Serious Injury Lawyers Serving Port St Lucie
Have you recently suffered from a serious injury? Depending on your circumstances, you could hire a lawyer and seek extra compensation to make up and help pay for these wrongdoings.
Suffering from a serious injury can leave an individual with ongoing medical needs and even leave a sense of disdain for life if there have been life-altering consequences.
In Port St. Lucie, Florida, there are excellent attorneys ready to help you in your fight for justice. This guide will help you understand what the purpose of a serious injury lawyer is and how to go about your personal injury case.
What Is a Serious Injury?Serious injury, better known as personal injury, is a legal term used to refer to an injury or any harm a person has experienced as a result of someone else’s negligence. The key for personal injury cases is proving that there was negligence or intent behind the accident.
In personal injury cases, the defendant does not have to be a single person. It can be a business, entity, or location.
Here are some examples of harm/injury that could constitute for a potential personal injury lawsuit:
- Slip and fall
- Dog bites
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
- More
We did not put car accidents on the list due to Florida’s no-fault rule. However, there are special circumstances for filing a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident. We will discuss those later in this guide.
What Is a Serious Injury Lawyer?A personal injury lawyer is a legal representative that advocates for your case and fights on your behalf to make things right. Your personal injury lawyer will be your go-to person throughout your case for all your questions and your person to give you the best advice on which routes to take.
It is your lawyer’s goal to give you the successful outcome you’re after and to help you seek extra compensation that can come out of a personal injury case.
What Will My Serious Injury Lawyer Do?Once you hire your Port St. Lucie personal injury attorney, he or she will have plenty of duties to help you seek compensation. The good news is that once you hire a lawyer, there is hardly any work to do on your part.
Your lawyer will be responsible for collecting all necessary evidence, obtaining medical records, gathering witness statements, drafting reports, and serving papers, speaking on your behalf, and more.
There are some firms that use the assistance of paralegals for more of the clerical work, which means it’s possible that your lawyer will not be the one who drafts up the documents. However, it’s your lawyer’s duty to provide and review your documents.
How To Find The Right Lawyer For Your CaseBefore hiring your attorney, finding the right personal injury lawyer for your case should take some time. It’s important that the lawyer you select has experience and the right background to best help you.
When you start searching for your Port St. Lucie personal injury lawyer, it should not be a fast decision. Most firms offer free consultations, which means you get to sit down face-to-face with an attorney and speak about your case in greater detail before choosing to hire him or her. During the consultation, the attorney may tell you how they can help you and similar cases they have handled.
You should consult with a handful of attorneys before making your ultimate decision.
How Do I File A Personal Injury Lawsuit?Florida has a Statute of Limitations in place that says an individual has two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. If you miss the deadline, it’s possible that your case could be easily dismissed, or it may not get a fighting chance since it will look bad on your part for waiting so long.
If you decide you want to file a lawsuit, hiring an attorney is the first step in the right direction. You will disclose to your lawyer who you are filing the lawsuit against, and they will draft the papers to serve.
Do Car Accidents Count As Serious Injury?Residents in Florida cannot file a lawsuit for car accidents unless they meet the following requirements:
- Medical bills exceeding a certain limit
- Suffering from a severe injury
The severe injury must meet one or more of the following:
- Death
- Permanent scarring
- Amputation or dismemberment
- On-going medical treatment
- Life-altering health
It can be confusing to know if you meet the requirements for stepping out of the no-fault system. If you think you’re able to file a lawsuit, speak to your legal representative.
How Are Personal Injury Cases Handled?When you file a personal injury case, the steps can be different depending on the unique facts. Typically, depending on the case’s complexity, the case will end with the defendant paying a settlement to the plaintiff, or the case will go to court.
Your case will make it to court if the defendant does not agree to a settlement or their offer is inadequate. Once you have a court date, the jury will be responsible for determining how much you should be awarded in compensation if you win.
There is also no specific timeline your case will operate under. The length of your case all depends on how fast and easy things go. It can take a few months to a few years for your case to be settled.
Injury Cases | Car Accidents | Slip and Fall Accidents | Medical Malpractice Cases | Wrongful Death Cases | Nursing Home Negligence Cases | Premises Liability Cases | Brain Injury Cases | Pedestrian Accidents | Hit & Run Accidents | Sexual Abuse Cases | Motorcycle Accidents | Truck Accidents | Serious Injury Cases | Work Injury Cases | And More...
Call 772-800-8000
Just as the timeline, there is no specific amount that your case will cap out at. If you’re really curious as to how much you can expect to walk away with, ask your lawyer. They can analyze your case and make their best prediction.
If the defendant does not agree to a settlement that your lawyer requests or tries to negotiate, then the jury will be the deciding factor at court. The jury, after listening to the evidence provided, will look at your economic and non-economic damages to determine how much you should be awarded.
What Are Economic & Non-Economic Damages?Once your case makes it to trial, the jury will observe all evidence and make a decision on your earnings by looking at your damages, adding them up, then possibly applying the multiplier method.
Economic DamagesEconomic damages are physical things that can actually be added up in your case, such as:
- Medical bills
- Car damages
- Lost wages (time off work)
Non-economic damages are the physical and mental suffering a person has suffered from the wreck added in with your economic damages. Non-economic damages can be:
- Trauma
- Death
- Loss of enjoyment in life
- More
The multiplier method is something that might be added to your case once your economic and non-economic damages are totaled up. If the multiplier method is added to your case, which means your total will be multiplied by any number between one and five, depending on your severity.
When Should I Hire a Lawyer?You should hire a lawyer before you even contact your insurance company. Lawyers are great to have for their expert legal knowledge and negotiation skills.
There is a lot to do in a personal injury case. Hiring a lawyer as soon as you are released from the hospital is the best time to find one.
Can My Lawyer Negotiate with My Insurance Company?Yes! One of the greatest benefits of hiring a lawyer is that they can help you negotiate a higher settlement from your insurance company.
The sad reality is that most insurance companies are not out to help you. They are out to really save their company money. That being said, despite the injury you suffer from, they are going to try to short-change you.
Your lawyer can help fight against this and help you seek a higher settlement using their expert negotiating skills.
Contact our Serious Injury Lawyers TodayThe team at Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers is on standby ready to help. We have been in practice for 40 years serving the people of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and surrounding areas to help fight their personal injury battles (by appointment only).
We can help you seek extra compensation and build your case to have a better chance at the outcome you’re looking for. When you’re ready, call our firm at (561) 800-8000 to set up your free consultation.
We look forward to meeting you and hearing how we can best help your case.