Florida Personal Injury Laws

Punitive Damages, Auto Accident

If you have been injured in an accident, you’re entitled under certain circumstances to be compensated for your losses. That’s called compensatory damages. Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, are only allowable in Florida when there has been not just gross negligence but an extraordinary, wrongful level of conduct, so much so that when people look at it, they would say it is almost intentional in terms of the conduct that set things in motion. An example would be the conduct of someone deciding to drink, knowing that he is later going to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Gross negligence is the key. It is also referred to as willful or wanton conduct.

Attorney Fees, Car Accident

If you are injured in an accident the attorney who represents you will likely handle your case on what is referred to as a contingent fee contract. This means that your attorney will take a percentage of the winnings or the award or the settlement in your case. That amount varies – in some instances it may be 40%, in other instances it may be 33 1/3%, that depends upon what you negotiate or discuss with your attorney.

Car Accident on the Job in Orlando

If you’re involved in an auto accident while you’re on the job, you have a worker’s compensation claim, of course, but you can still sue the driver of the other car for your injuries. Those are two claims in one. I’m Mel Wright. I’m a partner at Calling, Gilbert, Wright, and Carter. Call us at 1-800-49-LEGAL.

By: Mel Wright

Compensatory & Punitive Damages in Orlando Explained

In Florida we have compensatory damages and punitive damages. A lot of times you may have heard about punitive damages in the news and media reports. Punitive damages are to punish a defendant. Punitive damages are also very rare. You’re only entitled to those in certain types of cases. For instance, where a drunk driver hits you or the defendant’s conduct is so gross and negligent that the law says they should be punished. In most cases you’re only entitled to compensatory damages.  Compensatory damages are the damages to repay you for the loss you had from the accident. Lost medical bills, lost wages, and things of that nature. If you have a question about that call me, Nathan Carter at Calling, Gilbert, Wright, and Carter at 1-800-49-LEGAL.

By: Nathan Carter

Hi, I’m Evan Fetterman. I’d like to talk to you. Accidents can happen anywhere. When accidents result in injuries, people trust us for the legal help they need. If you’ve been hurt, call 800-330-HELP. I’m here for you.

By: Evan Fetterman

Orlando Personal Injury Case Recovery

If you have a personal injury accident case in Florida, there are different types of damages that you’re entitled to, but generally speaking, you’re entitled to past damages and future damages. The past damages would include things like medical bills, and economic losses, lost earning capacity, missing time from work – things like that. You’re also entitled to future damages. If you have a permanent injury or a bad injury, you’re entitled to recovery medical bills that you may need in the future. You’re also entitled to recover what’s called lost earning capacity, or the ability to earn money in the future. You’re also entitled to recover future pain and suffering. If you have questions about that type of case, call me – Nathan Carter at Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter, 1-800-49-LEGAL.

By: Nathan Carter

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

Nursing Home Injury

If you suspect a loved one has been hurt in a nursing home in Florida, it’s important to document that right away. A lot of times I tell clients to take notes, take pictures, document things while it’s fresh in your mind. Also, you can call The Agency for Healthcare. You can Google that and find their number. They have a 1-800 number. Also, The Department of Children and Families has an elder abuse hotline. If you call those numbers they will send people in to take witness statements, take pictures, and also document the incident. It’s also important that you call us right away. We’ve handled hundreds of nursing home cases all across the state of Florida. A lot of times after we get the chart and have it reviewed by our experts, we find issues that the family was not even aware of. So if you suspect abuse in a nursing home in Florida, call me, Nathan Carter at Calling, Gilbert, Wright, and Carter at 1-800-49-LEGAL.

By: Nathan Carter

Insurance Companies Evaluating Your Losses

Insurance companies will evaluate your losses based on your economic and what we call your noneconomic damages. Your economic damages; what are your medical bills from the date of the crash up until the time of the trial or until the time of the settlement conference and what are your medical bills in the future that a doctor can determine are reasonably related to the crash itself. Also, what are your economic losses for missing work or your wage loss. Have you lost work as a result of this crash in the past, will you lose work in the future? So that’s the economic component that the insurance company will assess.

Aside from that is the noneconomic or the human damages element; what is the pain and suffering that you have experienced in the past and into the future related to a crash. What is your mental anguish, your loss of enjoyment of life? And while those damages are not as easily quantifiable as your economic damages, the insurance company will try to place a value on all of those damages together and that will determine what kind of money they may be willing to offer you to settle a case.