How Personal Injury Cases Work in Florida

If you’ve been injured in the state of Florida as a result of someone else’s carelessness, it is imperative that you look into Florida’s personal injury law.  A personal injury lawyer can help you to determine whether you have a case, and because most personal injury lawyers operate on contingency – meaning that they receive a percentage of any proceeds you are awarded rather than a retainer fee – they are usually financially motivated to pursue strong cases and can give you a good idea of whether you will be successful in court. Personal injury law can be straightforward, provided that you can prove negligence and illustrate the damages that occurred as a result of negligence.

Gather Information

The most important thing that you can do following an accident is to document it. You should write down your recollections of what happened, get names and contact information for any witnesses to the event, and report the accident to the authorities as soon as possible. You should also take photos of your injury and hold onto any medical records that pertain to care for your injury.

File a Personal Injury Case

There are three conditions that must be met in order for you to have a solid personal injury case:

• You must be able to prove that someone had a duty not to injure you and failed to carry out that duty.
• You must be able to prove that their failure directly resulted in your injury.
• You must be able to prove your injury.

It’s important to note that these conditions often do not apply when it comes to car accidents in the state of Florida because Florida is a “no-fault” state. Unless a car accident leads to serious and/or permanent damage beyond that which is covered by a PIP policy, you cannot sue for personal injury as a result of an automobile accident. You should also be aware that a statute of limitations applies to personal injury cases. In order to pursue a personal injury case, you must file your claim within four years of the date of the injury in question.

Proceeds from a Personal Injury Case

The amount of compensation you receive for your injuries will depend on whether you share partial responsibility for your injuries and if there were multiple responsible parties. There are varying degrees of financial compensation that a responsible party may be asked to contribute for your damages. For example, if it is determined that a party is less than 10% responsible for your injuries, they will not be asked to contribute to your compensation whereas a party can be held responsible for up to $2 million in damages if they are determined to be more than 50% at fault. However, if you are partially to blame for your injuries, then the award granted at trial will be reduced.