Satellite Beach Personal Injury Attorney

Personal injury refers to an injury resulting from another person’s intentional conduct or negligence. It also applies in situations where another person acts negligently, carelessly, and causes harm to another person. We will go over everything you need to know about personal injury cases and how our Satellite Beach personal injury lawyer can help you. 

What Are the Different Types of Personal Injury Cases?

Personal injury occurs when you suffer physical injuries and financial loss due to another person’s negligence. It is referred to as a personal injury if someone is injured on their physical body rather than their property. However, damaged properties can still be incorporated into any legal actions taken if it involves physical harm.

Victims file personal injury lawsuits in court to hold the defendant accountable for injuring them and to recover expenses. In a successful personal injury lawsuit, the at-fault party usually pays all financial losses associated with the injuries suffered from the incidence. 

Now that you understand what personal injury cases are, here are different types of cases that you can file:

• Accidents incurred at work 
• Construction accidents 
• Dog bites or animal attacks
• Injuries caused by faulty products 
• Intentional assaults and battery
• Medical malpractice 
• Personal Injury
• Slips and falls
• Vehicle accidents 
• Wrongful death

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Which Laws Are Associated with Personal Injury in Florida?

There are two elements of the law related to personal injuries in Florida: pure comparative negligence and damage cap. Pure comparative negligence means that multiple parties can share fault in an accident. Therefore, a plaintiff may share in the responsibility for an accident for their contribution to the accident. 

With pure comparative negligence, the jury reduces the monetary verdict in favor of the percentage of your contribution to the accident. For instance, if you contributed 20% blame to the accident, the jury will award you 80% of the total amount that the jury has decided to grant from the case. 

With damage caps, Florida laws limit damage caps to punitive damages. However, there are no caps for compensatory damages, but you should consider the following restrictions: 

• No limit on punitive damages when the defendant intended to harm the plaintiff 
• The plaintiff can recover up to four times the value of compensatory damages (economic and non-economic) or $ two million if the defendant didn’t want to harm the plaintiff but knew that the harm was highly likely, but acted unreasonably dangerous for financial gain. 
• For all other cases, plaintiffs can only collect three times the value of their compensatory damages or $500,000. 

How do You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Negligence is the most crucial factor in reviewing and filing a personal injury claim. Your personal injury lawyer in Satellite Beach can prove that the defendant’s actions were unreasonable and led to the incident that caused your injuries. Here are the considerations of negligence that you must prove in a personal injury case:

Duty of Care

Duty of care is a concept that claims that anyone is responsible to others by acting in a way that doesn’t cause harm to the other. This seems to be a straightforward concept, but detailing the extent of the other person’s obligation can be complicated. 

For instance, if you own a business with faulty flooring, you will be at fault for injuries suffered by a customer if you don’t take responsible safety actions, such as hanging a warning sign or blocking that area. 

Breach of Duty

A plaintiff establishes a breach of duty after determining that the defendant had a duty of care towards them, but failed to uphold the required level of care. 

Again, establishing a duty of care can be tricky. For instance, if you note the example provided above, you can still be negligent even after blocking or hanging a warning sign in an area that’s considered dangerous to your customers. 

Causation

The next step in filing your personal injury lawsuit is proving that you were involved in an accident due to a breach of duty. Proving this fact can be complicated since you must show a reasonable association between the accident and breach of duty. It requires the intervention of your Satellite Beach personal injury attorney to establish that the breach of duty caused your injuries accurately. 

What Kind of Damages Can You Claim in a Personal Injury Case?

The compensation that you receive from a personal injury is known as “damages.” There are different types of damages in a personal injury lawsuit. It cuts across financial losses incurred for your treatment, lost wages, and emotional well-being. 

Calculating the amount of money to be compensated for your medical expenses and lost wages is straightforward. However, it’s challenging to calculate other damages, such as pain and suffering. This emphasizes the importance of involving a personal injury attorney in Satellite Beach to accurately determine how much to demand in compensation.  

Personal injury claims fall under three categories, namely compensatory, general, and punitive damages. Here’s what you should know about them:

Compensatory Damages

Most victims seeking compensation in a personal injury case seek compensatory damages. They include any direct financial losses incurred by an injured party due to another person’s negligence. They include medical bills, lost wages or income, and property damages. 

General Damages

These refer to abstract damages which are hard to calculate. They include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, loss of a relationship, and pain and suffering.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are meant to punish the at-fault party for their negligence. You must convince the jury that the at-fault party’s actions were intentional and willful misconduct. 

The Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in Florida

If you’re involved in a personal injury case, you need to file your lawsuit within four years from the date of your injury. This is Florida’s statute of limitation for personal injury cases. Once this period has passed, your case will be thrown out of court. 

However, an extension can be allowed for certain medical malpractice cases, such as when a child below eight years is involved or when the medical provider involved engaged in fraud. Take note of the type of case that you are bringing and the specifics of the law as it relates to those types of cases.

Consult with a Satellite Beach Personal Injury Attorney Today

At Andrew Pickett Law, our personal injury attorneys in Satellite Beach can evaluate your case to determine your options as you focus on your recovery. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.