Personal Injury FAQ's
What compensation is due to me if I am injured by the
fault of someone else?
Personal injury victims are entitled to financial compensation
for elements of damages including, but not limited to the following:
- Lost wages in the past, including overtime and benefits
- Lost wages in the future, loss of the ability to earn money in
the future
- Medical expenses in the past
- Medical expenses in the future
- Physical disability
- Permanent and significant scarring
- Disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Aggravation
- Inconvenience
- Loss of the enjoyment of life
- Embarrassment
- Mental disability
- Emotional trauma
- Property damage
- The expense of having somebody else perform chores such as
home maintenance and cleaning and yard maintenance.
- The expense of having somebody else perform tasks at your
business, if you are self employed.
How do I know if I may make a personal injury
claim?
For our firm to represent you in a personal injury case, you must
have been seriously injured through the fault of someone else. The
injuries may be physical and/or mental or emotional.
What if the accident is partly my fault? Can I still have
a claim?
In Florida, even if an accident was partially your fault, you
still may have a claim based on the concept of comparative
negligence. The term "comparative negligence" refers to negligence
by an injured person that may have contributed to causing that
persons own injuries. Under comparative negligence concepts, the
fault of all parties is compared and the amount of the recovery for
damages sustained by the injured victim is reduced by the percentage
of his or her own fault. In this way, each person is held
accountable for the amount of damages that they caused.
In Florida, comparative negligence concepts may apply to cases
other than negligence cases. For instance, even where there is
"strict liability" on the part of the person or company that caused
the injuries, comparative negligence may be a consideration.
Generally speaking, where someone intentionally hurts another,
comparative negligence in not an issue.
How do I know if I need a lawyer?
If you have been seriously injured or are unsure as to whether
your injuries will permanently affect you, then you should consult
and experienced personal injury before you give any statements or
sign any papers.
Insurance companies have conducted studies showing that they
generally pay injured people less money if the injured people do not
have lawyers. This is why insurance companies often encourage
injured people not to hire lawyers. From the insurance companies
perspective, it makes good business sense to discourage injured
people from hiring competent help.
But from the standpoint of the injured person, it is important to
hire a lawyer as soon as possible. Our firm offers a free
consultation, with no obligation to higher us. If you have questions
about an injury claim, you should contact a law firm as soon as
possible after you are injured so as not to do anything (such as
giving statements or signing papers) that might limit your ability
to make a claim.
If I have a personal injury claim, do I have to go the
Court?
While most injury claims are settled out of Court during
discussions between lawyers and the insurance companies, some cases
do go to trial. The decision of whether to submit your case to a
jury, as opposed to accepting a settlement offer, is your decision.
The lawyer acts as an advisor, but the final decision is made by the
client.
How long do I have to make a claim for personal
injuries?
In Florida, as in other states, statutes of limitations limit the
time within which a party can take legal action. If the appropriate
action is not taken before the statute of limitations elapses, the
claims will be barred.
How long will it take to resolve my claim?
The time it takes to resolve a claim depends on many factors.
Generally, more complicated cases take longer to settle than simpler
ones. Likewise, cases with very serious injuries take longer than
those with less serious injuries. Claims can be resolved within a
couple of years of the incident.
What if I have been injured in an automobile
accident?
Under Florida law, if a person is injured in a collision, or if
there is significant property damage, the police must be called to
investigate the accident. Even if the police do not come, it is
essential that you obtain the name, address, insurance company and
policy number of each person involved in the accident. You should
also get the name and address of the owners of the vehicles in the
accident and the tag numbers of all the vehicles in the accident.
If there are independent witnesses to the accident, you should
get their names, addresses and telephone numbers as well.
While you must report a collision to your auto insurance carrier
in order to preserve your right to make a claim under your policy,
generally speaking there is no obligation to speak with the
insurance carrier of the other driver. Often it is not in the best
interest of an injured person to speak with the opposing insurance
carrier without the advice of the lawyer.
What should I do if I have received injuries by slipping
and falling down?
Business owners and home owners have a duty to those they
expressly or implicitly invite onto their premises, to take
reasonable care to prevent the existence of dangerous condition on
their property. This duty includes not only refraining from creating
dangerous conditions but also inspecting their property at
reasonable intervals to make sure dangerous conditions have not
arisen by the acts of others. Further, property owners have an
obligation to invitees to warn them of hidden dangerous conditions
that the property owners know of or would know of if they exercised
reasonable care.
The field of the law is referred to as "Premises Liability."
Typical examples of Premises Liability include instances where a
grocery store owner fails to inspect his floor for slippery debris
at reasonable intervals, where a business owner creates a dangerous
condition such as placing an electrical cord across a doorway or
where a business owner fails to provide reasonable security, taking
into consideration the amount of crime in the neighborhood where the
store is located.
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Medical Malpractice
FAQ's
What is Malpractice?
Malpractice, generally speaking, is a failure to use a reasonable
level of skill and diligence in treating a patient. This standard of
care is based on the prevailing level of skill and diligence of
medical professionals in the same or similar fields.
Before a patient may sue a doctor, the patient must obtain a
sworn affidavit from a medical professional which testifies that the
accused doctor breached the standard of care. Without this document
and without meeting other procedural requirements, there can be no
medical malpractice law suit in Florida.
Does a bad surgical result mean malpractice
occurred?
The lack of a successful result does not necessarily mean that
malpractice occurred. Many times doctors exercise the highest
possible level of care, using up to date knowledge and outstanding
skill, but the optimal result does not occur. Under these
circumstances, malpractice does not occur. On the other hand, if a
treatment is not successful because a doctor provide care below
prevailing standards in his field, there very well may be
malpractice.
What is informed consent?
Before treating you, doctors must obtain consent to the
treatment. The consent is valid only if the doctors have given you
enough information to allow you to make a reasoned decision under
all of the circumstances of your condition. This generally to
requires a doctor to advise you of the risks of treatment, the
potential complications of treatment, alternatives to the proposed
treatment, etc.
What are some typical examples of
malpractice?
While there are a multitude of ways a physician can commit
malpractice, there are a number of typical types of malpractice. For
instance, sometimes doctors will fail to diagnose a curable
condition where they should have diagnosed it. This sometimes is
seen in the context of cancer. Also, sometimes doctors damage the
body in surgery in ways that are preventable by exercising
reasonable skill. Additionally, sometimes doctors perform surgery on
the wrong body part or fail to obtain proper consent for a given
procedure. These examples are illustrative but they do not represent
every type of malpractice possible.
Statutes of Limitations
Under Florida law, there are time limits on when a person can
file a malpractice lawsuit. Deadlines are imposed both by statutes
and by case law interpreting statutes. Both a "statute of
limitations" and a "statute of repose" may apply, in calculation of
deadlines can be very complicated. If you believe that you have been
a victim of malpractice you should consult a lawyer immediately so
as to avoid having your claim barred by legal deadlines.
Vicarious Liability
A hospital may be responsible for physicians actions, depending
on the relationship between the physician and the hospital.
Generally speaking the hospital is responsible for its employees,
whether they be physicians, nurses or other staff members. This
liability may be extended to physicians practicing in the hospital
not actually employed by the hospital.
Hospital liability for the actions of its employees or agents is
called "vicarious liability." IF you believe a hospital may be
vicariously liable for harming you, you should speak with a
lawyer.
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Nursing Home Neglect
FAQ's
When can a claim be brought against a nursing
home?
The most obvious claims against nursing homes involve providing
poor care to residents. For instance, sometimes nursing homes allow
residents to get bed sores when they should not, and sometimes
nursing homes fail to feed and provide baths for residents. Other
claims against nursing homes involve outright abuse to the elderly.
This can include verbal abuse or physical abuse.
In addition, federal and Florida statutes and rules create duties
of the part of nursing homes to provide adequate staffing,
nutrition, medical care and otherwise to meet the reasonable needs
of the residents.
Frequently, nursing homes neglect law suits rely heavily on the
documentation provided by the nursing homes. Nursing home patient
records, "charts," are voluminous and contain a great deal of
information about the care given to the patient. The law requires
that copies of these charts be provided within a specified period of
time after a patient or personal representative requests them. If
abuse is suspected, it is wise to obtain the charts quickly, as
doing so reduces the opportunity for a guilty party to alter the
contents of a chart.
It should be remembered that there is no substitute for visiting
relatives in a nursing home. Doing so not only brightens the day of
the nursing home resident but it also puts the nursing home on
notice that relatives are observing the care given to the resident.
Moreover, it shows the nursing home workers that the resident is
loved by his/ her family and it has the effect of encouraging the
workers to do a better job caring for the resident.
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