Personal injury incidents can cause catastrophic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, that can result in significant financial, physical, and psychological impact. Fort Lauderdale citizens can be victims of personal injury incidents, such as car, slip and fall, or boating accidents.
An experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney can help you file a personal injury claim to recover compensation for damages caused by a negligent party. They can assist you with assessing damages, assigning liability, and negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurer. At The Russo Firm, our personal injury lawyers have decades of helping Fort Lauderdale personal injury victims pursue fair compensation for damages.
Why Choose The Russo Firm for Your Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Claim?
Fort Lauderdale is a scenic vacation destination in Florida, but personal injury incidents can still happen and dampen any trip to the beaches. The personal injury lawyers at The Russo Firm have in-depth knowledge of the city of Fort Lauderdale from years of living there and helping personal injury victims. We know what parts of the city can offer danger and the best practices in the claims process for putting you in a position to recover compensation.
Our personal injury lawyers want to hear from you, so they can sculpt legal counsel around your specific situation. We do not have a “one size fits all” approach to the personal injury claims process. We will ensure to represent you with the specificity gained from our Fort Lauderdale knowledge and constant communication with you. Contact The Russo Firm today to learn how our experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers can help you pursue compensation for damages.
The Russo Firm Case Results
You can recover compensation in a personal injury claim through a settlement negotiated with the at-fault party’s insurance company or a court award. At The Russo Firm, we have personal injury lawyers with experience earning our clients compensation through both means. Settlement negotiations can be challenging, as an insurance company will do anything in its power to limit your settlement to keep its profits up.
One tactic they use is offering a lowball early settlement to end the negotiations before you can get fair compensation. We understand this tactic and can see through the attempt to limit your settlement. During settlement negotiations, we will always keep your best interests in mind and negotiate until you receive compensation that can cover the full cost of your damages. If a settlement cannot be reached, we can represent you in court and come up with a legal strategy that can maximize your potential court award.
The following are some of the case results we have earned for our clients:
- $3.3 Million for Car Accident Caused by Drunk Driving
- $2.4 Million for Medical Malpractice Misdiagnosis
- $2 Million for Wrongful Death Trucking Accident
- $1.75 Million Product Liability Jury Award
- $650 Thousand for Car Accident Jury Award
Florida Personal Injury Laws
Florida laws govern the many types of personal injury incidents, with each having their own set of rules. These laws govern the process following a personal injury incident, who can be liable, and the time you have to file a claim.
According to Florida statute 627.7407, Florida is classified as a no-fault state. This means that all drivers must purchase personal injury protection (PIP) insurance to cover up to $10,000 worth of economic damages, including 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages. Although this is designed to prevent car accident litigation, you can still file a car accident claim to pursue compensation for car accident damages if you were severely injured due to another party’s negligence.
Florida Statute to Limitations for Personal Injury Claims
Each personal injury incident has its own statute of limitations, which is how long you have to file a personal injury claim to pursue compensation. The time can begin to elapse either on the day of the incident or the day you realize you were injured by the negligence of another party. According to Florida statute 95.11, you have four (4) years to file personal injury claims involving actions founded on negligence and two years for any action of professional malpractice or that resulted in wrongful death.
The Rules of Negligence in Florida
Florida personal injury claims fall under comparative negligence, meaning a court has to assign a percentage of lame for every party involved in a personal injury incident. A party that contributed to a personal injury incident can still pursue compensation because of comparative negligence. Their settlement or award will have their percentage of blame deducted. For example, a $100,000 court award for someone who contributed 40% to the incident will be reduced to $60,000.
However, not all personal injury incidents are subject to comparative negligence. Product liability and dog bites are subject to strict liability, meaning the at-fault party (the company responsible for a defective product or a dog owner) is held liable for damages no matter what their intentions were at the time of the incident.
Types of Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Accidents
Many personal injury incidents can occur in Fort Lauderdale due to one or multiple parties’ negligence. If you receive harm due to the negligence of another party, you suffered a personal injury incident. These can range from incidents involving vehicles, social media bullying, consumer products, and medical devices and drugs.
The following are some of the types of Fort Lauderdale personal injury incidents:
- Car accidents
- Trucking accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Boating accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Product liability
- Lyft accidents
- Defective drugs
- Defective medical devices
- Social media harm
- Nursing home abuse
- Premise liability
If you were involved in one of the above types of personal injury incidents, you could file a personal injury claim to pursue compensation for damages. A Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer can use their local knowledge and experience in litigating personal injury claims to help put you in a position to recover compensation for your personal injury damages.
What Personal Injuries Can You Pursue Compensation For?
You can receive both physical and psychological injuries from a personal injury incident. Both can affect your standard of living. A physical injury can possibly make it hard for you to walk, run, climb stairs, drive your car, and do daily tasks. A psychological injury can affect your quality of life and cause you to have a dreary outlook on yourself and life in general.
The following are some of the severe injuries caused by a Fort Lauderdale personal injury incident that you can pursue compensation for:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Shoulder injuries
- Facial injuries
- Knee injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Internal injuries
- Mental disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Infections
A personal injury lawyer can help you pursue compensation for damages caused by your severe injuries. You can receive compensation for medical bills and lost wages that result from a catastrophic or disabling physical injury. They can also help you receive compensation to pay for visits to a therapist or mental health specialist that can help you with psychological injuries.
What Should You Do After a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Accident?
In the aftermath of a Fort Lauderdale personal injury incident, you have to worry about both your physical and mental health and how you will pay for the damages. You can suffer severe injuries, such as broken bones, knee injuries, and mental disorders, that can cause significant issues in your daily life. Personal injury damages can also cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which most people will not have available to pay for medical bills, lost wages, and lost earning potential.
While the stress can be overwhelming, there are some steps you can take to put yourself in a better position for your health and ability to pay for damages. The following are some of the steps you should do after a Fort Lauderdale personal injury incident:
- Receive medical attention. You should prioritize your health after a personal injury incident, as leaving severe injuries without treatment can lead to catastrophic health consequences. Heading to the hospital can allow a doctor to check you for injuries, so they can begin treatment. If a personal injury incident caused mental injuries, you should see a mental health specialist that can help you talk through how the incident affected you psychologically.
- Report the personal injury incident. Reporting a personal injury incident to the proper authorities can establish the severity of the incident and help prove that severity in a personal injury claim. Report the personal injury incident with the police, your job’s human resources department, or a social media platform’s abuse forum.
- Keep detailed records of what happened. As a personal injury claim develops, you will have to recall specific details of what happened. You will need to keep your story straight, and any inconsistencies can affect your ability to receive fair compensation. Write down every detail you can think of, including what happened, when it happened, where it happened, who was involved, etc.
- Contact a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney. Trying to handle a personal injury claim without the proper experience can affect your ability to recover compensation that can pay the full cost of your damages. Contact local Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers that have the proper experience in your specific personal injury incident to help you with the claims process.
Liability in a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Accident
The liable party in a personal injury claim is the one who behaved negligently and caused the personal injury incident as a result. Negligent behavior is any action that breaches a duty of care and leads to a personal injury accident.
The following are some of the possible liable parties in a Fort Lauderdale personal injury incident:
- Negligent driver
- Defective product manufacturer
- Defective product designer
- Defective product seller
- Defective product distributor
- Property owner
- Healthcare professional
- Employer
- Government entity
A personal injury attorney can help you determine the liable party when they hear the story of what happened with your personal injury incident. The liable party isn’t always as easy to define as a speeding driver that drove right into you. They can help you determine the liable party and put together a plan that best suits how to recover compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Fort Lauderdale
You can file a personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurer to seek compensation for damages not covered by your insurance. However, Florida operates under the theory of negligence, which means you must be able to prove their negligent behavior led to the personal injury incident and your damages.
Under the theory of negligence, you must be able to prove the following:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty of care
- They breached the duty of care
- You received damages during the Fort Lauderdale personal injury incident
- Your damages were a direct result of the at-fault party’s breach of duty of care
A personal injury lawyer can help you collect tangible evidence to prove the at-fault party’s negligence. Some evidence that can help prove liability in a personal injury claim includes photos and videos of the incident, medical records, insurance statements, police reports, vehicle accident reconstructions, online correspondence records, etc.
What Damages Can You Pursue in a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Claim?
By filing a personal injury claim, you can pursue compensation for damages. These are losses associated with the personal injury claim. The at-fault party’s negligence can lead to financial losses immediately after the personal injury incident and later on in life. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you assess your damages, so you can pursue the full cost of your current and future damages.
The following are the two most common types of damages personal injury victims pursue:
- Economic damages: Sometimes referred to as “special damages,” these are quantifiable damages that you can attach a monetary value to. They include medical bills, lost wages, lost earning potential, property damage, etc.
- Non-economic damages: These are intangible costs without a specific monetary value but still cause damage to your everyday life. Some non-economic damages can include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, loss of society, loss of enjoyment of life, etc. These are sometimes referred to as “general damages.”
How Can a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Help With Your Claim?
You can file a personal injury claim if you do not have the insurance to cover the full cost of damages. Hiring a personal injury lawyer can help with the claims process, as you handling it alone can lead to mistakes that could limit your potential settlement. A Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer has experience handling personal injury claims, settlement negotiations, and court cases that can help you recover compensation for your personal injury damages.
The following are some of the ways a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney can help with the claims process:
- Assessing your damages
- Determining the liable party
- Collecting evidence
- Handling discovery
- Interviewing witnesses
- Negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurer
- Representing you in court
An effective maneuvering of the claims process can help you reach fair compensation that can pay for the full cost of your losses. Hire an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney to put yourself in the best position for fair compensation.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Personal Injury Claim
The experienced personal injury lawyers at The Russo Firm can help you pursue compensation by using their local knowledge of Fort Lauderdale locations, expertise in Florida personal injury laws, and experience handling personal injury claims. We will keep in constant communication, shaping legal counsel around your developing case. Our goal is to represent your interests and put you in the best position to recover compensation for personal injury damages.
At The Russo Firm, we offer free consultations to Fort Lauderdale personal injury victims to see how we can help them earn compensation for their damages. Contact us by calling us at (954) 767-0676 or leaving a message on our online contact page.