Personal accidents and injuries happen due to various reasons. You could be driving to work, it takes only a driver attempting to beat the changing lights to rear-end you. Or you might suffer a spinal cord injury due to a slip and fall. Irrespective of how you sustained injuries, the negligent party should compensate you for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and the incapacity to enjoy life as before. The legal team at Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney understands civil laws and can handle various kinds of personal injury cases.

Practice Areas

At Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney , we have attorneys who offer a tremendous depth and breadth of experience. We are equipped to assist you seek the compensation and justice you deserve including but not limited to:

  1. Florida Boating Accidents

According to the United States Coast Guard, Florida had approximately 918,225 registered recreational vessels in 2017. Unfortunately, the huge number of watercrafts on waterways means Florida experiences a lot of boat accidents. In 2017 alone, the state reported 723 boating accidents. If you were hurt in a boat accident, it is critical to contact Welaka personal injury attorney immediately. The attorney will not only help you understand the laws that apply to boat collisions but also discuss your available case options. 

Maritime Laws

Since boating is a huge component of Florida's tourist and recreational industry, more laws mean more consumer frustration.

There is no boating requirement as far as age is concerned. Operators above thirty years of age aren't required to possess a boating license or even attend boating safety classes. That means most boaters aren't skilled in boat safety or licensed. This could make a boat accident more serious.

It is also worth noting that any crash that takes place on a public waterway falls under federal admiralty jurisdiction. The case could and sometimes should be filed in a federal court that has different judicial procedures. Different laws apply to your injuries, and your lawyer should be aware of what standards to use when filing for compensation.

What are the Most Common Boat Collisions?

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the leading types of boating collisions include the following:

  • Collision with another vessel
  • Flooding
  • Capsizing
  • Wake damage
  • Striking underwater objects
  • Falls overboard
  • Collision with fixed substances
  • Sinking
  • Explosions or fuel fires
  • Grounding

Additionally, the state has several waterways. Although the speed or rules for speeding on the waterways vary, most boating accidents happen on the below:

  • Rivers and creeks
  • Gulf and ocean
  • Canal
  • Lakes
  • Harbors and ports
  • Swamps and marshes
  • Inlets
  • Bays

Liability in Boating Accident

Liability in a boat accident depends on the facts surrounding the accident.

Any person operating the vessel and doing so with negligence can be held responsible for the accident. If a person is operating the boat and isn't complying with safety precautions, they are operating the vessel differently from a reasonable individual under similar circumstances.

Also, if another person operating another vessel caused your accident, they could be held accountable.

A boater can be the defendant without making contact with another vessel. It occurs when a boat operator causes another boat to become damaged or capsize. Should this take place, it's essential to take note of which boat created the wake. Remember to collect the operator's details.

Injuries Sustained in a Boat Accident

As a result of different boating accidents, including drowning, slip and fall, fuel and fire accidents, fatality due to drowning is the leading form of injury. You can also sustain:

  • Burns
  • Broken bones
  • Lung infections caused by water inhalation
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Traumatic brain injury

  1. Dog Bites

A dog bite can result in several injuries like laceration, soft tissue injury, TBI, broken bones, bite marks, and permanent scarring. Luckily, the law is victim-centered. If you have sustained a dog bite injury, you are entitled to compensation for corrective surgeries, medical bills, mental anguish, and emotional distress.

The law offers numerous bases of recovery for victims, including:

Statutory Strict Liability

Under Section 767.04 of the Florida Dog Bite Statute, a dog owner may be accountable when the dog bites another person and causes them injuries.

Statutory strict liability offers a foundation of recovery by a victim, notwithstanding the owner's fault. In layman's language, the owner is still accountable for injury even if their dog has never bitten any person or shown aggressive or vicious propensities like gritting teeth or growling at a passerby in the past.

Negligence on your part could lower the dog owner's responsibility by the percentage of your fault. 

It is worth noting that strict liability doesn't apply to the following:

  • Property damage caused by a fierce dog
  • Military or police dogs executing their official duties
  • Trespassers

Negligence

The dog owner is also accountable to you if they did not do something which a rational person in similar circumstances could have done hence causing the bite and your injury.

Negligence Per Se

The owner is considered to have behaved with negligence if they violate a statute that is on books. So, in case a dog owner allows their dog to roam unsupervised or walks the dog without a leash, that individual is presumed negligent should the dog bite a person or cause an injury.

Intentional Torts

Usually, in a dog bite case, an intentional tort arises when a dog owner incites or provokes their dog to bite you. When that takes place, you could receive compensation for damages and injuries suffered.

Statute of Limitations

A dog bite lawsuit should be brought to the court within four (4) years from the date you sustained the injury.

The statute of limitations is a stringent deadline. If your claim isn't brought within the four-year timeframe, you are barred from bringing a claim or seeking compensation for the accident.

Any knowledgeable Welaka personal injury attorney knows about the statute of limitations and can make sure your constitutional rights are protected. Because time is of the essence, you shouldn't delay in consulting an attorney in your case.

  1. Spinal Cord Injury

A spinal cord is a vital and delicate part of your body. In most cases, serious injuries result in paralysis, permanent impairment, or death.

Fortunately, you have a right to seek compensation for your financial losses and injuries from the negligent party. Any experienced Welaka personal injury attorney will tell you that many parties can be liable for your injuries depending on the kind of the accident:

Household Accident

When a household accident like slip and fall, accidental poisoning, or burns cause your spinal cord injuries, the homeowner should compensate you. It is because of premises liability. A homeowner owes a duty of care to their guests on the property. The duty requires the homeowner to caution guests of all known hazards like loose ceiling parts, loose tiles, slick floors, and vicious pets.

Many homeowner insurance plans offer coverage for these claims. Therefore, you can file your claim with the homeowner's insurance provider instead of bringing a suit against the homeowner.

Car Accident

A motorist whose negligence led to the accident should compensate you for the injury sustained. That is why insurance firms make an early determination of who caused the accident. Then the responsible driver's insurer is required to compensate you. If more than one driver is at fault, the liability is apportioned between all negligent motorists. It can result in extensive negotiations with several insurance providers.

Medical Malpractice

Another common cause of spinal cord injury is medical malpractice. Because of the spinal cord injury's nature, this often happens during procedures like surgeries. Medical practitioners owe patients a standard of care (act as a reasonable specialist of similar experience and training). A physician who does not meet the medical standard of care could face negligence accusations from the victim.

Slip and Fall Accident

Premise liability also applies when your injury happens because of a slip and fall accident in a business or public place. Like a homeowner, the public place's owner or manager has a duty to visitors who get into their premises. However, a store owner has a higher duty of care to inspect and make the premise safe for the public.

How to Acquire Damages from the At-Fault Person

The complicated and lengthy process of obtaining compensation begins with determining the liable party for the injury. It is more complex when multiple parties are involved. Often, the insurance providers will deny responsibility when they have another person to blame.

The next step involves proving your claim's value. It includes lost income, reduced future earning capacity, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and estimated future medical costs. An insurance adjuster is trained in reducing a claim's value.

A skilled Welaka personal injury attorney can assist you through the process. The attorney will identify the responsible parties. Moreover, the legal expert will strengthen your personal injury claim using the appropriate documentation presented correctly and timely to ensure compensation.

If the insurance adjuster refuses to offer a satisfactory settlement offer, your attorney will file a suit on your behalf as well as litigate your claim. 

  1. Rear-End Accidents

According to a report released by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately one-third of the traffic collisions are rear-ended accidents. In short, one in every three car accidents is caused by a person running into another car's back.

A rear-end accident is an accident that happens when a motorist crashes into a motor vehicle, which is ahead of them. More often than not, weather conditions, tailgating, and distracted driving cause rear-end accidents.

Common injuries sustained in rear-end accidents include:

  • Whiplash- Whiplash is the stiffness and pain in the shoulder and neck area. It happens when a person is violently and suddenly thrown forward by the collision force.
  • Back injuries- When your motor vehicle is hit from behind, the impact force could damage your spine.
  • Head and face injuries- Most vehicles today are equipped with airbags. An airbag is tailored to protect your face and head in case of an accident. Since most fender benders take place at low speeds, an airbag will not deploy. If the airbag fails to deploy, the face could slam into the dash or steering wheel. The impact of the face could fracture your jawbone, cheek or nose, damage the eye socket, or cause traumatic brain injury.

What are the Different Damages Awarded in Rear-End Car Accidents?

If you've been hurt in a car accident, you could receive the following damages:

  • Special damages- Also known as economic damages, these damages are damages that are easy to prove. They include property damage, lost income, and medical bills.
  • General damages- These are non-economic damages such as mental anguish and pain and suffering.

Compensation and Settlement in Rear-End Personal Injury Accidents

No amount of property repair or apologies can compensate for severe injuries sustained or lost life. It cannot also compensate for medical debt that accumulates following the accident. Even though you might never go back to where you were before the accident, there are ways out there that can place you in a better position.

A perfect example is medical recovery through personal injury protection. All injuries that surpass ten thousand dollars meet the severe injuries threshold to take legal action against the defendant.

The Driver In Front of You Can Also be Responsible

It is almost always assumed that a back motorist in a rear-end car accident is at-fault. However, recent personal injury claims presented to Florida Supreme Court have opened the likelihood for a rear motorist to seek compensation against a driver they collided with ahead of them. The fault can be partial or complete.

In this instance, the comparative negligence rule applies. The jury determines the percentage of accountability each party is liable for. Then damages are awarded based on the portion of the liability. That means, if a motorist is ninety percent responsible, they should pay ninety percent of the total damages.

Find a Qualified Welaka Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

After a collision, you have the burden to establish that the at-fault person did not do the duty they owed you or was negligent. You should also prove that negligence was the cause of your injuries. Attorneys at Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney can assist you in building your case, interview witnesses, analyze information, and handle the insurance providers. Contact us at 904-800-7557 to learn how we can put our experience to work for your claim. The case evaluation is free.