In Florida, a person who has been injured because of the negligent acts of another can seek compensation for their damages. In order to prove negligence on behalf of another, the injured party must prove several elements by a preponderance of the evidence (preponderance of the evidence is proving at least 51%):
There was a duty of care owed to you
The duty of care was breached
The breach of care caused your injury
The injured party has incurred damages
If you are injured because of the negligence acts of another it is recommended that you do the following:
-First and foremost, make sure that you, and your loved ones, are in a safe place.
-Call the police or management to make them aware of the accident/incident
-Write down absolutely everything that you remember about the incident or accident
-Take down the name, and contact information, of all those who were present who were witnesses to the accident/incident. Do not rely on video cameras that you believe are filming, or recording in the surrounding area, those videos may or may not be available to show what happened, and you would only be able to obtain those videos by filing suit, and going through the litigious process known as discovery.
-Collect as much evidence as you can. Take pictures of everything that you feel was a factor in the accident/incident. In a car accident, make sure that you take photos of all vehicles involved, at the four points of the vehicle, front and rear. In a premises liability case, where you have been injured in a supermarket or restaurant, make sure that the reason for the accident is not mopped or thrown away, at the minimum takes notes of what you saw and what happened.
Remember that for personal injury claims, Florida law provides a statute of limitations for making a claim, meaning that there is a deadline by which you must file a personal injury claim in order for the claim to be considered viable. The general statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits in Florida is four years. This time limit usually starts running from the date of the accident. In some situations, the time period is shorter. For example, if you are filing a claim against a governmental agency, like the United States Postal System (USPS), the statute of limitations is three years.
Call your car insurance carrier
Call our office and let us know that you have been injured in an accident/incident
Types of Personal Injury Claims in Florida:
Automobile Accidents: Florida is a no fault car accident state. Your policy’s Personal Injury Protection Coverage (PIP) provides personal injury protection to you as the driver, relatives residing in your home, others you permit to drive your car, and passengers in the car at the time of an accident. Under Florida’s no-fault insurance system, if you’re in a car accident and sustain injuries, you’re required to turn to your own insurance company for compensation.
Florida auto insurance policies must provide at least the following amounts of PIP:
$10,000 in medical and disability benefits, and
$5,000 in death benefits
PIP will cover your medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost wages, but will not compensate you for pain and suffering.
Products Liability:
Manufacturers have a legal responsibility to make and market products that are safe and effective when used as intended. If you have been injured as a result of a faulty product the manufacture has a legal responsibility to you, and should be held liable for product liability injuries that result in medical bills, lost income, physical and emotional stress, rehabilitation and more. Under Florida law, when a product falls into any of these categories and it injures a product user while being used as intended, the product’s manufacturer will be held “strictly liable” for the injuries.
There are three basic types of product defects that fall under the law of product liability:
-Design defects – The design of a product makes the product unsafe for its intended use.
-Manufacturing defects – The design of the product may be safe, but the product was made
in an unsafe way for its intended use.
– Warning and/or label defects – The design and manufacturing of a product may be okay, but
the manufacturer’s failure to warn about inherent dangers of the product when used as
intended makes it unsafe.
The statute of limitations for a product liability or defective product claim is four years from the date of injury. If the claim includes a wrongful death, that statute is shortened to two years.
Dog Bites:
According to Florida Law, Florida is a “strict liability” state, whereby the owner of any dog that bites any person in a public place, or on private property, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages to the person who has been bitten by the dog, regardless of whether the dog knew that the dog had vicious propensities.
The statute of limitations for a dog bite claim is four years from the date of injury.