A car accident, slip and fall, product injury, or other injury can leave you with medical expenses you cannot afford, a job you cannot perform, and everyday activities you are unable to complete.  These effects result in economic and non-economic damages our lawyers can help you claim.

Whether your accident was caused by a person or a company, we can help you get compensation from them and their insurance companies.  Filing insurance claims may be quicker, but insurance companies may deny full damages.  The best way to ultimately get your case paid might be to go to court if a fair settlement cannot be reached.

Call Graves Injury Law Firm’s personal injury lawyers at (305) 614-2767 today for a free case assessment.

Elements of Negligence in a Tampa Injury Case

Most injury cases are based on a claim that the defendant was “negligent,” rather than a claim they injured you on purpose (though you can also sue for that).  Negligence has these four elements:

  1. The defendant owed you a legal duty.
  2. They breached that duty.
  3. That breach caused the accident.
  4. The accident caused you damages and injuries.

Without any one of these elements, your case may fall through.

Determining Fault

Within these elements is the idea that the defendant’s breach needs to be what caused the accident.  If someone else also contributed, they can be held partially at fault, too.

This results in a rule where each at-fault party is given a percentage of the blame and pays that share of the total damages.  If you are partially at fault as the victim, you lose that share of damages, but you can still sue as long as your fault is 50% max.

What Evidence You Need to Prove Your Claim

You need to have evidence to convince a jury.  Your testimony is part of that evidence, but so are medical records, financial records showing your damages, and medical reports from doctors analyzing the cause of the injury and its effects going forward.

Many cases have more evidence, such as testimony from other witnesses, photos, and even video.

What Damages Can You Claim in an Injury Case?

A successful injury claim sets you back to the state you were in before the accident, to the extent this is possible.  This means covering all related expenses and paying you for the other damages that cannot be reversed (e.g., pain and emotional distress).

Most claims involve these damages:

Medical Bills

Medical treatment is one of your biggest expenses that the accident causes.  Surgeries, X-rays, hospital stays, physical therapy, and other care can be quite costly, and you should not be the one responsible for paying if you were not the one who caused the accident.

Lost Wages

Injuries can stop you from working, whether temporarily during your recovery or going forward.  New disabilities can hurt your income for years to come, and all of the wages you lose from this injury should be the defendant’s responsibility.

Pain and Suffering

Accidents and injuries also cause many effects that have no economic value, like

  • Pain
  • Emotional distress
  • Mental anguish/suffering
  • Embarrassment
  • Lost enjoyment
  • Lost abilities
  • And more.

These costs can be compensated with monetary damages, even though that money will not literally reverse these harms.

Other Possible Damages

You may have other expenses related to the accident as well.  For example, the vehicle damage in a car crash is commonly included in personal injury cases, as are other incidental expenses like childcare while you are hospitalized and household services you need to pay for help while you are recovering.

Do You Need to Report an Accident in Tampa?

You should call a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can to discuss next steps, including whether the injury needs to be reported in any way.  There are no legal reporting requirements for most injuries, except in these two situations:

  • If you are hurt at work, you must report your injury within 30 days.
  • If you were hurt in a car accident, you should call 911 and report the crash to the police immediately.

In other cases, there might be no requirement to make a report, but these reports can help document your accident:

  • Rideshare accidents can be reported to the company within your app
  • You should tell a property owner or business about an accident on their property
  • You should tell a hospital about medical negligence or mistreatment.

Can You Sue Companies for Injuries?

Often, a company or business will be responsible for injuries.  This can happen in two ways:

  • The company was generally responsible for your injuries because of something negligent it did. For example, a store is responsible for a slip and fall in the store.
  • The company can be responsible for something its employee did while working within their job duties. For example, a trucking company can be liable for a crash their driver caused.

If you can include a company as a defendant or codefendant, they often have a better ability to pay for injuries than an individual might.

Can You Sue Individuals for Injuries?

Yes; many claims are filed against individual defendants who caused an accident – e.g., in car accident cases.  However, they might not be able to afford damages out of pocket like a business can.  This often means looking in two places for additional compensation:

  1. If the defendant has insurance – such as car insurance, homeowners insurance, or business liability insurance – then their policy might pay for their damages.
  2. If there are multiple parties you can sue (potentially including a business, such as the defendant’s employer), then you may be able to spread the cost across multiple parties and increase your chances of a full recovery.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?

Most injury cases need to be filed within 2 years in Florida.

What if Your Accident Happened at Work?

If you get hurt at work, report your accident to your employer within 30 days.  They should have Workers’ Compensation insurance that might cover your medical expenses and a portion of lost wages on a no-fault basis.

A lawsuit might still be possible against the at-fault party (other than your employer) to recover additional damages.

Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Tampa Today

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