If you have suffered a personal injury by recklessness or negligence of another, you may be worried about how you can recover from it. At Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney, we provide the necessary help and support to ensure that the injured are successfully pursuing maximum compensation from the liable party’s insurers. We deal with all kinds of personal injury claims for people in Orange Park and its surrounding areas. If you are looking for advice and guidance in filing a compensation claim in court, get in touch with us.
Understanding Florida Personal Injury Laws
After an accident, a person is left injured and feeling frustrated because of the high medical bills they have to pay. Some people recover almost immediately, but for some, they might need time away from work to recover fully. Time off work means no more income to support the family and take care of the piling medical bills. That is why Florida laws allow the injured to pursue compensation if they believe that the person who caused the accident was careless.
However, the injured have to prove that the defendant was negligent and that their carelessness was the direct cause of their injuries. There are some aspects of personal injury cases that must be established for the defendant to be found liable for the accident:
- That the defendant had a duty of care and not to injure the plaintiff
- That the defendant breached their duty of care, thereby causing the plaintiff injuries
- That their carelessness was the direct cause of the injuries the plaintiff sustained
The three elements must be fully satisfied for the defendant to be found responsible for the resulting damages.
To prove liability, the injured will need proper legal representation by an experienced personal injury attorney. If you are in Orange Park, a competent personal injury attorney can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case.
What Can a Personal Injury Attorney Do For You?
Personal injury claims are not always the easiest to deal with. The court processes are usually long and tedious, and the injured might lose hope along the way. Again, there is so much proof to provide before the court for the guilty party to be determined. Alone, the injured may not be able to do much. They may not be able to present the needed evidence, and so, they may lose the case even if they genuinely deserved compensation.
That is why there is a need for a competent Orange Park Personal Injury Attorney. The first thing you need is proper legal representation during the trial. You want someone familiar with the court processes to be there to answer and present evidence on your behalf. The first thing your attorney will do is to investigate the claim. This helps them determine if the claim is viable or not. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the injured will be advised to either proceed with the application or forget about it.
If the claim is viable, your Orange Park personal injury attorney will start gathering evidence. Evidence would be needed from the scene of the accident, police reports if the crash was reported, and from eyewitnesses. If there is a need for an expert point of view, your attorney will engage the best team of experts to investigate the accident and provide a detailed report. This will not only help with the case but also help determine the guilty party.
A competent attorney is also needed to negotiate with the insurance companies. Insurance providers are not always willing to compensate cases even if it is a straight case of negligence or recklessness. Your attorney will be there to ensure that the insurance company agrees to pay you and that the compensation will be fair. If the insurance company is willing to have an out of court settlement, your Orange Park personal injury attorney will ensure that the insurance provider does not take advantage of your situation.
If the case proceeds to trial, your attorney will prepare and file all the needed documents to the court before the deadline provided under Florida laws. He/she will ensure that your documents are well organized, including pieces of evidence and medical records. This will speed up the process and improve your chances of winning the case.
Personal Injury Cases Handled By Personal Injury Attorneys in Orange Park
It is advisable to work with an Orange Park personal injury attorney who can handle the specific type of personal injury you have suffered. There are many types of personal injury cases that get reported in Florida every day. Some of these are:
Wrongful Death
Losing a loved one to death is not an easy thing to deal with. It even gets worse if you believe that the death of your loved one was caused by a wrongful act or carelessness of another party. This party could be a doctor, an employer, a nursing home, or even a hospital.
Wrongful deaths are the kinds of deaths that could have been avoided if the person charged with the duty of care did not breach that duty. If this has happened to you, know that Florida laws allow the family or close relatives of the deceased person to pursue compensation.
Compensation in such a case may not bring the deceased to life but will take care of the expenses incurred after their death. The costs could include funeral expenses and medical bills if the injured was hospitalized first before their demise.
Car Accidents
Personal injury cases involving car accidents are treated differently in Florida as compared to other states. This is because Florida is a no-fault state. What this means is that no driver will be held liable for a car accident even if they were 100% at fault. The law requires the injured to seek compensation from their insurance provider or the insurer of the person responsible for the accident.
Again, the injured could be held partly responsible for their injuries, according to the state's comparative negligence law. This means that the injured can still pursue compensation even if they were partially liable for the claim.
The most important part of a car accident case is in determining the responsible party. With that, the injured can begin the legal process of seeking compensation for all the damages they sustained.
Truck Accidents
Statistics show that fatigued drivers cause about 30% of all truck accidents in the state. A tired driver is as a result of dishonest trucking companies which give too much pressure on their drivers. After an accident, your attorney will be quick to figure out exactly how the accident occurred. If the fault is the drivers or their trucking company, you will be able to file a claim against them in a Florida court.
In most cases, the trucking company’s insurance company will try to talk you out of the claim. That is why you need a competent Orange Park personal injury attorney by your side. An excellent personal injury attorney will ensure that your rights are respected all through.
Pedestrian Accident
Pedestrians are always at a risk of being hit by speeding vehicles, especially on a highway or a crossway. Some pedestrians get injured by drivers who fail to give them the right of way as provided in the state laws. Others suffer injuries in unmarked and poorly lit crossways. Some are hit by cars craven by drivers who are not paying attention to the road.
In any of these cases and many more, an injured pedestrian deserves compensation to be able to recover the sustained injuries fully. They also deserve compensation to cater for the days they will be out of work to recover from injuries. The defendant pays more money to cover the plaintiff's future medical needs and care if the pedestrian, (plaintiff), was seriously injured and will need medical care and therapy.
Bus Accident
There are many ways in which a person can get injured in a bus accident. For some, it is through a crash, and for others, it is while they get on/off the bus. Other people slip and fall at the bus stop, sustaining severe or minor injuries. In any case, it is crucial to understand how the accident occurred to know if you have a chance of getting compensation or not.
Some of the compensable injuries people can sustain in bus accidents include:
- Broken bones and fractures
- Dislocations
- Bruises or cuts
- Whiplash
- Concussions or brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Scarring and disfigurement
If any of these injuries occurred due to another person's negligence, you have a case. You can recover some or all of the sums you request in damages.
Motorcycle Accident
Just like other accidents, motorcycle accidents can be severe, leaving the injured suffering considerable damages that could affect their future. The most crucial bit for any personal injury attorney in such a case will be to establish the cause of the accident.
In the state of Florida, negligence determines the amount of money the injured can get in compensation. If another person were entirely at fault, the injured would be able to recover full compensation for all the damages sustained.
A personal injury attorney will make your work easy. He/she will deal with the insurance companies, file all documents on time, and do whatever it takes to ensure that your claim will be a success.
Medical Malpractice
People in the medical field have an even greater mandate to ensure the safety of people who go to them for medical support and advice. These people will be, for instance, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, psychiatrists, and caregivers. Hospitals have a similar mandate, too, of ensuring that they admit and treat all patients who come to them as they should. If they breach this duty of care and a patient gets injured, the responsible party could be held accountable for the injuries sustained.
A pharmacist who writes the wrong prescription, for instance, is likely to injure the patient. Injuries in such a case could come in the form of a medical reaction or an aggravated illness. A doctor who misdiagnosed a patient can also face severe disciplinary actions if they are found guilty of medical malpractice.
The role of your Orange Park personal injury attorney here will be to establish the relationship between the medical practitioner's negligence and sustained injuries. If he/she can prove this in court, the injured may be able to recover all the damages they sustained.
Types of Compensable Injuries in a Florida Personal Injury Case
As mentioned above, the essential thing in a Florida personal injury lawsuit is to prove that another person was at fault in causing your injuries. If there is such proof, the injured will be able to recover compensation for all their losses. The losses that can be compensated in a Florida personal injury lawsuit include:
- The injured person’s current and estimated future medical expenses
- Their lost wages for the time they could not go to work. This also consists of the time they have to be away from work attending therapy or for medical appointments
- Property damage that could have resulted from the accident
- Any permanent disability or disfigurement suffered as a result of the injury
- The cost of care or any paid help to take care of the house when the injured person could not
- Emotional distress the plaintiff could have suffered after the injury. It will include depression or anxiety
- Any interference the damage caused to your relationships also referred to as loss of consortium
- All the other costs that could have resulted directly from the injury
Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
If you have suffered a personal injury in Florida, and you believe that another person was at fault, you can seek compensation for any loss you experienced. Personal injury laws are a little complicated, but not with the help of a competent personal injury attorney. At Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney, we offer support and help to ensure that our clients are recovering the compensation they deserve. Call us at 904-800-7557 if you are in Orange Park, Florida and let us make the process easier for you.
