Should You File a Personal Injury Claim? 10 Key Facts for Accident Victims in Florida

If you were injured in an accident in Florida, you may have a personal injury claim. Florida law entitles accident victims to just compensation in a wide range of circumstances. But if you have a claim, it is up to you to take legal action, and you need to be prepared to work with a Florida personal injury lawyer to fight for the compensation you deserve.

What You Need to Know After an Accident in Florida

While accident victims have clear legal rights under Florida law, asserting their legal rights is not easy. There are several steps involved, and even seemingly minor mistakes can have major consequences.

With that said, if you have a personal injury claim, asserting your legal rights can be extremely important. Not only can the financial costs of accident-related injuries add up quickly, but the financial and non-financial consequences of a serious accident can continue to impact your life for years (and perhaps decades) to come.

So, should you hire a Florida personal injury lawyer? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Why Did the Accident Happen?

To file a personal injury claim, you need proof that someone else (or a company or government agency) is responsible for your injuries. This means that one of the first steps for assessing your legal rights is determining why the accident happened. While there are several potential grounds for filing a personal injury claim, your legal rights depend on the specific circumstances involved in your accident.

In most cases, filing a personal injury claim involves proving negligence. However, strict liability also applies in some circumstances. When you hire an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will assess all potential grounds for seeking just compensation for your accident. Careless or reckless driving, inadequate property maintenance, inadequate security, negligent hiring and supervision, and product defects are just a handful of numerous possibilities.

2. How Long Has it Been Since the Accident?

If you have a personal injury claim in Florida, you need to file your claim before the applicable statute of limitations expires. If you wait too long to take legal action, you will lose the right to seek the financial compensation you deserve.

In most cases, Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years, with the clock starting to tick on the day of the accident. However, exceptions apply, and there are several reasons to take action promptly even if you still technically have plenty of time to file.

3. What Evidence is Available?

One of the most important reasons to take action promptly is to ensure that your lawyer has the opportunity to preserve any available evidence before it disappears. From tire marks and vehicle debris to property hazards and surveillance camera footage, many types of evidence can disappear if they are not preserved in time. If your lawyer can’t collect the evidence he or she needs to prove why your accident happened, your lawyer won’t be able to fight for just compensation on your behalf.

It is important to note that you may have evidence in your possession as well—and, if you do, you will need to keep it safe until you can share it with your Florida personal injury lawyer. Cell phone photos and videos, debris, packaging, receipts, and anything else that is related to your accident could potentially be valuable evidence for proving your legal rights.

4. Were You Partially at Fault in the Accident?

Partial fault can play a major role in personal injury cases under Florida law. As a result, while you should never assume that you were partially at fault, it is important to realistically assess whether the insurance companies will be able to blame you (or at least partially blame you) for your injuries.

If you were partially at fault in your accident, how will this impact your personal injury claim? There are two possibilities:

• If You Were 50 Percent At Fault or Less – If you were 50 percent at fault or less in your accident, the amount you are entitled to recover will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. For example, if you are deemed 25 percent at fault in your accident, you will be entitled to recover 75 percent of your losses.
• If You Were 51 Percent At Fault or More – If you were 51 percent at fault or more in your accident, you are not entitled to any financial compensation under Florida law. Regardless of the costs you are facing, the law states that you are not entitled to recover anything for your losses in this scenario.

Given the substantial impact that partial fault can have on your legal rights, it is imperative that you discuss your case with an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer before you make any decisions about whether to take legal action.

5. How Serious Are Your Injuries?

If you have grounds to file a personal injury claim (and the evidence is available to prove it), the next step is to assess the severity of your injuries. This will allow you to determine whether filing a personal injury claim is worth it.

This is a personal decision, and what makes sense for you won’t necessarily be what makes sense for someone else. When you hire an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will provide custom-tailored legal advice so that you can make informed decisions about your next steps.  

6. How Much Will Your Injuries Cost Long-Term?

Understanding the severity of your injuries will allow you (and your lawyer) to determine how much your injuries will cost long-term. Common financial costs resulting from accident-related injuries include:

• Medical bills
• Physical therapy and occupational therapy bills
• Costs for prescriptions, medical supplies, and transportation
• Loss of income and benefits
• Loss of future earning capacity

If your out-of-pocket costs are substantial, this alone can warrant filing a personal injury claim. However, in many cases, accident victims will be entitled to just compensation for the non-financial costs of their injuries as well.

7. What Constitutes “Just Compensation” for Your Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering are non-financial costs for which accident victims will be entitled to financial compensation in many cases. But, this raises an important question: What constitutes “just compensation” for your pain and suffering?

The answer to this question also depends on your individual circumstances. Serious injuries can cause severe pain and suffering, and, in some cases, accident victims will continue to experience pain and suffering for the rest of their lives. In other cases, however, accident victims’ pain and suffering will subside over time. A Florida personal injury lawyer who has extensive experience representing accident victims will be able to accurately calculate just compensation for your pain and suffering—and then you can take this figure into account when deciding whether to file a claim.

8. How Else Will Your Injuries Impact Your Life?

Along with pain and suffering, serious injuries can have a variety of other non-financial costs as well. If you have a personal injury claim in Florida, you may also be entitled to just compensation for your:

• Emotional trauma and post-traumatic stress
• Permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Loss of consortium and companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of services, society, and support

These costs are also unique to you, and understanding how much you are entitled to recover will be important for making informed decisions about your legal rights. You should document the day-to-day effects of your injuries to the best of your ability, and you should talk to a Florida personal injury lawyer to find out how much you may be entitled to recover.

9. What Claim (or Claims) Can You File?

In most cases, filing a personal injury claim involves dealing with the at-fault party’s insurance company. But, there are other possibilities as well. For example, if you were injured by someone who was working, his or her employer could be liable for the financial and non-financial costs of your injuries.

Knowing what claim (or claims) you can file is important for making informed decisions as well. If full insurance coverage is available, this could significantly improve your chances of recovering just compensation.

10. Are You Prepared to Work with Your Lawyer Throughout Your Case?

Finally, when you have a personal injury claim in Florida, you need to be prepared to work with your lawyer throughout your case. Your lawyer will need your help understanding how you got injured and how your injuries have impacted (and are continuing to impact) your life. The more effort you put into your case, the better your chances will be of recovering the full financial compensation you deserve.

Discuss Your Legal Rights with an Experienced Florida Personal Injury Lawyer for Free

Do you need to know more about filing a personal injury claim in Florida? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To schedule a free consultation with an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer, call us at 800-780-8607 or tell us how we can contact you online today.