There was a time in history where if you were injured through someone’s negligence,there wasn’t much recourse. You could go to their family and appeal to their good sided nature for compensation. You could get the village elders involved and hope for a fair arrangement. But that part of history is behind us.
For hundreds of years there have been common laws which protect citizens by giving them a fair trial and a chance to legally seek compensation. It began in England in the 1700’s to be exact. Common law allowed you to file a legal claim, state your case and receive a judgment based on the evidence provided.
The people who founded modern day America brought those practices with them and the USA is now one of the better countries to live in if you are injured and are seeking a settlement or judgment.
Angela, an injury lawyer in Melbourne, Florida said the following: “the laws from England are the original model and bedrock of our current injury law framework. Of course, laws have developed a great deal in the meantime. There are far more intricacies involved in an injury lawsuit in the United States than there once were.”.
How to Select an Injury Lawyer
Sometimes the best way to find out about a topic and how the process works is to talk to someone who has been through it. Do you have a close friend or relative that has had an injury case? How did they fare? Were they happy with their attorney? Do they wish they would have done something different? These are all questions you should ask them before choosing an injury attorney that will represent you.
Of course, there are other ways to find a qualified attorney. You can do a simple Google search and read the reviews. This is always a good thing. Google has done a pretty good job of making sure reviews are legitimate and fair.
There are also law apps and websites who specialize in rating and reviewing lawyers from all fields. Findlaw is probably the most popular at the moment. You can use their website to navigate through the litany of available attorneys and zero in on one you think will be the perfect match.
Success Rates of Modern Day Injury Lawyers
In Florida, the majority of personal injury claims are settled before they reach the trial stage. Reputation-conscious insurance companies are involved in many of these cases. Many insurers attempt to pay plaintiffs less than what is fair and sufficient to cover their losses, yet these businesses don’t want bad publicity. They will therefore probably make a settlement payment before the matter goes to trial.
Insurance Companies Aim to Prevent Trials for Injury Claims
Insurance firms would rather stay out of the news. They wish to avert a personal injury trial that would take a long time because of this. Insurance companies don’t want prospective clients to find out that they were hard to work with when it came to paying an injured party a fair payment.
Why Do Legal Matters End in Settlement?
All parties usually favor a settlement in personal injury cases since it expedites the resolution process. Everyone concerned in the case is satisfied because it is also more economical.
Why Are Cases Tried Out?
When personal injury cases wind up in court, it’s usually because the plaintiff’s insurance provider feels the case is not strong enough, which results in a settlement offer that is too low. In certain situations, the insurance company might not even make a settlement offer. The plaintiff and their counsel determine that going to trial is the best option because both of these scenarios are intolerable. A personal injury case may also proceed to trial if the plaintiff feels the defendant should be held liable for their extremely heinous activities that caused the accident that resulted in the harm.
What Elements Affect Whether a Case Ends in Settlement or Proceeds to Trial?
Whether a personal injury case settles or proceeds to trial depends on a number of things. These comprise the plaintiff’s income and earning capacity, the extent of their damages, the kind and degree of their injuries, the cost of their medical bills, whether the plaintiff needs long-term care or rehabilitation, and the defendant’s actions at the time of the incident that caused the injury.
What Are Florida’s Personal Injury Claims Statistics?
With about 250,000 injuries annually, car accidents account for the majority of personal injury claims in Florida. The most frequent injuries that victims of these occurrences experience are soft tissue injuries, fractured bones, whiplash, wounds, and lacerations.
In Florida, bicycle accidents account for about 5,800 occurrences of bodily injury per year. Typical injuries include those to the head or brain, the knee, the neck, the back, and the spinal cord.
In Florida, slip-and-fall incidents occur often. Seniors submit the majority of personal injury claims related to injuries sustained in these kinds of accidents. Tragically, a lot of adults 65 years of age and older get fatal injuries as a result of slipping and falling. Frequent injuries include sprains and strains, torn or stretched ligaments, traumatic brain damage, spinal cord injuries, and bone fractures.
In Florida, allegations of medical malpractice are similarly frequent and yield annual compensation of about $200. An estimated 44,000 to 98,000 deaths are attributed to medical errors each year. Birth injuries, surgical errors, prescription medication errors, treatment errors (particularly, the incorrect treatment), and misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis are the most frequent injuries that occur in medical negligence cases.
Which Injuries Are Covered by Which Types of Florida Lawsuits?
Certain types of injuries qualify a person to pursue a personal injury claim in Florida. These consist of injuries sustained in auto accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, workplace accidents, medical malpractice injuries, product liability injuries, battery and assault injuries, and wrongful death.
Personal Injury Claims for Automobile Accidents
The most frequent circumstances that result in personal injury claims are automobile accidents. Injuries ranging from minor to severe might be sustained by victims. In less catastrophic incidents, such fender benders, car accidents can result in lesser kinds of whiplash or scrapes, scratches, and lacerations. Victims of more serious incidents may sustain internal injuries, spinal cord damage, or traumatic brain injuries. These kinds of personal injuries are all urgent medical conditions that may affect the victim permanently or over an extended period of time.
Cases of Slip-and-fall Personal Injury
Personal injury claims resulting from slips and falls on private or business property are known as slip-and-fall claims. It is the responsibility of property owners to maintain their assets in a fairly safe manner in order to avert mishaps and injuries. An injured victim with a legitimate right to be on the property may pursue an injury claim against them if they neglect to do it.
Cases of Medical Malpractice Injuries
Personal injury cases fall into a special category: claims of medical negligence. Even while injuries can result from any medical error, not all of them are regarded as malpractice. Nonetheless, a physician or other medical professional may be held accountable if they act carelessly or negligently, make a mistake, or neglect to take action that could protect a patient, causing that patient to suffer injury.
Workplace Injury and Accident Claims
Employees sustain injuries and accidents at work every year. Workers may nevertheless sustain personal injuries and accidents even when companies are legally required to provide a safe workplace. People who refuse to provide workers’ compensation or who reject a claim made by an employee could face consequences. The kind and degree of injuries sustained at work can vary. Depending on the situation, an employee might not be able to work at their current job and could need to accept a different role while they heal. In the worst situation, a worker may suffer lasting injuries from a workplace accident that prevent them from being able to perform any type of work at all.
Injury Claims for Product Liability
A person may hold one or more parties accountable if they get injuries after using a product that has a flaw in its construction or design, or if someone neglects to advise them of the risks involved in using it. Products that pose a risk can result in major personal injury as well as other damages. Claims pertaining to human injuries are referred to as product liability proceedings.
Claims for Wrongful Death
Though it falls within the personal injury category, wrongful death claims are distinct from other kinds of claims. Nonetheless, the victim’s surviving family is entitled to compensation for losses sustained because the victim passed away from their injuries. The usual rule is that the personal representative of the deceased person may bring a wrongful death case on behalf of the family if the deceased person would have had a good reason to submit a personal injury claim if they had survived.
Knowing How Florida Personal Injury Cases Determine Fault
In a Florida personal injury case, fault can be determined based on a few specific facts. These components are cause, damages, duty of care, and breach of that obligation.
What is meant by the duty of care?
In a personal injury case, duty of care refers to the obligation the defendant owed to the plaintiff. Whatever the circumstances that led to the victim’s injuries, it was the defendant’s responsibility to make sure they acted responsibly to prevent an accident or other potentially hazardous circumstance.
What Is Intentional Breach of Duty?
A breach of duty occurs when the defendant fails to uphold a duty that was owed to the plaintiff. Stated otherwise, the defendant did not act in a way that would have prevented the plaintiff’s injuries.
What Does Causation Mean?
When the plaintiff’s injuries are directly caused by the defendant’s actions—or lack thereof—this is referred to as causation. For instance, speeding would be considered causation if the defendant was going 20 mph over the speed limit and caused a collision involving the plaintiff that resulted in injuries.
Damages: What Are They?
Any harm that results in a condition of personal injury is referred to as damages. This covers the plaintiff’s physical injuries, any property losses, and any psychological or emotional distress brought on by the mishap. Damages may also include lost income, diminished quality of life, consortium loss, loneliness, emotional distress, or pain and suffering, depending on the circumstances.