No matter how cautiously we approach the world, we rely on the good judgment and prudence of others to avoid negligent or reckless behavior and cause an avoidable accident. While many of these interactions go unnoticed and without incident, countless others worldwide result in serious accidents, and many who suffer injuries are the unfortunate victims of others’ dangerous conduct. Fortunately, tort law in the United States allows for these victims — as well as their surviving loved ones in the event of wrongful death — to file personal injury claims or lawsuits against the at-fault party or commonly against a representative insurance company.
When filing a claim with insurance companies, a victim works with a claims adjuster by the insurance company who, ostensibly, reviews the claimant’s situation and provides them with compensation for the damages they have suffered.
Simple enough, right? Think again.
Partner With an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney To Get the Money You Deserve After an Accident
When filing a personal injury claim with an insurance company, it is important to remember that you are dealing with a for-profit company motivated to settle your case as quickly and inexpensively as possible. The claims process is designed to move through a series of legal steps quickly and aggressively to overwhelm the injured party into accepting a settlement offer that benefits the insurer, not the injured individuals.
This is why partnering with a Homestead personal injury lawyer is such an important step to take for anyone who has suffered injuries that resulted in medical bills, lost wages, and personal injuries as a result of someone else’s dangerous or reckless behavior.
Contact 1-800-Injured To Get Help With Personal Injury Claims
1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service. Instead of victims needing to go through the process of reaching out to attorneys for a free consultation about their personal injury claim, we will connect victims with an available Homestead personal injury lawyer who is experienced and proven with a history of personal injury cases.
Finding Florida personal injury lawyers after being involved in a serious accident can seem nearly impossible. Unfortunately, many people move on with their personal injury claims without partnering with a lawyer and ultimately settle their claim for far less than they are owed in compensation.
You Can Benefit From a Personal Injury Lawyer in Homestead
When an injury lawyer in Homestead contacts insurance companies, the adjuster on the case knows that they will need to take the situation seriously and must work through the claimant’s legal options without pushing aggressively towards a low settlement.
Read more about what you may be able to expect from a Homestead personal injury case, and contact us as soon as possible to connect with experienced Florida attorneys who can help you fight to get the money you deserve under the law.
What Is a Personal Injury?
Simply put, a personal injury is one that an individual suffers due to another party’s actions (or inactions), specifically to their person as opposed to their property. Under Florida law, these victims have a right to seek compensation for a wide range of impacts — known as damages — stemming from their injuries or accident.
A Homestead area lawyer who is experienced with helping clients may be the most important person a victim connects with because they will have time to focus on recovering from their injuries while the attorney stays focused on their claim. Many people think they should wait to hire lawyers until they believe they will need to take their case to court, but this could not be further from the truth.
Most personal injury cases are settled before going to court. While there are limitations to an out-of-court settlement, many lawyers agree that a settlement is ideal in many instances to avoid things like court fees and time-consuming court visits.
Understanding The Concept of Duty of Care
In handling personal injury claims, one of the first things that personal injury attorneys must do is prove that the other party failed to uphold their “duty of care,” a concept that expects individuals to act with a standard of reasonable care in their daily lives as they partake in activities that could potentially cause harm to others. This includes people operating motor vehicles, doctors helping clients, property owners inviting guests onto their premises, and many more duties of care that vary greatly depending on context.
Source: https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports/crash-dashboard/
Proving Liability With the Pure Comparative Negligence Rule
Personal injury cases focus on first proving a failed duty of care to determine the amount of liability the other party assumes for the damages before then moving forward with calculating the actual damages the victim is owed.
An insurance claim seeks financial compensation after an accident, but these claims are managed by the insurer and typically result in a victim receiving far less compensation than they rightfully deserve. When working with a Homestead personal injury attorney, a victim will be able to rely on their lawyer’s experience and broad understanding of tort law while the victim and their loved ones can stay focused on their recovery, free from the added stress.
Florida uses a rule known as “pure comparative negligence” in personal injury cases, which allows an injured party to take responsibility for partial fault while still having a right to compensation for their injuries.
Fairness Under Pure Comparative Fault
Per the Florida Statutes:
“In a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and non-economic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory fault, but does not bar recovery.”
Simply put, this means that an individual can take partial responsibility for an accident, and their final pay will be reduced by the percent of fault they accept.
While pure comparative negligence is an essential and beneficial rule, there are limitations that an attorney will work to protect you from: insurers will attempt to focus on any aspects of the accident that are not clear to pin additional fault on a claimant and to save as much money as possible.
Fortunately, personal injury lawyers have plenty of experience with this law. They will work to protect you from any unnecessary or additional fault as they work to get you the money you deserve.
Calculating Damages For a Florida Personal Injury
Once your homestead personal injury lawyer can reach a final determination about your comparative fault (or, commonly, at the same time, they are working out these details), they will set out to gather information about all of the impacts you have suffered as a result of your accident.
These impacts, or damages, are called “compensatory damages” because they compensate a victim for their losses without focusing on punitive measures against the defendant.
Economic Damages
Economic damages seek to pay for the measurable economic impacts of a Homestead accident, such as lost income due to missed work, the medical expenses the injured party has accrued, and may continue to accrue, as well as the cost of goods or services they needed to pay for to help them navigate their lives while caring for their injuries and keeping up with the obligations in their lives.
While economic damages seem as simple as gathering receipts and tallying the totals, one of the important legal services that experienced attorneys offer is close attention to detail and a deep understanding of the many different economic damages that can be claimed after a Homestead personal injury.
Attorneys will take the necessary time to gather evidence for all of these damages to help streamline negotiations once it comes time to reach an agreement with the insurer or decide to move forward with a lawsuit in the Florida courts.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are equal, but very different, from economic damages because they seek financial compensation for impacts that do not have actual dollar values — and in many cases, do not even have simple ways to measure the extent of the damages due to their abstract or subjective natures.
They include the actual pain and suffering that Homestead residents must endure as a result of their physical injuries, as well as things like the emotional distress of such a painful and traumatic experience.
Since it is so difficult to determine a fair dollar amount for something like “loss of enjoyment” resulting from a car accident or other issue, insurance companies will focus on shutting down as many of these line items as possible in a claim — mainly when the claim is being carried out without the support of Homestead attorneys; however, your lawyers will fight aggressively to ensure that these damages are acknowledged and fairly compensated in either a settlement or an award if you are forced to take your case to court.
Why Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
After a Homestead personal injury, whether stemming from a car accident, medical malpractice issue, premises liability incident, or one of the many other practice areas that fall under the umbrella of tort law, partnering with lawyers serving Homestead and who are available to take your case is an essential step for several reasons.
Stay Focused On Your Medical Needs
After any sort of accident, those who have been injured should be able to remain focused on their recovery without the added anxiety of needing to deal with their legal issues, whether or not they need to take the case to court. When you contact an attorney, they will be able to manage the logistics and administrative work for your claim while you can keep your anxiety low and stay focused on medical care and getting your life back on track.
Get The Money You Deserve
In addition to the benefits of emotional space, your Homestead attorney will be able to use their experience with other cases and their knowledge of Florida personal injury law to ensure that they are presenting a comprehensive picture of your accident and damages as they work to recover fair compensation on your behalf.
Insurance companies know that they have a better chance of settling quickly and cheaply when working directly with a claimant, but these tactics hit their limitations quickly when their point of contact is a proven legal professional.
Be Confident About The Future
After an accident in Homestead, worries about your financial future can be highly alarming, but knowing that you can contact your attorney and get the answers you need can help keep you from going into a spiral about what you can expect from your claim and how you will be able to manage the many financial impacts of someone else’s actions such as lost wages or even long-term disability due to car accidents or other issues.