Personal injury laws pertain to civil lawsuits against companies and individuals for illnesses and physical injuries sustained as a result of failure to exercise reasonable care or negligence. Numerous situations can cause injuries. However, you should prove the responsible party's negligence before establishing the relationship between the defendant's conduct and your damages. Clay County Personal Injury Attorney can assist you in collecting the required proof to support your claim, negotiate with the insurance firms on your behalf, and contact experts and witnesses. We can also represent you if the case proceeds to trial.

What are Different Services Our Experienced Legal Team Offers?

When injured through negligence, carelessness, or wrongful conduct of another,  Clay County Personal Injury Attorney can help. Our attorneys handle every type of:

1. Wrongful Death

A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil claim in which you can take legal action against somebody else or a company to hold them liable for the negligence that led to the demise of your loved one.

Under Statute 768.19, a wrongful death cause of action should be founded on the elements below:

  • An act that amounts to a wrongful act, default, breach of contract, or negligence
  • The conduct should have played a significant role in causing the deceased's death
  • The conduct should have given the injured person a right to sue and recover compensation if death did not occur

Any experienced Fruit Cove personal injury attorney will tell you that they have handled wrongful death lawsuits originating from mislabeled or defective products, workplace hazards, car accidents, intentional criminal conduct, and medical malpractice.

Under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, the decedent's representatives should bring the claim. Who the personal representatives are is determined by the decedent's will. If the deceased died intestate or without a will, the court will determine the personal representatives. Generally, family members who are entitled to be awarded compensation include:

  • Deceased's spouse
  • Parents
  • Children
  • Siblings who were wholly or partly dependent on the deceased for financial support

Our attorneys will also make sure you file your claim within the period stipulated in the Statute of Limitations (the amount of time you have to file the claim). In Florida, the deadline is four (4) years from the date of the death.

2. Medical Malpractice

If you have sustained severe injuries due to a medical professional's carelessness or negligence, it is vital to speak to a competent Fruit Cove personal injury attorney. Why?

Your injuries may be due to improper anesthesia administration, delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, or preventable injuries that occurred while admitted to the health care facility. Nonetheless, it is essential to understand that just because the medical practitioner made a mistake, that doesn't mean they are responsible for malpractice. You must prove:

  • Breach of the Standard of Care - You must prove the doctor breached the standard of care they owed you. To prove that a breach took place, you should find a medical professional practicing in a similar field as the defendant and acquire an affidavit from the physician
  • Proximate Causation - Additionally, you should establish that the physician's breach was the proximate cause of your injuries. In other words, you should prove that if it were not for the physician's negligence, the injury wouldn't have happened
  • Damages - For your personal injury claim to be viable, your injury should be significant

The deadline for bringing a claim founded on negligence is two years. In short, a plaintiff has two years before the date the injury occurred or when they realized they had been injured to bring a claim. 

How Much will You be Awarded in Medical Malpractice Suit?

There are two types of damages which plaintiffs are awarded, namely:

  • Economic damages - These are damages whose value can be determined easily. They include lost income and medical expenses
  • Non-economic damages - These are intangible damages. They include inconvenience, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. Please note, non-economic damages awarded in medical malpractice cases have a $500,000 statutory cap

3. Pedestrian Accident

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, while approximately five thousand pedestrians succumbed to traffic accidents, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand pedestrians received treatment for traffic accident injuries in 2015.

Pedestrians are at an increased risk of sustaining severe injuries compared to those in a motor vehicle. It is because a pedestrian doesn't have outside protection, and their bodies take all the impact. Injuries sustained include:

  • Lacerations
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Head injuries
  • Paralysis
  • Fractures

These injuries could be both life-altering and costly. That is why you should seek compensation.

Fruit Cove is a tourist destination, particularly during holidays and summer. With the high number of guests, it is common for pedestrian accidents to happen around beaches and tourist attractions. Accidents can also take place in school zones and neighborhoods.

What Happens if You are  Partially Responsible for Your Accident?

Assume you darted into traffic at a location that isn't designated for pedestrians, and there was no walking light. A motorist failed to stop in time hence injuring you.

The Sunshine State uses a pure comparative negligence rule where the percentage of your fault will reduce your damages. For instance, if the judge determines you were twenty percent to blame for the accident, you will receive eighty percent of your total damages.

4. Truck Accident

A truck accident is a complicated case that requires the assistance of a knowledgeable Fruit Cove personal injury attorney. It is because a truck is bigger than other cars and causes catastrophic injuries.

Also, the list of potentially liable parties goes beyond the truck driver to:

  • Motorist's employer
  • Third-party contractor
  • Trucking company
  • Truck manufacturer

Often truckers work within various business relations. For instance, they could work for a firm they are delivering for or could be an independent contractor.

If the motorist is an employee of a shipping or trucking firm, then the organization could be accountable for the negligence that caused your accident. To receive compensation in this scenario, you should establish the collision took place while the motorist was working.

If the driver owns the truck and takes short-term contracts to deliver cargo, your attorney should investigate the amount of power the contracting organization has over the liable driver.

It is essential to identify all responsible parties. It will assist you in recovering the maximum compensation. Also, the involved parties could be carrying different insurance policies, which might compensate you for separate amounts.

How a Driver's Fatigue is Related to a Truck Accident

Fatigued driving is a common phenomenon as far as tractor-trailer collisions are concerned. Commercial truck motorists often operate their vehicles while they are exhausted and slow to respond to sudden traffic conditions changes.

The federal law restricts the amount of time a driver engaged in interstate commerce should drive every week. However, most drivers receive incentives to stay on the road or facing unreasonable delivery deadlines, disregard the hours of service rules, falsify the driver logs, and continue working while tired.

5. Motorcycle Accident

Probably, you have heard your Fruit Cove personal injury attorney say that Florida uses no-fault auto insurance. No-fault coverage can cover any injury irrespective of who caused the accident.

However, your compensation amount could be too little to cover all the needs, especially if you have suffered a severe injury. As a result, you may require to have the case proceed to trial to get fair compensation.

If the losses you have incurred are very costly for your insurance to meet, you can file a third-party claim on the liable party's coverage instead of taking the case to trial. The insurance provider will determine who is to blame for the accident, and the odds are they will refuse to compensate you. Should this happen, you should take the case to trial.

How the Court Determines Who is Responsible

Before the judge listens to your case, your attorney should push through using legal arguments or attempt to get your case dropped. The process takes approximately one month.

As a plaintiff, you should prove that the other person caused your injuries. It is worth noting that this is different from a criminal case where you establish a case beyond any reasonable doubt. Instead, you need to prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not).

When deciding accountability, the jury will put into account the totality of the case's circumstances. That means the jury will look beyond each party's story and consider what every party was doing at the time of the accident. That way, the jury will assign a portion of accountability to all parties involved, and every party should pay their percentage of fault.

6. Slip and Fall Personal Injury Accidents

When injured in a slip and fall accident on another person's property, it is vital to explore the available options for receiving compensation, particularly if it is clear the property owner was negligent.

Whether you choose to take the case to court or bring a claim against the asset owner's insurer, the following Florida rules will affect your claim:

Statute of Limitations

Under Florida Statutes 95.11(3)(a), you have four years from the date of the accident to bring your slip and fall accident claim.

A plaintiff also has four years to bring a property damage claim (caused by their accident), such as a watch that broke when they fell.

Proving Negligence and Liability

The legal term "reasonable" is often used in slip and fall settlement negotiations. To be held negligent and later accountable for injuries, the property owner should have failed to behave as a prudent individual would have under similar circumstances.

When determining if the defendant acted reasonably, your Fruit Cove personal injury attorney will put the following into consideration:

  • Did the obstacle or dangerous condition exist long enough that a reasonable individual would have eliminated the hazard?
  • Was there a practical reason for creating the potential hazard? If that is the case, did that reason still exist when your accident occurred?
  • Did the asset owner have a policy for frequently looking for potential risks on their asset? If so, are there records or logs that show the procedures followed immediately before your accident?
  • Did limited visibility or poor lighting play a role in causing the accident?
  • Could the dangerous condition have been made less hazardous through preventative measures like using warning signals, making the location inaccessible, or relocating the potential hazard?

Comparative Negligence Rule

Before filing your personal injury claim over a slip and fall accident, be prepared to hear the asset owner claim that you are partially accountable. If this strategy is fruitful, you will see a substantial amount of money taken away from your total compensation.

For instance, the defendant could claim that:

  • You were in a location where guests are not permitted or expected to be
  • You wore inappropriate or unsafe footwear
  • You were not focusing on your steps because you were using a phone
  • The hazardous condition ought to have been apparent to you

Car Accident

An accident occurs when nobody is accountable for the crash. However, if a driver was using their phone while driving or drove while under the influence of alcohol, or the vehicle's seat belts were faulty, then it is not really a car accident. That is why it is recommended to engage a Fruit Cove personal injury attorney who can assist you in getting the compensation you deserve.

Receiving compensation for a car-related accident in Florida can be complicated. It is because the law provides various requirements depending on your case. Some of the most common financial methods used are:

  • Personal Injury Protection Coverage (PIP) – All motorists in Florida s
  • At-fault Motorist's Insurance - If another person caused your accident, you could hold their insurer accountable for the damages that surpass your PIP insurance
  • A Personal Injury Suit- If your injury is severe, you can seek compensation through bringing a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant.

Find a Skilled Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

hould have PIP coverage that covers the lost wages, medical expenses incurred, among other losses up to a given amount, regardless of whether the motorist is accountable for the collision or not.

Suffering injuries is not only costly but also time-consuming and painful. It is even more frustrating if another person's negligence caused your injuries. You miss work, have medical bills to take care of, and find yourself not in a position to perform your everyday tasks. You will also suffer from both emotional and physical pain. Any qualified personal injury attorney like our team at the Clay County Personal Injury Attorney can assist you in recovering compensation from the at-fault party. Contact us today at 904-494-8242 to analyze the circumstances surrounding the case and develop various strategies that can suit your case.