Florida Personal Injury Laws

Bicycle Rights And Responsibilities

Everyone riding a bicycle has the responsibility to abide by the laws in the state of Florida. Sometimes people on bicycles think that they have a special right and that people driving cars have the duty to some way drive in a different way simply to avoid the bicyclist. Although it is true that every driver needs to be on the lookout for the bicyclist, bicycles still have to be in the correct lane, be operating the bicycle in an appropriate and a safe manner, have your bicycle helmet on at all times, and abide by all laws. Because you are on a bicycle you do not get a pass when it comes to abiding by the law.

Limits On Damage Recovery

There are no limits on the damages you can recover in a car wreck or a truck wreck case. However, the judge will tell the members of the jury that each juror is to user his or her best judgment and discretion in determining what the assessment will be as to those damages, and the judge will explain to the jurors that each is to be reasonable as the members of the jury discuss what is the appropriate amount to award in a given case.

What kind of injuries are entitled to be compensated for after a car accident in Florida?

It really depends in a lot of circumstances, but usually you need to prove that you had some sort of permanent injury. That could be permanent strain, or it could be paralysis, or anything in between. Don’t assume that you’re not able to make a claim. Call us and ask us questions at 1-800-49-LEGAL at Colling Gilbert Wright and Carter.

By: Mel Wright

Best Law Firm Experience

Hiring a lawyer for your injury case is an important decision, which should not be based on who has the most commercials. I’m David Best. I’ve been practicing for over 25 years. Call me and put the Best Firm to work for you.

By: David Best

Subrogation Rights

Subrogation rights in the state of Florida essentially means that somebody stands in your shoes to recover. And what that means most typically, especially in an automobile accident case, is you’re involved in an accident and you require medical treatment. And because of that medical treatment you incur, say $10,000 in medical bills that your health insurance company has to pay for.

Well your health insurance company gets to stand in your shoes and they have subrogation rights, where if you later settle the case and the at fault driver’s insurance company pays you for your injuries and damages, you have to pay back the health insurance company that paid for your medical care and treatment that was the result of the at fault driver causing you injuries.

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

Legal Background

When I went to law school, I had an interest in civil litigation. When I got out I decided I wanted to litigate files. So I went to the best place to cut your teeth doing that, which is insurance defense. After a while I decided I was tired of defending insurance companies and I wanted to make a difference for people who were hurt. In my prior experience, working on the other side. I learned defense tactics, insurance companies policies and and procedures on how they defend claims, on how they defend, mechanisms that they use to defeat claims, defeat suits. My goal is to make sure that the client knows that they are the most important client on my roster. I’m always available. My cell phone is given to them at every client intake meeting. I take calls at all hours of the night, even answer mundane questions like, “What’s happening with my pit payments?” Big firm results, small firm attention, we do everything we can to make sure that our clients know that they are very important to us.

Legal Philosophy

I’ve talked to some of my clients even after they were not my clients, even after we settled their cases just about how their life is going. We want them to think of us as friends, we want them to think of us their companions in this process. We’re not just someone– I mean we are working for them but we’re not just someone that’s working for them, we’re working towards a common goal, which is to make them whole from their injuries. When I can get a settlement that I consider to be good or high quality based on their treatment, injuries, and medical history, that is my favorite part of my entire job. A lot of firms think of their clients as an end result. That’s not how we operate. This is a business but at the end of the day we’re trying to obtain the best result we can for every client we can. Not because of the bottom line, but because when you come in here, we care about you. You are part of our family.

By: Alexander Knapp

Alternatives To Court

Before filing a lawsuit and taking your case to court, your attorney most likely is going to make a reasonable attempt to try to settle your claim first with the insurance company for the at-fault driver or at-fault party. That typically involves putting a demand package or claims package together which includes the crash report, photos, medical records, wage information and any other documents or information supporting your claim. And that’s an effort typically made to avoid litigation. Trying to resolve the case directly with the insurance company without the need to go to court. If that doesn’t work then your attorney will file a lawsuit, your case will then go into litigation will be handled over the courthouse. But you will still have opportunities to try to resolve the case before it gets to trial through such things as mitigation and sometimes arbitration.

Motorcycle Bias

Typically what we found in Florida, through the years of handling motorcycle accident cases, is that jurors have somewhat of a bias against motorcycle operators just like many of us have a bias against truck drivers. Oftentimes the mere fact that a motorcycle operator is operating a motorcycle as opposed to a motor vehicle, sometimes jurors will hold that against that person just by the mere fact that they’re operating a motorcycle. Thinking that they must be reckless, because who would operate a motorcycle on the roads in Florida?

And oftentimes it’s difficult for us, even where the motorcycle client of ours is not at fault in any manner whatsoever, we still have to overcome that bias that many potential jurors out there have. So you must keep that in mind when pursuing a motorcycle accident case.