Personal Injury - Claim Compensation For Damages

As to be expected, in a situation where a party is responsible for injury to another person, the Florida courts have developed laws allowing the injured person to claim compensation from the person and/or business responsible for the injury. This is called a personal injury claim. If proven that the defendant is responsible for the injury incurred, that means that there was a significant proof of negligence on the part of the defendant. A personal injury lawyer will help you in your mission of proving negligence.

To prove negligence you have to show -

• The person, company or organization you wish to sue owed you a duty of care and did not take reasonable action to protect you against a foreseeable danger
• In the circumstances in which you were injured the defendant breached that duty of care
• As a result of that breach of duty of care you suffered damage and
• The injury you received was caused by the breach of duty of care.

Examples of Personal Injury Claims -

• Motor accidents - Vehicular and motorcycle accidents
• Medical Negligence - Misdiagnosis etc.
• Slip and Fall
• Product Liability
• Workers Compensation - Workplace related injuries and Accidents
• Professional Negligence

Duty of Care

Objectively the "duty of care" standard examines what a "reasonable" person would do to prevent harm to others in the same situation. Could the action have been avoided? What precautions were taken to prevent the injury from occurring?

Standard of care

What level of precaution should be owed to an individual in the claimant's particular circumstance?

Causation

Sometimes this isn't always so clear. Some injuries are not apparent at the time of an accident. Some injuries develop over time. The law recognizes that in some circumstances it is not always straightforward.

If it is found out that the plaintiff is partly responsible for their own injury the damages may be reduced.

How much can I claim?

Money paid by the defendant as compensation is called damages. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the compensation may be high or low.

Damages are divided into -

• Compensation for economic loss (loss of earnings, medical expenses, etc) - and
• Compensation for non-economic losses ('general damages') like pain and suffering, disfigurement etc

Contact us for a free consultation.