An injury can disrupt your life. It could lead to disability, medical expenses, and sometimes death. When such an injury results from the negligence of another person, then you can successfully sue the person for damages. Florida law allows its residents to be compensated for injuries from truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, car accidents, and medical malpractice. If your loved one died from such an accident, then you can sue for wrongful death. The Clay County Personal Injury Attorney helps clients who sustain injuries from another party’s negligence to be compensated. You can be compensated for damages such as lost wages, pain, and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of parental care, and medical damages. Here are the common reasons why you may need a personal injury attorney.

Truck Accidents

More than 97,000 people are injured, and more than 4000 die from truck accidents in Florida every year. Truck accidents happen when a commercial truck or mini truck loses control, collision with other trucks, vehicles or stationary objects, rolling over, and cargo spills.

The size of the truck makes it easy to cause injuries and fatalities, even with minor accidents such as a fender bender. Cargo trucks such as those carrying inflammable products and other hazardous materials are also likely to cause more damage in case an accident occurs. Truck accidents can occur due to negligence by the driver distracted driving, fatigue, aggressive and reckless driving, traffic violations, and failure to maintain and inspect the truck.

If you are injured in a truck accident, you will likely experience pain, suffering, lost wages, disabilities, and disfigurement. You will also incur medical expenses that can be overwhelming for most people. These expenses can be overwhelming for you and your family. You may need the help of a Penney Farm Personal Injury Attorney to fight for compensation.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents are a common occurrence on Florida roads, especially during the night. Pedestrian accidents occur when motorists violate the right of way of pedestrians or when pedestrians violate traffic laws.

The common causes of pedestrian accidents include reckless driving, traffic slowdowns, and the weather (for example, poor visibility at night, drunk driving, and failure to obey traffic rules.

Pedestrian accidents cause extensive and often life-threatening injuries due to the lack of protective gear on pedestrians. The effect of steel on flesh can result in injuries such as brain injuries, fractures, lacerations, loss of limbs, paralysis, and spinal injuries.

These injuries will drastically affect the quality of your life, as well as your mental health. Luckily, Florida allows pedestrians four years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against the at-fault motorist.

During the lawsuit, your Penney Farms Personal Injury Attorney will present the relevant accident to prove fault, show the changes the accident made to your life, and seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. In some cases, the court might award punitive damages, especially if the motorist displayed extraordinary negligence that resulted in your injuries.

Proving fault in a pedestrian accident depends on a number of factors including:

  • Motorists duty of care towards pedestrians
  • Pedestrians duty of care
  • The right of way

Based on these three factors, the court may find that more than one party, including the pedestrian, is responsible for the accident. In such a case, the court will award the benefits depending on the contributory fault of each party.

Car Accidents

About 1000 car accidents occur in Florida daily. These accidents are responsible for the death of more than three thousand people annually. The common causes of Florida car accidents include drunk driving, distracted driving, and other traffic violations.

Whenever you are involved in an accident, you are supposed to stop at a safe place and examine the scene. This is often the first point at which you can collect evidence while it is still fresh. If you are in good condition, check around to see whether there are injuries or property damage, call emergency services and the police. Take photographs of the scene and exchange contact information with the motorists and pedestrians involved in the accident. You might also collect the contact details of witnesses at the scene. Call your attorney if possible.

Florida is a no-fault insurance state. This implies that you should maintain a personal injury car insurance whether or not you caused the accident. The personal injury cover helps you pay for medical expenses that arise from a traffic accident. In addition, the no-fault car insurance compensates you for lost wages and out-of-pocket costs.

The no-fault system limits the cases that qualify as personal injury lawsuits. However, under some circumstances, you can sue the at-fault party for damages.

If another driver was responsible for the accident, you could then sue him or her in court to recover damages, especially where you suffered serious injury. Serious injury under Florida law includes:

  • Disfigurement
  • Bone fractures
  • Permanent loss of function of a body part or system
  • A disability that lasts for 90 days
  • A significant limitation on the use of a body part or a system

With a personal injury lawsuit, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages. The court might use comparative negligence to determine the contributory negligence each driver had towards the accident. If, for example, you contributed 20% to the occurrence of accidents, the damages you recover will be 80% of the full amount.

Motorcycle Accidents

If you rely on a motorcycle to get to work or enjoy riding for fun, you understand the risks of being in a motorcycle accident. Motorcycle accidents occur mostly due to the instability of the bike and negligence from motorists, and sometimes the riders themselves. Motorcycle accidents occur mostly between motorcycles and vehicles, or between motorcycles.

Motorcyclists are exposed to many injuries on the head, neck, spine, back, and limbs. Their whole bodies are exposed, and unless they are wearing protective gear, the accident can be life-threatening.

If you are involved in a motorcycle accident and have recovered from the injuries, you can contact a Penney Farms Personal Injury Attorney to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. You should keep records of your injuries, the medical expenses, and the pain and suffering you experience after the accident.

In some cases, the court may award punitive benefits in addition to the economic and non-economic damages.

If you are injured from a car, pedestrian, truck, or motorcycle accident, you need to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. The first reason is for evidence gathering, and the next is to ensure you have enough time before the statute of limitations expires.

For some, the injuries could result in hospitalization for long periods. In such cases, your loved ones can gather the evidence on your behalf. This will include police reports about the accident, witness statements, and receipts of all the expenses related to the accident.

Journaling also helps in personal injury cases, especially for non-monetary damages, in which the plaintiff is likely to fetch unlimited benefits and in some cases, the minimum amount. The burden of proving that the injury caused mental anguish, pain, and suffering is upon you and your attorney.

Medical Malpractice

Florida is one of the states with the best medical care in the US. However, some medical professionals may commit mistakes that result in harm to the patient. Medical malpractice occurs when a health care professional fails to act or acts in a negligent manner, which results in the injury or death of a patient.

A duty of care binds healthcare professionals to their patients. They are to exercise caution and adhere to treatment procedures to the benefit of the patient.

Medical malpractice includes:

  • Misdiagnosis
  • Delayed diagnosis
  • Errors during surgery including operations on the wrong part of the body or on the wrong patient, failure to sanitize equipment leading to infection, leaving surgical materials in the body, and damage to other organs during the surgery.
  • Errors in administering and monitoring anesthesia
  • Medication errors where you are given the wrong medication or dosage
  • Failure to perform emergency procedures, mishandling, or the inability to monitor a mother or child during and after childbirth

To recover damages from medical malpractice, you have to file a personal injury claim within four years. The laws of Florida apply various caps to the damages you can recover from the claim.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death is a form of personal injury lawsuit brought against the defendant by the survivors of the deceased. You can file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of the death. Wrongful death lawsuits are applicable where the deceased died due to the negligence, deliberate actions, or recklessness of the defendant.

Some of the reasons for wrongful death lawsuits include:

  • Unsafe products
  • Defective items
  • Vehicle accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Death due to medical malpractice
  • Death due to intoxication (against a person who sells or gives alcohol to a minor, leading to his or her death)
  • Work-related deaths

You are allowed to sue for wrongful death damages if you are:

  • The spouse, child or relative of the deceased
  • Whole or partial dependents of the deceased (blood or adoptive relatives)

Some of the damages you can recover from a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida include:

  • Loss of companionship, parental guidance, consortium and protection
  • Mental anguish and emotional pain
  • Lost past and future wages
  • Medical expenses
  • Burial and funeral expenses

To access these damages, you will have to prove that:

  • The defendant acted in a negligent manner
  • The defendant had a duty of care to the deceased and breached that duty
  • The negligent act was the cause or a contributing factor to the death of the victim

Compensable Injuries

If you are an employee in Florida, you are entitled to compensation for injuries that occur during your employment. Compensable injuries are those that occur due to work-related accidents and may result in disability or death.

Employers are required to carry workers’ compensation to compensate workers for injuries related to or sustained during employment. They may include that that you get while driving a company vehicle or a slip and fall that occur within the employer’s premises.

Florida is a no-fault state, meaning that you are compensated as long as you sustained the injury at work. Sometimes, a work-related injury could exaggerate an existing condition. In such cases, it may be difficult to determine whether the injury is compensable. Whenever you are suffering from a work-related injury, hire a Penney Farms Personal Injury Attorney to help you with the case.

Some of the compensable injuries include:

  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Chronic back pain
  • Nerve damage
  • Lung cancer due to exposure to smoke

Stress and mental problems related to work are hard to prove and are often not compensated. However, you may still be compensated, especially when the stress or mental problem is a result of a work-related physical injury. You can seek an evaluation from a psychiatrist as well as a doctor who will demonstrate the link between the physical work-related injury and stress or psychological problem you are experiencing. Alternatively, you can sue your employer for negligently inflicting mental or emotional pain.

The family and dependents of a worker who died due to compensable injuries can request wrongful death damages for the death of their loved one.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Personal injury laws in Florida are complicated. They vary depending on the cause of the injury and the nature of the injury. In addition, you have to file a claim before the statute of limitations expires. If you intend to file a lawsuit against a negligent party that led to the injury or death of your loved one, consult with an attorney to help you with the case. At Clay County Personal Injury Attorney, we focus on bringing the best services to residents of Penney Farms and Clay County. We work on a contingency basis, meaning that we are paid if we win. Personal injury lawsuits can relieve you of the financial, emotional, and physical burden you carry after an injury or death that resulted from the negligence of another person. If you need a personal injury attorney, contact us at 904-494-8242 for a free consultation.