Accidents happen, but most accidents only happen when someone does something dangerous or illegal to cause the accident.  These kinds of accidents can lead to personal injury claims, where victims can get compensation for everything that happened to them.

Winning a personal injury case means proving that the defendant’s actions or inactions caused the accident.  We typically need to point to a safety rule they broke, or else show some unreasonably dangerous conduct to win your case.  You should always work with a lawyer when bringing a claim, negotiating with insurance, and claiming damages for your injuries.

Call our personal injury attorneys at Graves Injury Law Firm at (305) 614-2767 for your free case review.

Damages Available in a Personal Injury Case in Fort Lauderdale

Most in jury cases involve the following three areas of damages, but there are also “punitive damages” available in some cases.

Medical Bills

The cost of treating your injuries should be paid for by the defendant(s) who caused the accident.  These costs can often be very high, and hospitalization, ongoing medical care, physical therapy, and more can be expensive treatments.

Always save the bills and receipts for all medical and mental health services related to your accident.

Lost Wages

If you cannot work because of your injury, the defendant should also pay for the wages you lose.  This means paying for the wages you miss while recovering, as well as ongoing lost earnings you face because of an ongoing disability.

Financial records, pay stubs, and economic data about your expected future earnings can be used to prove the total value of your lost wages.

Pain and Suffering

When you get injured, it hurts.  The physical pain itself can be compensated, along with the mental and emotional effects of an injury.  This can also account for other “non-economic” damages, such as emotional distress.

These damages have no receipts or statements proving their value, so we have two general options:

  • Multiplier Method – Base them on the economic damages in your case by using a multiplier set based on how severe your injuries are.
  • Per Diem Method – Find the per-day cost of your pain and suffering and claim that amount for each day you face pain and suffering.

Punitive Damages

“Punitive” or “exemplary” damages are sometimes available when the defendant’s conduct goes above and beyond mere negligence and constitutes recklessness.  This allows extra damages to punish the defendant, often by paying you at least double or triple the “compensatory damages” meant to repay you for harm.

Punitive damages are not available in every case and usually require exceptionally dangerous conduct or repeat conduct the defendant already knew they should not continue.

What Do You Need to Prove in a Personal Injury Case?

Personal injury claims are based on a simple assertion: someone else hurt you.  But proving that requires a few factors, one of which has a set of specific elements your personal injury lawyers need to prove.

Another Party Was Responsible

If you were hurt in an accident directly caused by someone else – such as a car accident – then you can sue them for the injuries you faced.

Sometimes people “hurt themselves” and think that means they cannot sue, but often that accident often happens because of dangerous circumstances someone else was responsible for.  For example

  • Slip and falls are often the property owner’s fault.
  • Product injuries are often the manufacturer’s fault.

The Other Party was “Negligent”

Most injury cases are based on a claim that the defendant was “negligent,” not that they intended to hurt you.  This requires proving four elements:

  1. They owed you a legal duty – often set by law or by what is reasonable in the given situation.
  2. They breached that legal duty.
  3. That breach caused your accident.
  4. You suffered injuries and damages you can sue for.

They Can Pay

An important factor in injury claims is that you cannot always get compensation from someone who cannot pay your damages.  Many claims involve insurance, so the insurance company pays even if the individual defendant cannot.

In other claims, we may look for supplemental coverage from your insurance or additional parties we can bring into the case.  For example, a commercial driver might be responsible for a crash, but we can also sue their employer in many cases.

What is the Process of Filing a Personal Injury Case in Fort Lauderdale?

Personal injury cases start the second you get hurt.

Get Medical Care

First and foremost, take care of yourself.  Get medical care to treat any serious injuries.  Especially with head injuries, failing to get immediate care could be deadly.

Call 911 for Car Accidents

All car accidents involving injury must be reported to the police.  You also have to exchange insurance information.

Collect Information

If you can stay at the scene or speak with witnesses while you wait for an ambulance, get information about who witnessed the accident, who was involved, where it happened, and whether any security cameras caught it.

In auto accidents, also get the make, model, color, and license plate number of all vehicles.  If anyone involved was working at the time they caused the accident, get their employer’s contact info as well.

Call a Lawyer

Do not call the insurance companies on your own.  Call our lawyers, give us your information, and allow us to handle the case for you while you focus on your recovery.

File an Insurance Claim

With your lawyer’s help, filing an insurance claim can yield full damages without needing to sue.  If the insurance company gives you a low-dollar offer, reject it; we can negotiate for better compensation.

File a Lawsuit

If the insurance company is dragging its heels or refuses to pay full damages, we can take the case to court in most cases.  This allows the risk of having to go to trial to push the defendant toward settlement.

If they refuse to settle, we can fight the case before a judge and jury at trial.  We are not afraid of taking even the biggest companies and insurance companies to court over your injuries.

What Happens if You Were Hurt on Vacation in Fort Lauderdale?

If you were hurt while on vacation or a trip to Fort Lauderdale, you likely need to handle your case in Florida.  Our local attorneys can file your case and negotiate with the defendant and their insurance company on your behalf while you return home.

Do You Need to Come Back?

If your case settles quickly, we may never need you to see the inside of the courtroom.  However, if the case does go to trial, you may need to come back to attend the trial and testify.

Can You Use a Lawyer from Back Home?

You should always use a lawyer who is licensed to practice in the place where the accident happened.  If you know a lawyer back home, they might not be allowed to handle your case in Florida, but we have all licenses and certifications needed to handle your case.

What Evidence Do You Need in an Injury Case?

The following areas of damages are often helpful in a personal injury case:

Your Testimony

You are the one who was injured, and your personal story is often the strongest piece of evidence to describe what happened and how it affected your life.

Eyewitness Testimony

If other people saw the accident, their testimony can also help.  Especially if they are neutral, unrelated parties, their testimony will be helpful.

Security Video

If the accident was caught on video, we can show it to the jury so they can see for themselves what happened and how the defendant was at fault.  It does not matter who owns the video; we can subpoena it from virtually anyone.

Expert Testimony

Sometimes we need to rely on experts who can testify about some particular scientific, medical, or technical information to the court.  They do not have to have witnessed the accident to testify and give an expert opinion.

This can include

  • Doctors
  • Psychiatrists and therapists
  • Accident reconstruction experts
  • Financial experts
  • Product experts (e.g., in product injury cases)
  • Engineers
  • And more.

Records

All kinds of records become important in injury cases:

  • Medical records
  • Vehicle repair records
  • Work records
  • Financial records
  • Receipts and statements
  • Bills
  • And more.

Save any records related to your case for your lawyer.

Communications

Anything the defendant says can be used against them.  You should also save all communications about the accident, such as letters from insurance, so we can use them in negotiations.

FAQs for Personal Injury Cases in Fort Lauderdale

Do You File an Insurance Claim or a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

In many cases, you file both an insurance claim and a lawsuit.  If the insurance claim is successful, and the insurance company offers a settlement that pays for your full damages, then we can end the case with a settlement.

However, negotiations do not always lead to full payment, in which case we may need to take the case to court in a lawsuit.

Are There Injuries You Cannot Sue For?

Florida uses a no-fault insurance system for car accidents.  If you do not meet the “serious injury threshold,” you may be limited to the $10,000 your insurance pays, plus any other benefits you can get through your insurance.  If you have serious injuries, you can sue the defendant.

You also cannot sue your employer for a work-related injury, and instead are expected to use Workers’ Compensation.  However, you can sue outside third parties, and our personal injury attorneys handle both Workers’ Comp and personal injury claims.

When Do You Need to Call a Lawyer?

You should call a lawyer for any injuries that sent you to the hospital or caused you to miss work.  That is automatically “serious enough” to get a lawyer involved.

Call us as soon as you can – and ideally call us before you talk to insurance so that we can handle the insurance company for you.

How Long Do You Have to Sue?

Florida has a statute of limitations set at 2 years.  This rule used to be 4 years, but as of the writing of this article, you only get 2 years to file your case in Florida.

How Long Does an Injury Case Take?

Depending on the facts, what injuries you faced, how much your damages are, and how much evidence we have, cases can go quite quickly.

  • Strong cases with low to moderate damages are often settled within a month or two.
  • Insurance companies often fight expensive claims, making them take 6-12 months in many cases.
  • Serious injury cases and cases with contested facts may need to go to trial, which can take upwards of a year in most cases.

Can You Talk About Your Accident?

You should avoid making public statements about your accident, especially on social media.  Anything you say about the accident or your injuries can be used against you, especially if your stories do not match up.

Talk to your lawyer about what you can and should not say about your accident while the case proceeds.

Should You Accept an Insurance Settlement?

Do not accept anything or sign any papers from insurance until you speak with a lawyer about your case.  The first settlement offer is usually too low to cover your damages in full, and our lawyers will need to negotiate a better settlement for you.

However, most cases do ultimately end with a settlement, so it is perfectly acceptable to take a negotiated settlement that actually covers your damages in full.  If we cannot reach a fair settlement, we can take the case to trial instead.

Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Fort Lauderdale Today

Contact Graves Injury Law Firm at (305) 614-2767 for a free review of your potential case.