Your Legal Rights After a Personal Injury: An Overview

Getting injured in an accident can impact all aspects of your daily life. It can lead to costs you weren’t expecting, and it can prevent you from working the hours you need to pay your bills on time. It can also leave you in pain, and your pain can prevent you from spending meaningful time with your friends and loved ones. As Florida personal injury lawyers, we understand these consequences all too well.

Due to the significant and long-term consequences you may be facing, it is important to make sure you have a clear understanding of your legal rights. It is also important to make sure you do what is necessary to protect your legal rights—as you can lose them if you aren’t careful.

7 Important Legal Rights When You Have a Personal Injury Claim in Florida

All accident victims have clear legal rights under Florida law. Here are seven of the most important rights that you have after suffering serious injuries in an accident in Florida:  

1. The Right to Find Out What Happened (and Why)

If you have a personal injury claim, finding out what happened will be one of the first steps toward seeking the financial compensation you deserve. Regardless of where you got injured, you have the right to find out what happened and why.

Finding out what happened starts with conducting a thorough investigation. If you were injured in a vehicle collision, this will involve sending an investigator to the scene of the crash. If you were injured in a slip and fall, this will involve sending an investigator to the location where you fell. This investigator will gather and preserve as much evidence as possible—and then your Florida personal injury lawyers will be able to examine this evidence in order to begin piecing together the events leading up to your injury.

In many cases, figuring out what happened and why will involve gathering evidence from other sources as well. For example, phone records, maintenance records, and employment records play an important role in many types of personal injury cases. If your accident was caught on video, obtaining the footage of the accident could be a key step in the investigative process as well. Just like conducting an on-scene investigation, these additional investigative steps require experienced legal representation.

2. The Right to Find Out Who (or What Company) is Legally Responsible

As an accident victim in Florida, you also have the right to find out who (or what company) is legally responsible for your injuries. This is critical—you need to make sure you name the right party in your personal injury claim in order to seek the financial compensation you deserve.

Figuring out what happened and why should allow your Florida personal injury lawyers to determine who (or what company) you need to sue. It is also worth keeping in mind that multiple parties could share legal responsibility for your injuries. If this is the case, you may need to file multiple claims in order to recover full compensation. In any case, identifying the responsible party (or parties) is a critical step; and, once you determine which party (or parties) you need to sue, then you can focus on determining how much you are entitled to recover.

3. The Right to File an Insurance Claim (or Multiple Insurance Claims)

In the majority of cases, filing a personal injury claim involves dealing with the insurance companies. From auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance to commercial general liability (CGL) insurance, many types of insurance policies can cover accident victims’ injuries.

If you were injured in an accident that was another party’s fault, you have the right to file a claim under the at-fault party’s insurance policy. If multiple parties are responsible for your injuries, then you can file a claim with each of their insurance companies. In some cases, it may make sense to file a claim under your own insurance policy (or a family member’s insurance policy) as well—and our Florida personal injury lawyers can help you understand if this makes sense given the specific circumstances of your case.

When you have a personal injury claim, it is important to start the process promptly. It is also important to understand that filing a claim with an insurance company does not toll the statute of limitations. As a result, you will need to keep track of the deadline to file your claim in court—as you can lose your legal rights if you fail to file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires.  

4. The Right to Be Treated Fairly By the Insurance Companies

When you are dealing with the insurance companies after a serious accident in Florida, you have the right to be treated fairly. This isn’t just a matter of principle—it is a legal requirement under Florida law. If the insurance companies don’t treat you fairly during your personal injury claim, your Florida personal injury lawyers may be able to seek additional financial compensation on your behalf.

With that said, it is important to understand what it means to treat you “fairly” in this scenario. The insurance companies do not simply have to accept responsibility, and they do not have to calculate your losses for you. They can raise legitimate issues with your claim, and if there is a genuine dispute as to liability, they can refuse to provide coverage.

These are all additional reasons to put a team of experienced Florida personal injury lawyers on your side. Dealing with the insurance companies after a serious accident is never easy. Your lawyers can deal with the insurance companies for you, and they can fight for a fair settlement while you focus on your physical and emotional wellbeing.

5. The Right to Seek Just Compensation for Your Present and Future Costs

Under Florida’s personal injury laws, accident victims have the right to seek just compensation for all of the out-of-pocket costs they incur as a result of their injuries. This means that not only can—and should—you seek financial compensation for the costs you incur through the date of your claim, but you can—and should—seek financial compensation for your expected future costs as well.

If you are dealing with serious accident-related injuries, your future costs could far exceed your costs to date. This makes it critically important to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of all of the costs you are entitled to recover. Generally speaking, you only get one chance to file a personal injury claim. So, if you accept less financial compensation than you deserve, you won’t be able to try again.

As you work with your Florida personal injury lawyers to pursue your claim, your lawyers will assist with gathering the evidence needed to assess the long-term costs of your injuries. Your lawyers will consult with your doctors, and they will also consult with other medical experts as necessary. This is all part of the process, and while these steps take time, they will be well worth it if they help you recover the full compensation you need for the future.

6. The Right to Seek Just Compensation for Your Non-Financial Losses

Along with recovering the financial costs of your injuries, you have the right to seek just compensation for your non-financial losses as well. These include pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and loss of consortium and companionship, among others. Since you can’t simply “add up” these losses, it is imperative that you work with a team of experienced Florida personal injury lawyers who can determine how much you deserve to recover.

Just as your future costs could far exceed your costs to date, your non-financial losses could far exceed the financial costs of your injuries. In many cases, personal injury claimants’ non-financial losses are calculated based on a multiple of their present and future out-of-pocket expenses. Contrary to popular perception, these are not “extra” damages. Rather, they are damages you will need in order to manage the day-to-day effects of your injuries long-term.

7. The Right to Hire an Experienced Lawyer to Represent You

Finally, when you have a personal injury claim, you have the right to hire an experienced lawyer to represent you. Hiring a lawyer in this scenario should cost you nothing out-of-pocket. Our Florida personal injury lawyers represent accident victims on a contingency-fee basis. This means that our clients pay nothing up front, and they pay nothing at all unless they win.

Due to the challenges involved in filing a successful personal injury claim, experienced legal representation is extremely important. We do not recommend starting out by trying to handle your situation on your own. As we said above, a prompt and thorough investigation is essential—and, to make sure the insurance companies treat you fairly, you will need an experienced legal team on your side from the outset of your claim.

The Keys to Protecting Your Legal Rights After a Serious Accident

While contacting a lawyer is a critical step toward seeking the financial compensation you deserve, this is not the only step you need to take in order to protect your legal rights. Here are some of the keys to protecting your legal rights after a serious accident in Florida:

• Take Action Promptly – First and foremost, it is important that you take action promptly. Unnecessary delays can lead to unnecessary challenges, and the insurance companies will be looking for any excuse to reject your personal injury claim. By taking action promptly, not only can you minimize your risk of facing unnecessary challenges, but you can also help ensure that your lawyers are able to collect the evidence they need to seek just compensation on your behalf.
• Get the Medical Care You Need – Along with contacting a lawyer promptly, you should also prioritize getting the medical care you need. Obtaining a diagnosis promptly will help link your injuries to your accident—and this will be important for convincing the insurance companies that they are liable for your medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other losses.
• Keep As Much Evidence As Possible – Going forward, you will want to keep as much evidence as possible. This means keeping any photos or videos you took with your phone, keeping your medical records, and keeping anything else you have from the day of your accident.
• Start Documenting Your Costs from the Accident – You will want to start documenting the costs of your accident going forward as well. You should keep your medical bills, any records you receive from your employer, and your receipts for any prescriptions and medical supplies you purchase.
• Be Careful to Avoid Costly Mistakes – When you have a personal injury claim in Florida, even seemingly simple mistakes can be very costly. You should make sure you know the mistakes you need to avoid, and you should be careful to avoid these mistakes going forward.
• Rely on Your Florida Personal Injury Lawyer’s Advice – One of the simplest ways to avoid costly mistakes is to rely on your Florida personal injury lawyer’s advice. Your lawyer will have your best interests in mind, and your lawyer will be focused on helping you recover the full compensation you deserve as quickly as possible.
• Make Decisions with Your Long-Term Needs in Mind – While it can be tempting to focus on the present—especially when you are in pain and facing expensive medical bills—it is important to make decisions with a long-term perspective. By focusing on what you will need to live comfortably in the future, you can ensure that you are making the right decisions both for you and your family.

Contact the Florida Personal Injury Lawyers at Searcy Denney for a Free Consultation

At Searcy Denney, our Florida personal injury lawyers are passionate about helping accident victims assert their legal rights, and we have recovered billions of dollars in financial compensation for our clients. If you would like to speak with one of our lawyers about taking legal action, we strongly encourage you to get in touch. Call us at 800-780-8607 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.