Personal Injury In Florida

When you've been injured by someone else's carelessness, it's important to take some initial steps toward making sure your injury claim can be settled fairly and as quickly as possible:

• Write down everything you can remember about how the injury occurred, including the names, addresses and phone numbers of potential witnesses, police officers, insurance company representatives ( or company or workers' compensation representatives if it was a work injury)
• Talk to a Florida personal injury lawyer before making any statements, written or verbal, to insurance company adjusters or representatives
• Let anyone you think may be responsible for the injury know right away that you're intending to file a claim against them
• Take steps to protect any evidence you may need to prove your injury, such as your totaled car, photographs of an accident or injury scene, clothing you were wearing, damaged personal belongings, and so forth

How Do I Figure Out Who Is At Fault?

In most cases, in order to collect on an injury claim in Florida, you must prove the person who caused the injury was "negligent" - careless and neglectful. In Florida, you must prove:

• The person who caused your injury owed you a duty not to injure you, but didn't live up to that duty
• There was a connection between the other person's duty to you and your injury
• You suffered damages

If you were careless, and your carelessness contributed to your injury, the amount you can recover will be reduced in proportion to your carelessness, under Florida comparative negligence law.

Florida's joint and several liability rules place legal responsibility for paying your damages according to each person's proportion of fault for your injury. If you're found to be at fault:

• Any other person found 10 percent or less at fault won't be responsible for your economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages
• Any other person found more than 10 percent but less than 25 percent at fault will only be responsible for up to $200,000 of your economic damages
• Any other person found at least 25 percent at fault but not more than 50 percent at fault won't be responsible for more than $500,000 of your economic damages
• Any other person found more than 50 percent at fault won't be responsible for more than $1,000,000 of your economic damages

If you're found to be not at fault:

• Any other person found more than 10 percent but less than 25 percent at fault will only be responsible for up to $500,000 of your economic damages
• Any other person found to be more than 25 percent but less than 50 percent at fault will only be responsible for up to $1,000,000 of your economic damages
• Any other person found to be more than 50 percent at fault won't be responsible for more than $2,000,000 of your economic damages

If you've been injured using a consumer product, the manufacturer of the product may be responsible under a "strict liability" legal theory if the product was unreasonably dangerous. Under Florida law, you'd need to prove that:

• The person or company selling the product had an absolute duty to make the product safe, but didn't live up to that duty
• The dangerousness of the product caused your injury
• You suffered damages

What Is My Claim Worth?

In Florida, the person who injured you will be responsible for:

• Past, current and future estimated medical expenses
• Time lost from work, including time spent going to medical appointments or therapy
• Any property that was damaged, such as your vehicle
• The cost of hiring someone to do household chores when you couldn't
• Any permanent disfigurement or disability
• Your emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, and any interference with your family relationships
• Any other costs that were a direct result of your injury

A lawyer will know what type of expert witness to hire to best prove your damages.

How Long Do I Have To File A Legal Claim?

You have four years to file a lawsuit against a person who injured you in Florida. If your lawyer hasn't been able to come to an agreement with any involved insurance companies, you'll definitely want to file a lawsuit before the four-year statute of limitations runs out.

Related Web Links:

Florida Personal Injury message board for more help