Florida Personal Injury Laws

Talk to Insurance Company Following Accident In Orlando

If you get called by an insurance company after your car accident in Florida, don’t talk to them until you’ve talked to an attorney. You could really hurt your case. With other questions, call us at 1800-49-LEGAL. Here at Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter, we’re here to help.

By: Mel Wright

One of the most common questions we get from car accident victims is: If I get cited for the accident, can I still sue?

Of course you can. The police officer wasn’t a witness to the accident in most cases, as a result, it doesn’t matter who gets the ticket. The jury decides who should’ve gotten the ticket. Call us with any questions about your car accident claim. I’m Mel Wright, I’m a partner at Colling Gilbert Wright and Carter. Call us at 1-800-49-LEGAL.

By: Mel Wright

Determining If You Have A Case

Determining whether or not you have a case in Florida in any instance where there’s been a brain injury is a process of having your attorney evaluate and assess liability or fault. The next issue is an assessment of causation – meaning that the wrongdoing of the defendant, was it a cause of the brain injury – and then determining what the losses or damages are. This is something your attorney must do through the evaluation of such things as medical records, and speaking and conferring with experts who assess all of the documents and evidence in the case. Then, your lawyer will know whether or not you have a valid or viable brain injury case to file.

Benefits To Contingency Fees

Most personal injury attorneys will handle a case on a contingent fee basis meaning that they are paid as a percentage of the total amount of money recovered. The great benefit to you as the client in a contingent fee arrangement is that you don’t have to pay any money to the attorney upfront, so it costs you nothing in advance to hire the lawyer. The attorney is paid as a percentage of the total amount recovered and that percentage varies depending on the total amount that the attorney recoveries for you and the stage in the case at which the money is recovered. If the attorney is unable to recover any money for you for whatever reasons, you don’t owe the attorney anything.

Orlando Premise Liability Case

A lot of our clients call us and want to talk about premises liability cases. Premises liability cases are when a person is hurt on a property, a store front, a shopping mall, somebody’s house. They trip, they fall, they break their ankle, they break their arm. Those types of cases are difficult to win in Florida. However, you do have a right to recover. The law says that if there was a dangerous or defective condition that the property owner knew about and didn’t repair or warn of, then their negligent and you have to recovery against.   A lot of times it’s important to document the defect as soon as possible. If you trip over a broken curb or a missing tile, have a friend or family member go back and take a photo of the defect because a lot of times those conditions get repaired before we get involved. So, it’s important to document those things right away.   If you have a question about a premises liability case, call me, Nathan Carter at Colling, Gilbert, Wright, and Carter, 1-800-49-LEGAL.

By: Nathan Carter

Length Of A Trucking Accident Case

There’s no weighth to tell you with any exactness how long an 18-wheeler big rig trucking wreck case is going to last. It totally depends on judge, and ExPro witnesses, and the litigation process, on what state you’re in, and whether it’s state or federal court. But in general a case – if suit is filed and there’s going to be litigation and then a trial – it is going to be likely a two to three-year ordeal. And I’m factoring in that there could be an appeal. Be very careful about listening to some lawyer who says, “I’m going to be able to do your case in just a few months.” That is generally not a true statement. For these cases to be handled correctly it takes time and if they get in to litigation it is definitely going to take usually a two or three-year period.

Partial Fault, Catastrophic Injury

Yes we can, but that should not dissuade you from contacting an attorney or a law firm. In Florida we are fortunate because we have Pure Comparative Fault. All too often individuals who are involved in a catastrophic injury accident will just decide, “Well I think I was partially at fault so I have no case and therefore I should not contact an attorney.” You don’t want to think that way.

As I mentioned, in Florida we have pure comparative fault. What that means is even if you have been partially at fault – if someone else has been also partially at fault – you can still recover for your percentage of your damages and injuries, even if you are determined to be partially or even mostly at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.

Cost To Bring An Auto Accident Claim

Typically it will not. Most law firms in the state of Florida will handle automobile and trucking accident cases on what we call a contingent fee basis, and that is what the Florida bar permits us as lawyers to do to essentially level the playing field and be able to match the resources of the insurance companies and the trucking industry. It allows us to represent you as consumers who have been involved in an accident on a contingent fee basis, meaning that we as the lawyers don’t get paid until the end of the case and we only get paid at the end of the case if there’s been a recovery in your favor. It also allows us in a contingent fee representation situation to advance all of the costs on your behalf, and oftentimes in trucking cases and product liability cases and automobile cases the expenses can build up rather quickly. It allows us to advance those costs on your behalf and then recoup those costs at the end of the case if there’s been a successful recovery.

Finding the Right Personal Injury Attorney

Hi, I’m Matt Dolman of the Dolman Law Group. I’m a Clearwater civil trial attorney. A question many consumers are faced with is: How do I find the best personal injury attorney? It’s a difficult question, but let me start by telling you what you should not do. Do not pick an attorney based solely off of a billboard, a television or radio advertisement, and the reason being is that this does not tell you the quality of the lawyer. In fact, many law firms are little more than settlement mills, where paralegals and legal assistants run the majority of the case. You’ll never get to meet your attorney, or rarely. This is a generalization. Not every law firm is like that that advertises but many are.

Check Website and Reviews

What you should look for is online resources. Look at legal directories. Find out what kind of awards this attorney has won. Look at their reviews. Go online to Google and see if other members of the community have reviewed this law firm. What kind of reviews do they have? Keep in mind there will always be negative reviews on anyone, but what do the majority reviews tell you? Is the lawyer accessible? Are they knowledgeable? Are they competent? Have they tried cases before?

Hire The Best Fit For You

You can’t find that out by looking at a billboard, or listening to a television commercial or radio commercial.This isn’t a beauty contest. You get one bite at the apple. You have one chance to hit your case out of the park. Do your research and be careful out there. Thanks again for visiting our YouTube channel. I greatly appreciate your time. Look forward to seeing you soon, and click on our button here to subscribe to our channel. Thank you.

By: Matt Dolman