pay an hourly rate.

Your attorney gets paid only if your case is successful and you receive a monetary settlement/award. This is called a contingency fee.

A contingency fee is based on a percentage of the settlement amount. This percentage rate varies from state to state. Following, are the contingency fees for the state of Florida:

• If the case is settled out of court, the attorney gets 33.3 percent of any money awarded up to $1 million.
• If the case goes to court and a settlement is awarded by a jury, the attorney gets 40 percent of any money awarded up to $1 million.
• If the case is settled for more than $1 million, there are additional percentage limits.

A study conducted by the Insurance Research Council found that the people who have suffered injury in a car accident due to driver, manufacturer, and/or government negligence win 3.5 times more settlement compensation if they are represented by a personal injury lawyer.

The study further states that in 85 percent of cases where an insurance company did settle an injury claim, the injured party had hired an attorney.