Gainesville Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury lawyer can help you navigate all parts of the claim process. Your attorney can help you comply with filing deadlines and draft your demand letter, claim and lawsuit in the proper form and with the proper information.

A lawyer can also provide you with access to better resources than you would have on your own. Your lawyer will have a team of investigators, paralegals, assistants, and expert witnesses, all working to strengthen your case. You will need this if you hope to match the economic strength of the insurer.

Your attorney will also help you calculate the value of your damages. You can only get fair monetary award after an injury if you know the value of your case. Your legal adviser can help you figure it out.

You’ll be able to rest and recover while they handle your legal matter. You need to heal from your injuries. You can’t do that if you are laser-focused on your personal injury allegation. Your attorney can take on the burdens of your case while you heal.

After an accident in Florida, you will typically be entitled to economic and non-economic damages from the at-fault party.

Economic damages will cover your monetary losses related to the incident, including:

• Medical payments (past and future)
• Loss of income
• Diminished earning potential
• Physical therapy
• Rehabilitation
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Property damage

Non-economic damages will cover your personal, non-financial losses, such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Anxiety
• Emotional distress
• PTSD
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Reduced quality of life
• Loss of consortium

Rare cases might qualify for punitive damages, which punish a defendant for misconduct rather than compensate an injury victim for losses.

Florida recently passed a bill that changed its statute of limitations deadline for personal injury cases. If your accident took place on 3/23/2023 or earlier, you will have four years to file your claim in most cases. Otherwise, you will have two years by default instead. However, there are exceptions to the statute of limitations and instances where you may have additional or less time to submit your claim.

You should always speak with a personal injury lawyer to know out how long you have to submit your claim.

The value of your case will be determined by:

• The strength of your evidence
• Available insurance coverages
• The extent of your medical costs
• Your loss of income and diminished earning capacity, if any
• Whether you suffered after the wreck
• Whether you contributed to your injury

Your attorney needs to know the circumstances of your accident and the extent of your damages before they can defne your case’s value.

The quickest way to determine how much it is worth is to schedule an evaluation with an experienced lawyer.

There are several steps you should take after an accident to protect your claim and your health.

You should always:

• Report the accident. You should call 911 as soon as possible. Police officers will arrive at the scene and create an accident report noting their observations. The dispatcher can also send emergency medical services should you need them.
• Exchange information. You should exchange contact and insurance information with the guilty party and with any witnesses.
• Seek Medical Treatment. You should look for immediate medical attention after the incident, even if you believe you are uninjured. You may have hidden injuries that have not presented symptoms yet. Prompt medical attention will help you receive treatment and diagnosis of all your injuries — and prevent insurers from claiming you failed to mitigate your damages.

The last thing you should do is talk to a personal injury lawyer to know your rights for recovering indemnification for your injuries.

Negligence refers to an unreasonable act or omission that injures another person. A person is negligent when they fail to exercise reasonable care.

It requires proof of four elements:

• Duty – You must prove the defendant owed you a duty of care.
• Breach – You must show the defendant breached their duty.
• Causation – You must prove the defendant caused your injury.
• Damages – You must show you had damages.

Contact us for help establishing your case.

The short answer is that there’s no definitive amount of time it may take to settle your personal injury case. The timeline of a personal injury claim depends on a wide variety of factors. Everything from the willingness of your insurance company to negotiate to the amount of damages you’re owed can impact your case’s timeline.

It’s best to talk to your lawyer about how long you can expect your case to take to reach a settlement.

In general, the person or company that caused your injuries may be held liable for your suffering. For example, if a semi-truck t-bones your car and causes serious injuries, the trucker and the trucking company could both be on the hook for the damages you’re owed.

When it comes to car accidents specifically, Florida’s no-fault rules change who can be held liable. The state laws dictate that neither party is considered “at fault” for an accident, and so no one can be held directly responsible. However, you may still be able to get a settlement if your injuries meet certain criteria.

Florida has modified comparative negligence laws with a 51% bar to recovery. So long as you aren’t assigned 51% or more of the blame for your accident, you can still recover compensation for your injuries. However, your damages award can be reduced based on your assigned percentage.

Let’s say you make an illegal right turn at the same time someone speeds through a red light and the two of you collide. The police may decide that you’re 40 percent responsible for the accident, while the other driver bears 60 percent of the responsibility. If you’re owed $100,000 in damages, you can still collect $60,000 of that money. But if you were deemed 51% or more responsible instead of 40%, you wouldn’t be able to collect damages at all.

Every personal injury claim is different, and how long your claim takes to settle can depend on a number of factors. But in general, the claims process follows a standard order.

• File a claim – The first thing you’ll do after an accident is file a claim with your insurance company. Their adjusters will investigate your situation and decide if they want to offer you compensation and, if so, how much.
• Determine if you have a case – Once you get an offer from your insurance company, it’s a good idea to speak to a personal injury lawyer. They’ll be able to tell you if your offer is fair. If it’s not (and these offers often aren’t), your lawyer can help you determine if you have a viable case.
• Gather evidence – If you and your lawyer decide your case is worth pursuing, the next step will be to gather evidence to support your claim. This may involve pulling medical records, requesting a copy of your police report, speaking to witnesses, and more.
• Send a demand letter – Your lawyer will help you tabulate how much you’re actually owed in damages. From there, they’ll compose a demand letter to send to your insurance company. This letter will request a settlement offer in the amount of the damages you’re owed.
• Negotiate – It’s very rare for an insurance company to immediately agree to pay you everything you’re owed in your personal injury case. Instead, what will happen next is negotiations between your lawyer and the insurance company. Your lawyer will be advocating for as large a settlement as possible for you and will help you decide if what the insurance company is offering is fair.
• File a lawsuit – If you aren’t able to reach an acceptable agreement in negotiations, you may decide you need to file a lawsuit against the insurance company. This is relatively rare in personal injury cases, but sometimes, it’s the only way to get the compensation you deserve.
• Settle or get a verdict – Once your case goes to court, there are two options. Sometimes, the threat of a lawsuit is enough to make the insurance company yield, and you can still settle out of court. Other times, the case will go all the way to trial, and a jury will render a verdict on how much you’re owed in compensation.

Not all personal injury cases will include all of these steps. You and your lawyer can decide the path that’s likely to get you the best outcome in your case.

We have experience on both sides of the courtroom. We know how to strengthen your case and leverage the evidence for negotiations. We will calculate how much it is worth, so we don’t leave anything out when we request fair compensation.

If the defendant refuses to settle, we’ll take them to court and use our vast litigation experience to protect your rights.

If you share blame for your accident, the insurance company for the at-fault party can reduce or even eliminate your compensation to account for your share of blame. That is how Florida’s modified comparative fault law works. These companies are quick to use this rule —the more they blame you, the less they pay. And if you are found mostly to blame, you can’t recover compensation at all.

We can protect you from unfounded accusations of sharing blame. We will use the evidence to show the insurer is fully responsible.

You need to heal after your accident. You can’t focus on getting better if you’re focused on pursuing an injury claim. Thanks to a harsh statute of limitations, however, you’ll only have a short period to file a lawsuit and request compensation from those responsible.

We can manage every aspect of your claim, from administrative tasks and filings to negotiations and court appearances. We will be your closest ally during your injury matter and give you the time you need to rest.

Insurers have plenty of resources to challenge your claim. The best way to level the playing field is by hiring a personal injury lawyer.

We will provide you with access to attorneys, paralegals, and investigators. We can also consult with professionals in medicine, finance, and accident reconstruction to strengthen your claim. By choosing us, you can even the odds.

When you come to us after an accident, we will help you recognize your losses and determine the value of your claim.

Our goal is to help you move forward after your injury and demand maximum compensation for your accident.