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F.A.Q.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have a personal injury case?

Personal injury law can involve many different types of claims, theories, and principles. Some of the more common, or interesting, types of personal injury actions include:

Animal bites can result in the animal owner's liability to the person who is bitten or who is injured while trying to avoid a bite.

Assault and battery are two intentional torts that involve improper contact with another, without permission or consent, or the threat of such contact.

Aviation accidents quite often result in either serious injury or death. When these accidents occur, serious questions regarding the liability of the airline, its employees, or the government may arise.

Defamation and privacy are two separate causes of action that concern the rights of individuals to have their names and reputations protected, and also to have their privacy preserved.

Motor vehicle accidents raise numerous questions as to the liability of one participant to another and also raise interesting questions regarding who should be responsible for covering the losses.

Premises liability concerns the responsibilities of owners and possessors of property to safeguard others from dangerous conditions or hazards on the property and to prevent others from being injured while on the property.

Property damage causes of action concern the rights of owners or possessors of property to protect their property from damage, theft or intrusion.

Railroad accidents may result in personal injury or death and subject the railroad to liability.

Slip and fall cases are very common causes of action and relate closely to the duty of an owner or possessor of land to maintain the property in a safe manner for the benefit of others lawfully entering upon the land.

Wrongful death actions may be brought by the dependents or beneficiaries of a deceased individual against the party whose action or inaction was causally related to the death.

How much is my case worth?

This is one of the most difficult questions a plaintiff's attorney will get asked. Cases have value based on five areas assuming the liability issue - in other words, who was at fault -- is clear. Plaintiffs in personal injury cases are entitled to five areas of damages. Those areas are as follows:

  • Past Medical Bills
  • Future Medical Bills
  • Past Lost Wages
  • Loss of Earning Capacity in the Future
  • Pain and Suffering

There is no perfect formula to determine exactly how much a case is worth. It often depends on how the evidence comes in on a case. Further problems develop if there are any inconsistencies in testimony, medical records and other issues that would allow the insurance company's lawyer to attack the credibility of the injured party's case. However, based on our track record of trying cases in the state of Florida, we are generally able to come up with at least a "range of value" of cases after the attorney assigned to the case has looked at all the medical records and bills and determines how the client has either improved or deteriorated since the injury. Even with all that information it is very difficult for Plaintiff's counsel to come up with an exact figure but, typically, a range of value based on our vast experience in handling these types of cases can be determined.

What is a slip and fall action?

A slip and fall action is a type of personal injury lawsuit filed by a plaintiff who has been injured by a slip and fall, usually on the defendant's property. Examples of very common slip and fall plaintiffs include the grocery store patron who slips on a spill or a piece of food laying on the floor, and falls, causing injury to himself; and a hotel guest who slips in the shower and injures her back in the process. The plaintiff in slip and fall cases must usually show that the owner of the property had notice or knowledge of the condition, and failed to clean it up and rectify it within a reasonable amount of time. If the plaintiff slipped on a grape that had been lying on the floor for two hours, and the manager of the store had walked past it and inspected it five times before asking someone to clean it up, liability is likely.

If the plaintiff has knowingly encountered a hazard, then he or she may have trouble holding the defendant liable. For example, if a hotel guest squirts baby oil onto the floor of the shower; steps into the shower and starts dancing, and then falls and breaks an ankle, liability on the part of the hotel is highly questionable. However, if the cleaning staff in the hotel repeatedly tells management that the non-skid treads in the bathtub for room 212 are missing and the hotel fails to replace them, the hotel will probably be liable for damages to a guest who is injured.

How long will it take to bring my case to a conclusion?

The answer to this question also depends on the complexity of the case. In other words, the last thing we want to do is resolve a case while our client is still healing or does not have a good understanding on what their future medical condition will be. The last thing an attorney wants to do is to allow the client to sign a release only to find out that they need future surgery or have massive medical bills still facing them. With that being said, the average premises liability/auto case or any other type of general negligence case is resolved within four to eight months after being brought to the firm. That time range is subject to fluctuation depending on the facts of the case.

Why sue my insurance company if I did nothing wrong to cause this accident?

Even when our client is in an accident that is based on the negligence of another person, we still are able to make a claim for personal injury protection benefits, more commonly known as PIP. This is the classic "no fault" insurance that legislature designated to pay 80% of a person's medical bills and 60% of a person's lost wages, up to $10,000, whether they are at fault or not. This situation can also occur when a negligent person causes an accident, and they are uninsured or underinsured and then you can make a claim provided you have paid a premium for that coverage with your insurance company. The short answer is that the client pays premium dollars for coverage in those issues and that is what it is there for when you need it.

I thought I had full coverage, so why am I not covered?

Typically, insurance agents will give a potential consumer a quote on whatever type of coverage the consumer asks for. Full coverage can mean a variety of things but, in regards to an automobile negligence case that would entail for purposes of recovering for injuries, PIP or no-fault, medical payment benefits and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. The PIP coverage applies whether or not the consumer is at fault, the medical payment benefits can make up what the PIP does not cover, i.e. 20% of the medicals, 40% of the lost wages, and beyond if extended coverage is there. The uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is probably the most important. Underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage allows you to collect from your own company in the event you are injured through the negligence of somebody who has little or no coverage. Typically, we are asked this "full coverage" question when a client has been injured by someone who has no insurance and our client thought their sales agent had assured them they had "full coverage."

Can anyone bring a wrongful death claim?

No. Generally, most states that recognize a wrongful death cause of action limit the pool of potential plaintiffs. Some states limit this group to the deceased's primary beneficiaries, defined as the surviving spouse and the deceased's children. Other states allow the parents of the deceased individual to bring a wrongful death claim. In addition to these individuals, some states recognize the rights of any dependent, whether closely related or not, to bring a wrongful death claim provided the person actually a depended on the deceased for economic support. To those jurisdictions, it apparently makes little to no sense to allow the second cousin once removed of the deceased, who saw him once every five years at a family reunion, to recover for the loss of the deceased's future earning potential. Some states require any recovery gained in a wrongful death action to be divided among the deceased's heirs at law or to be distributed to the deceased's heirs at law as it would be in any normal probate proceeding. In these situations, distant relatives may receive some "trickle down" of damages, even though they were not financially dependent upon the deceased during his life. If more than one plaintiff is entitled to recover, all plaintiffs will share in the award. The manner in which the award is divided can be confusing and will depend upon the laws in the particular jurisdiction where the matter is brought.

Can I recover damages for injuries sustained on someone else's property?

An owner of property has a duty to protect members of the public from injury that may occur upon the property. When a person is injured, he may be able to recover money for his injuries if he can prove that the property owner failed to meet that duty. The hurdle plaintiffs face is that the nature and extent of the property owner's duty will vary depending upon the facts of the situation and the jurisdiction in question. Some states focus upon, solely, the status of the injured visitor to the property. These states divide the potential status into three separate categories: invitee, licensee, and trespasser. An invitee is someone who has been invited onto the land because he will confer some advantage to the property owner, such as a store patron. An owner of property is required to exercise reasonable care for the safety of the invitee. A licensee is someone who enters upon the land for his own purpose, and is present at the consent, but not the invitation, of the owner. For example, a door-to-door salesman who enters the property and stays to chat with the owner about the product that he is selling is a licensee. The owner's duty to a licensee is only to warn of hidden dangers. For example, if the owner knew the front step was rotten and did not warn the salesman, the salesman may be able to recover if he thereafter falls through the step and injures himself. Finally, a trespasser is an individual who enters onto the property without the knowledge or consent of the owner and who remains there without any right or permission. Trespassers have difficulty suing property owners because property owners' duty towards trespassers is not to place traps and hazards on their property. In some cases, the owner must also warn trespassers of the hazards if they are unlikely to be discovered by the trespasser and could cause serious injury or death.

Other states focus upon the condition of the property and the activities of both the visitor and owner, rather than considering only the status of the visitor. In these states, a uniform standard that requires the owner of the property to exercise reasonable care to ensure the safety of invitees and licensees is generally applied. The plaintiff must prove that the duty of care has not been met through an examination of the circumstances surrounding his entry on the property, the use to which the property is put, the foreseeability of his injury, and the reasonableness of placing a warning or repairing the condition. Obviously, whether reasonable care has been rendered depends greatly upon the particular circumstances.

The property owner's duty of care toward children is greater than the duty owed to adults. Even if the children are trespassers or engage in dangerous behavior, the property owner must still take precautions to prevent foreseeable harm to children. The classic example of a property owner's greater duty of care to children arises in the context of backyard swimming pools. Owners must fence, gate, and lock their pools in a manner that keeps children out and if they fail to do so, they will be found liable for injuries to children, even if the children were trespassers that were warned to stay off the property.

If a dog bites a person, is the owner liable for doctor's bills?

In general, the answer to this question is yes. An owner of a dog, or any animal for that matter, may be held liable for the injuries that that animal causes to others. However, the ease with which a plaintiff can win a "dog-bite" lawsuit differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction depending on the legal theory of recovery available in the plaintiff's location. Some jurisdictions require the plaintiff to show that the animal owner knew, or should have known, that the animal was inclined to attack or bite. In other jurisdictions, the plaintiff may only need to show negligence on the part of the owner in order to recover money for his injuries. If a wild animal, such as a lion, bear or monkey, injures the plaintiff, the animal's owner may be held accountable for plaintiff's injuries regardless of his conduct under a theory of strict liability.

If the plaintiff is an adult, the owner of an animal may offer as a defense to plaintiff's claim that the injured party provoked the animal. Where the plaintiff has been given clear warning that an animal should not be approached, petted or talked to, and still proceeds with that action, the owner may be able to avoid responsibility if the animal thereafter attacks the plaintiff. This defense is not available, however, if the plaintiff is a child.

Once the plaintiff has established that the animal owner is liable for his injuries, the plaintiff must also establish the amount of his damages. The plaintiff should introduce evidence, such as doctor and hospital bills, of how much it has cost him to treat the injury. In addition, the plaintiff may be able to recover lost wages if his injury kept him out of work. The plaintiff is entitled to compensation for any permanent disability cause by the injury, as well as compensation for his pain and suffering.

What does a person have to prove to win a slander or libel claim?

Defamation is term that includes both slander and libel. Generally, slander occurs when the reputation or good name of someone is damaged as a result of false statements that are orally made. Libel, on the other hand, occurs when false statements regarding another are put in writing. Whether a particular statement, oral or written, constitutes defamation in the nature of slander or libel will depend upon the particular circumstances in question and the identity of the parties. To prevail in a defamation lawsuit, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant made a false and defamatory statement about the plaintiff that was communicated to a third party. Thus a false and objectionable statement sent in an e-mail to the plaintiff's co-worker may be libelous. The plaintiff can usually succeed by showing the communication was either intentional or at least negligent. Finally, it is also possible for the plaintiff to bring a libel suit where the plaintiff himself repeats the alleged defamatory statement. This is called self-publication. This can occur, for example, when an individual applies for a job and has to tell the prospective employer about something the previous employer said that was false. Before beginning a libel or slander lawsuit, the plaintiff must determine whether or not the objectionable statement is true. No matter how damaging, insensitive, rude or inappropriate a statement may be, the plaintiff will lose his claim if the statement is true.

The "public" plaintiff has additional hurdles to overcome to recover for libel or slander. An example of a public figure is a politician. Along with establishing all of the regular elements of the tort, a plaintiff who is a public figure must also show that the defendant knew the false statement was false, or at least acted with reckless disregard as to its truthfulness. Newspapers may escape liability for libel when they merely report false statements as long as the paper had no particular reason to doubt the statement at the time it was printed.

Finally, the plaintiff often has to prove economic harm in order to recover on a defamation suit. Therefore, the plaintiff may need to be able to demonstrate a loss of business as a result of the defamation in order to establish his right to the recovery of money. However, some types of statements are so damaging that the plaintiff does not have to prove any economic loss. These statements tend to be those that accuse the plaintiff of sexual impropriety or criminal conduct.

Why do I have to pay costs in the case?

This firm uses the Florida Bar-approved Contingency Fee Contract. That contract allows for several options. In regard to fees, it allows for 33.33% recovery prior to the filing of a lawsuit and an answer being filed by the defendant as well as payment of costs by the client. Typically, we are able to keep costs down to a minimum in the pre-suit and early litigation stage; however, as the case moves forward to trial the costs can be very high. This is not something done by design on our part; it is just a fact of life in litigation across the United States. Once an insurance company gets involved in a case against the consumer, costs can quickly mount. Our firm does have the resources to keep up with the insurance companies in regard to these costs; however, ultimately they are paid by our client in the event of a recovery pursuant to the contract.

 
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