Haines City, Florida
Haines City Personal Injury Lawyers
Haines City: 135 N 6th St Suite C, Haines City, FL 33844
Being injured in any type of accident can suddenly feel like your life is turned upside down, causing immense physical pain, emotional stress, and overwhelming financial uncertainty.
Although nothing can undo or erase the harm done, holding negligent parties fully accountable and obtaining fair compensation must be your top priorities moving forward. You should not have to pay for any damages or medical bills that you did not cause. An experienced Florida personal injury lawyer can handle the often complex legal process for you, so you can focus your energy on healing and getting your life back on track.
Steps to Take After Suffering a Personal Injury
Navigating the confusing aftermath of an accident is difficult for most people, especially when severe injuries are involved. To protect your legal rights and maximize your ability to ultimately recover fair compensation and damages, be sure to take the following steps:
Get prompt medical attention for your injuries
Even seemingly minor injuries sustained should be thoroughly evaluated by a doctor, as health complications can develop later. It is common to think you are fine, but usually, that is just the adrenaline covering up your pain. You could have bad back pain or another injury you notice in a few days. Having documentation of all diagnoses and treatment plans is crucial evidence.
Report the accident to authorities
Alert the police, fire department, or other proper investigative authorities about the accident and cooperate fully with any official accident investigations. Get a copy of the accident report for your records when it is ready. You can usually get this at the local police station.
Document evidence from the scene
Take clear photos of any injuries like cuts, bruises, or swelling, pictures of property damage, and images from the accident scene. Also, take photos of the dangerous conditions. If anyone who witnessed the accident will write a statement, that can further help prove your case. Save or screenshot relevant texts, emails, or voicemails to show proof.
Avoid discussing fault or making statements
Anything you say about the accident can be used against you later. Do not admit guilt or make any recorded statements to insurance companies until your lawyer is present with you. Ensure you do not have any discussions with anyone until your attorney is there.
Keep detailed records related to the accident
Carefully track any medical expenses, property losses, lost income, missed work days, and all other monetary losses that resulted from the accident and injuries. Detailed records will be valuable later.
What to Realistically Expect During the Personal Injury Claims Process
Successfully obtaining fair compensation and damages after an accident-related injury involves a number of detailed legal processes and phases. Having a lawyer who is an expert in personal injury claims in Haines City makes the complex journey much smoother. Key stages include:
Investigation and Demanding Reimbursement
Your lawyer will conduct an extensive initial investigation into the accident circumstances, gathering police reports, documentation, physical evidence, and witness statements. They work to establish a theory of liability and prove negligence. Your attorney will then demand that the insurance company reimburse you for all your losses.
Settlement Negotiations Phase
In response, the insurance companies involved will likely make low opening offers to settle the claim. The first offer is often ridiculously low. However, a personal injury lawyer in Haines City will negotiate on your behalf with the insurers over a series of back-and-forth communications, steadily increasing settlement offers until the insurer agrees to a full and fair amount aligned with your actual losses, damages, and suffering.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
If the insurance company denies liability or refuses to negotiate fairly by making reasonable settlement offers, an experienced personal injury attorney will file a lawsuit.
Trial
While most personal injury claims reach out-of-court settlements prior to trial, expert personal injury law firms are fully prepared to take cases before a judge and jury when necessary. In rare instances when pre-trial settlement negotiations fail to secure fair compensation aligned with a client’s losses, an experienced trial attorney will vigorously litigate the case at trial.
Common Personal Injury Cases in Florida
Some of the most common personal injury cases routinely handled in this state include:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Florida experiences many crashes, often resulting in catastrophic trauma, spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, and wrongful death. According to the Florida Traffic Crash Statistics, in 2021 alone, there were 1,100 crashes per day on average. In the same year, 3,454 fatal crashes and 13,435 incapacitating injury crashes occurred. Some common types of crashes include:
● Distracted, drowsy, or drunk drivers
● Aggressive truck drivers
● Reckless teens
● Lane change collision
● Dangerous passing maneuvers
● Red light runners
● Pedestrian impacts
● Uninsured drivers
● Hit-and-run incidents
Thorough crash scene analysis, police reports, witness statements, video footage, and other evidence prove liability.
Slip, Trip, and Falls
These preventable premises liability accidents occur when property owners fail to maintain reasonably safe conditions. Hazards like wet floors, uneven walking surfaces, slippery surfaces, poor lighting, lack of stair railings, unmarked steps, standing water, and tripping dangers like electrical cords or merchandise frequently cause slip and fall injuries such as fractures, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and death in the elderly. Businesses, landlords, homeowners associations, and government entities can be held liable.
Dog bites
Owners of dogs are legally obligated to reimburse you when their dog bites you or causes an injury. For instance, if the dog trips you, then the owner is still responsible. Dog attacks often lead to serious scarring and pain. It is crucial that your attorney determine if the owner of the dog has homeowners’ insurance coverage.
Damages You May Be Entitled to After a Personal Injury Accident
If you are injured in an accident caused by another party’s negligence in Florida, you may be entitled to various categories of compensation damages, provided you have representation from a qualified personal injury attorney. Your Haines City personal injury lawyer will fight to help recover full and fair damages such as:
Medical Expenses
This includes all costs associated with accident-related healthcare services, both initially and in the future. For example, compensation for medical expenses encompasses emergency response, ambulance transportation, hospitalization, diagnostic tests, surgery, medications, outpatient rehabilitation, physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, counseling, and any other medical intervention required to treat crash injuries.
Future medical costs must also be projected for ongoing treatments over your lifespan due to permanent conditions. An experienced personal injury lawyer will work with healthcare experts to provide accident-related medical damages.
Lost Income and Diminished Earning Capacity
If injuries force you to miss work for any period, you are entitled to recover lost income for those days off. The damages analysis becomes more complex if the injuries are catastrophic enough to inhibit your ability to return to your occupation or if your vocational capacity is permanently reduced going forward. Let your lawyer handle the complexity so you can focus on resting.
Cost of Disability Accommodations
If serious injuries lead to long-term disability, you can try to get disability-related modifications that become necessary in daily living. Relevant expenses may include renovations like wheelchair ramps, stair lifts, comfort height toilets, roll-in showers, kitchen counters at wheelchair height, and widening doorways.
If your driving capacity has changed, modified vehicles may be required, including hand-controls, wheelchair tie-downs, and van lifts. Even small details like grab bars, shower benches, and adjustable beds tailor the home environment to the injury victim’s needs and are legitimate accident-related expenses.
Pain and Suffering Damages
Injury compensation covers past, present, and future physical pain and emotional distress from the accident. Pain and suffering damages aim to provide justice for profound losses: devastation of lifestyle, lost enjoyment of life, inability to participate in activities that previously brought pleasure and meaning, loss of companionship due to injuries, mental anguish, and more.
Your attorney will fight for full pain and suffering compensation based on the unique circumstances of your case. Juries can grant amounts they think are fair.
Costly Mistakes Injury Victims Must Avoid
After suffering an injury in an accident caused by negligence, certain common mistakes can detrimentally impact your ability to obtain fair compensation and damages. Avoid the following errors:
Failing to promptly seek medical treatment and obtain thorough documentation of your initial injuries
Even minor gaps in treatment history or delays in seeking initial care can later be exploited by insurers to undermine the proof of injuries and diminish case value.
Providing recorded statements or interviews to insurance adjusters without your attorney present
Anything you say without the guidance of your lawyer can be misleadingly used out of context later by insurers to try and diminish or deny the validity of your claims. Wait until your attorney is present before participating in any interviews.
Accepting a quick, unreasonably low settlement offer before your losses and future needs are fully calculated
This prevents you from recovering the complete long-term compensation you deserve months later when the full extent of injuries, impact on your life, and future medical treatments needed become apparent. Consult your attorney to determine if the settlement amounts offered align with your damages.
Failing to fully comply with your doctor’s prescribed medical advice
It is important not to ignore your doctor’s advice on your medical care and rehabilitation protocols, skip physical therapy, or delay ultimately needed treatments. Insurers will often argue your injuries and losses were not as severe as claimed if you do not follow treatment plans.
Waiting too long after the accident to consult and retain an attorney to represent you
In Florida, state law sets a strict 2-year statute of limitations for filing personal injury lawsuits, as per Florida Statute 95.11. This means injury victims have just two years from the date of the accident or injury to either settle their claim with the at-fault insurer or file a formal lawsuit against the negligent party.
Attempting to handle the legal complexities surrounding a personal injury case alone
The odds are overwhelmingly stacked against unrepresented injury victims. Large insurance corporations dedicate enormous legal resources to limiting claim payouts.
Failing to keep detailed records
Keeping records related to all accident-related costs, lost income, diminished future earning capacity, and impact on quality of life is vital. Thorough financial documentation and evidence are important when proving and calculating the full scope of damages you sustained.
Why Hiring a Lawyer is Essential After Any Florida Accident or Injury
Suffering any significant personal injury after an accident of any kind can completely make your world feel like it is crashing down, causing immense physical pain, emotional grief, and often financial devastation. Although the road to properly pursuing fair compensation seems daunting initially, it doesn’t have to be with a lawyer on your side. Obtaining damages is absolutely essential to cover mounting costs, replace lost income, and financially recover to the fullest extent possible.
Achieving maximum compensation is rarely feasible without the representation of a personal injury lawyer advocating for you. Personal injury law is highly complex, and insurance companies dedicate enormous resources to limiting payouts on claims.
Get the Compensation You Deserve With a Haines City Personal Injury Attorney
Suffering a serious injury in an accident caused by negligence should never leave you feeling helpless or hopeless. Although the process of pursuing fair damages seems daunting after an accident, an expert personal injury attorney can help you every step of the way. You need a lawyer who will meet with you face to face and guide you.
The lawyers at Howell & Thornhill meet their clients face to face. Howell & Thornhill is committed to helping you recover the maximum compensation that you are rightfully owed. Contact us today for a free consultation. Howell & Thornhill has principal offices in Winter Haven and satellite offices in Haines City, Sebring, Zephyrhills, and Lake Wales. We are happy to meet you face to face or on Zoom!
