Personal Injury Attorney in Fernandina Beach, FL
Paul Boone is here to help if you or a loved one has suffered injury or been killed in Florida. Contact Paul Boone today.
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Paul Boone is here to help if you or a loved one has suffered injury or been killed in Florida. Contact Paul Boone today.
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Paul, handled a internet fraud case for me. He was diligent, sympathetic, and incredibly sharp. He turned a horrendous situation into something that we could live through.
Marshall
Paul Boone has been a vital part of our lives for many years. As thing have come up, he is our first point of contact for advise. He has provided us with good legal counsel and representation.
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Paul is a very very good attorney, He is always their for his clients. Paul help our Family out in hard times. He understands your needs and concern. Paul is one of a kind.
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Phone: (904) 448-4009
303 Centre St Ste. 203
Fernandina Beach, FL32034
Offering valuable assistance during a very difficult & stressful time.
Paul’s practice concentrates on personal injury law with an old-school law practice approach to helping anyone solve a problem that requires the assistance of an experienced, understanding attorney with the special ability to solve problems and help return the lives of people to a level of normalcy in a stressful, sometimes chaotic world.
If you or a family member has suffered injury or been killed in Florida, especially in the Jacksonville/Nassau County metropolitan area, contact Paul Boone for a FREE consultation and case evaluation. Call 904-448-4009 and talk to Paul personally today.
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Fernandina Beach, FL Personal Injury Lawyer
Have you or someone you loved been injured due to someone else’s negligence? Having to go through this is awful and no one should have to experience it. This Injustice happens all the time to people who shouldn’t have to go through it. Our Personal Injury Attorney in Fernandina Beach, FL stands by victims to get the justice that they deserve in the fullest and fairest amount. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office as soon as possible to set up your first free initial consultation. We will fight for your justice as we would for our own family. Call us today— justice is waiting.
Types of Personal Injury Cases Our Lawyer Handles
The term “personal injury” is one that covers a lot of ground. When you are hurt in any of the following incidences, you could be eligible to bring a claim if your Personal Injury Attorney in Fernandina Beach, FL can prove that there was a liable party responsible for the harm you suffered. Incidents that can lead to personal injuries include:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Nursing home abuse
- TBI
- Spinal cord injuries
- Negligence security
- Slip and falls
- Construction accidents
- Wrongful deaths
- Defective medical products
- Medical malpractice
- Insurance bad faith
There are four parties involved in any given personal injury case. The first party involved is you, the plaintiff, who is entitled to justice for the damages they suffered. The second party involved is the liable party. They are the person who crashed into your car or knocked you off your bike or performed lousy surgery on you. They will be represented by the insurance company that covers them. That insurance company is financially responsible for your damages. They will also be your biggest obstacle. That is why you need to have skilled Personal Injury Attorney in Fernandina Beach, FL by your side.
The damages that you will be looking to recover break down into parts: economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages are things that have cost you money due to the injury, such as medical bills, lost wages, medication costs, rehab fees, etc. Non-economic damages include things like pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, and so on. Those are harder damages to calculate because you can’t put a price on the pain that you’re in.
Tips for a Successful Case
With any given personal injury case, there is likely to be a lot of evidence at the scene. It is best for you to collect that evidence as soon as possible. If, for example, you were involved in a truck accident that left you so badly injured that you were swept away in an ambulance unconscious, you are obviously not going to be able to get the evidence yourself. If this is the case for you, you can call on a friend, family member or even our Personal Injury Attorney in Fernandina Beach, FL to go to the scene for you and collect the evidence on your behalf. There are also likely to be police officers on the scene to make a report. The evidence that you want includes photos and videos of the scene including the cause of your injuries, photos and videos of your injuries themselves, contact information from witnesses, and anything else that you find relevant.
If you are personally on the scene collecting evidence, it is important not to mindlessly admit guilt. For instance, if you were involved in a car accident and your adrenaline is pumping and you were trying to take photos and videos of the scene when the other vehicle passengers involved get out to talk to you, you might be tempted to say you’re sorry it was your fault. Even if you think that you caused the accident in the moment you won’t know for sure why it happened until there’s been a thorough investigation done. You could be ruining your claim before it even starts.
As stated, the insurance company is going to be your biggest obstacle even though they’re the ones that are supposed to be providing you your biggest relief. Their main objective is to save themselves money; meanwhile, you and your Personal Injury Attorney in Fernandina Beach, FL have the mission of getting full and fair compensation. Your lawyer is meant to make this easier on you. Something to be cautious of is the fact that the insurance company may call to try and get a recorded statement from you. You are in no way obligated to give them one. A recorded statement is just a tool for the insurance company to get you to put yourself at fault in the incident and reduce the value of your claim.
Frequently Asked Personal Injury Questions
Who is responsible for paying my medical bills after a personal injury accident?
Ironically, the first line of responsibility is you. In an automobile accident case, you carry what is known as PIP, Personal Injury Protection. You may know it as no-fault insurance. You’re required to have it in the state of Florida. The reason you have it is if you get hurt in an automobile accident, that is what’s paid first. That is the law in Florida. Next, if you have health insurance, it will pick up what your PIP does not pay.
Ultimately, if we make a claim and we recover, part of that claim is medical bills and, although typically it’s one check the insurance company writes, it covers all your damages, including the medical bills. There are other complexities to that. The first line of payment is your own insurance.
If you’ve been hurt in an automobile accident or other accidents, sit down and talk with us. We can go into all the insurance issues. Typically, this is a first-time event for many clients. They do not know how it works. Working through the maze and myriad of insurance responsibilities and layers of insurance is a mystery to them. We can unravel that mystery. If you’ve been hurt in Duval County, Fernandina Beach, FL, give us a call. We’ll sit down and go over all of that the very first so that you have a full understanding of how to handle your medical bills and other aspects of the case.
Is there a minimum amount of medical bills needed to pursue a personal injury case?
People often come to us with details about their cases and ask whether they have a case. One of the questions that they ask is whether there is a minimum amount or dollar amount of medical bills needed before they can make a claim. There’s no real minimum, although medical bills drive values of cases in many instances. If you have no treatment, you have no medical bills at all, it’s hard to say that you’re hurt so that we can make a claim. The larger the medical bills, the more the insurance company will believe that the case has greater merit, depending on other factors. Again, these are details that we would love to discuss with you if you’ve been hurt in Duval County, Fernandina Beach, Nassau County, Yulee, or Jacksonville. Give us a call. We’ll sit down and talk about your case.
What are the steps to filing a personal injury lawsuit?
One of the questions that clients ask when they come into the office is, “How do we get started? What are the steps in starting my case?” It differs from case to case. Initially, you come see the lawyer and we sit down and we talk about the case and find out what kind of case it is. Some cases, we will go to the courthouse immediately and file what is called a complaint. That starts your complaint in the court system. Other cases require us to put defendants on formal notice before we’re able to actually file a lawsuit against them. Come see a lawyer first. Let’s gather up all the facts. Let’s gather the evidence, which is very important. Then we know what we have, we know the direction that we need to take your case, depending on what kind it is. Here in northeast Florida, Fernandina Beach or Duval County, that’s how it’s done. If you live in those areas and you’ve been hurt, give us a call. We’ll be happy to sit down with you, talk to you in more detail about your case, and figure out what next steps are.
How long does it take to settle a personal injury case?
One of the very first questions that most clients ask is how long their case will last. That question, as important as it is, is rather hard to answer directly with an exact timeframe. It could be as quickly as six months. It could be several years. It depends upon your case. In Fernandina Beach, FL we have lots of logging truck accidents and those cases can be complex. They can last a couple of years. If we can get into a situation where we can approach the insurance company early on, it could be six to eight to nine months. You must be prepared to go the long haul. This is not going to be over in a couple of weeks. Again, every case is a little bit different. Call us. Make an appointment. We’ll sit down together or through Zoom and we’ll go over it and figure out how best to help you.
Can I recover for emotional damages in my personal injury case?
Clients ask often what they can recover in their cases. Typically, the clients know the medical bills and lost wages are recoverable but many times they’ll ask if emotional loss is part of the claim that they can recover for. The answer is absolutely yes. Indeed, that sometimes is the major point of recovery where you have an emotional loss like the loss of a spouse, the loss of a child. Those are particularly tragic cases. Emotional loss is the major component of it. Yes, you can recover emotional damages. In northeast Florida, Jacksonville, or the Fernandina Beach area, we handle these kinds of cases. Call us today. We’d be happy to sit down with you and talk about your case and how we best can approach it.
How will a pre-existing condition affect my personal injury case?
Fernandina Beach, FL is an aging community. Many of our clients have what is known as a pre-existing condition, something that was there before the accident or injury for which they’re coming to see us has occurred. They’re concerned about how that’s going to impact their case. Depending upon where on your body that pre-existing condition is, there will be an effect. For example, if you have a low back injury from years ago and you get involved in a rear end collision and you injure that low back area again, the insurance company is going to say it all came from before the accident. We have means and measures to deal with that.
It is an issue in your case, and to be quite honest with you, it will lower the settlement value of your case because the defense has the ability to point to something unrelated to the accident to say that’s where your hurt is. We get records. We educate ourselves on your medical condition so that we can approach your case in the best way. One of the things that we do not do is oversell your case. We get educated. We will know you as well as you know you. That is important. Don’t be dismayed that you have a pre-existing condition. Call us. We’ll approach it in a way that suits your case the best.
Is there any way to avoid trial for my personal injury case?
People generally don’t like to go to trial. It’s a foreign experience. It’s filled with tension and pressure for them. We, as lawyers, have to be sensitive to that, particularly those of us who have tried many cases. We sometimes overlook the pressure points that clients experience in the courtroom. You can avoid that by settling your case before trial. The offers that insurance companies will make if your case has merit will vary from insurance company to insurance company. We will give you recommendations about what we think you should do. Trying cases in Fernandina Beach and Duval County, we are pretty familiar with the insurance carriers and we know how they approach these issues. Whether or not we can avoid it will depend upon you as the client. We will give you recommendation about what we think you should do but the bottom-line decision is yours. You control it in terms of whether you try your case or we avoid it by settling the case. If you’ve been hurt in any form of accident in Duval County, Fernandina Beach, or northeast Florida, feel free to call. We’ll sit down and go over the ins and outs of your case.
Should I accept the first settlement offer for my personal injury case?
When we meet with clients, we talk about how the case is going to go. Settlement comes up every single time. Many times, a client will ask if they should accept the insurance company’s first settlement offer. Typically, we say no because insurance companies are like most companies. They try to get away with paying as little as they can. If you’ve been around like we have for 38 years, you know that they will not come in with their best offer initially. The short answer is no. If your case has significant problems, that could influence that answer, but generally speaking, no. We litigate the cases. We get their best dollar on the table and then sit down with the client to discuss whether we will accept that offer and resolve the case at that point. If you’ve been hurt or injured in the Fernandina Beach area or Duval County area, give us a call. We’ll sit down. We’ll talk about your case and see how best we can help you.
Could my personal injury case settle before going to court?
People ask often if it is possible that a case will settle before going to court. The statistics show that most cases do. Even with lawyers like us who have tried a lot of cases, the majority of our cases do settle before court. The reason for that is we prepare. We know our cases. The other side of the insurance company knows that we know our case. If they know our track record, they know that we’re willing to trial the case.
When that happens, if you have seasoned lawyers on both sides and seasoned insurance adjustors on the other side, then typically we will find ourselves in the same range of settlement value. In those cases, more likely than not, we will be able to settle your case but it will be done in a reasonable manner in a range that we think is reasonable. That only comes with experience. We have been practicing for decades and have been inside a courtroom. We know what a courtroom can do for you and we have a healthy respect for the courtroom. Give us a call if you’ve been hurt in Fernandina Beach or Duval County. We’ll be able to sit down with you and go over your case in detail.
Will my personal injury case go to trial?
One of the questions that we get asked almost every time is whether or not a case will go to court. A lot of people are fearful of that. Quite frankly, most people would like to have their case settled before that. We don’t make promises to our clients about whether cases will go to court or won’t. It depends upon the fact of your case. We will make a recommendation about whether or not the insurance company is dealing with us fairly in settlement offers. If we don’t think they’re dealing fairly with us and we can do better at trial, we will tell you that. We’ll give you our recommendation that we should try the case. The bottom-line decision is yours, but it will be made in conjunction with detailed conversations that we have along the way. If you’ve been hurt or injured in Fernandina Beach, FL, call us. We’ll go over the details of your case.
What is the role of expert witnesses in my personal injury case?
As we get into cases, we begin talking about hiring witnesses to help with the case. These people are called expert witnesses. They are specially hired for the case, with the exception of your treating doctors, who are also known as expert witnesses. Their role is to provide professional opinions about certain complex areas of the case that are beyond the understanding of the average juror. We routinely hire experts in our cases to help in those areas that are needed. We don’t go overboard in hiring experts. We hire them as we need them, but if we need them, we go get them. If you have any questions about your case, expert witnesses or otherwise, call us. We’ll sit down an we’ll talk about your case.
How do I choose the right personal injury attorney?
We had someone ask recently how to go about picking a good personal injury lawyer here in Fernandina Beach, FL and the Amelia Island area. This is what we told them— You want someone who has experience and someone who has been inside of a courtroom and knows what a courtroom looks like and has tried cases similar to the one that you have. That is the number one consideration. You also want someone who’s familiar with the area who’s willing to go out to the areas where the injury or accident occurred and can translate that into your claim. That is another important consideration in picking a personal injury lawyer. If you would like to discuss this further, call us. We’d be happy to go through the ins and outs of your case in much more detail.
Fernandina Beach, FL Car Accident Lawyer
Have you been seriously injured in a car accident? We are so sorry that you are going through this. Our Fernandina Beach, FL car accident lawyer wants to help you get the justice that you deserve after you have suffered serious damages because of somebody else’s negligence. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office to set up your first free initial consultation. During that consultation, we will go through the details of your case and advise you on what steps you should take to get the justice you deserve. We will guide you along the way every step. Call us today to get started on getting justice.
Tips for a Successful Claim
There are three vital pieces of information that you need to know if you want to have a successful car accident claim. The first thing is that there is a ton of evidence on the scene after a car accident and collecting it is extraordinarily valuable for the success of your claim. Now ,you might be swept away on an ambulance to an emergency room, which would leave you unable to collect any evidence most likely. If that is the case, you can certainly call on a friend or family member to come to the scene to collect evidence for you. In some instances, you can get our Fernandina Beach, FL car accident lawyer to come to the scene to collect evidence on your behalf. The evidence that is good to collect would be photos and videos of the scene in general, including both vehicles involved in the accident, a general shot of the whole scene, and any injuries that you sustained. You also want to get the contact information from any witnesses so your lawyer can collect testimony from them down the line. There will likely be police on the scene making a report, so be sure to get a copy from them at some point.
If you were able to stay on the scene to collect evidence and you were not swept away to an emergency room, the next thing that you need to do immediately after you’re finished up at the car accident scene is get medical attention. Injuries from a car accident can range from minor fractures and broken bones to paralysis. You need to get everything checked that could possibly have been affected in this car accident. Ignored injuries can lead to permanent damage. Delaying and seeking medical attention is not only bad for your well-being it is also bad for your case.
When you’re involved in a car accident, the liable party is going to be represented by an insurance company who is responsible for your damages. The insurance company wants nothing more than to save themselves money, which means trying to undermine the value of your claim. If they look at your medical records and see that you delayed seeking medical attention, they will try to say that you either lied about how badly you were hurt or lied about how you got the injuries in the first place. With that reasoning, they can try to reduce the value of your claim or throw it out altogether. Your Fernandina Beach, FL car accident lawyer don’t want that for you.
Getting the Justice You Deserve
Act as soon as you can. In Florida, the state law says that you have four years in which to file your car accident claim. That means you are going to be barred from receiving any sort of justice if you wait more than four years from the date of your car accident. Ideally, you make the call to our Fernandina Beach, FL car accident lawyer as soon as you possibly can after being involved in the accident. With a case that moves urgently, you reduce the risk of the evidence disappearing, witnesses forgetting what happened, and the insurance company having any room to undermine your case.
You may have preconceived notions about hiring a lawyer, such as how expensive they are and how you could handle a case by yourself without them. You are indeed allowed to represent yourself in a car accident claim but the chances of you getting the justice that you deserve in the fullest and fairest amount are slim. Our Fernandina Beach, FL car accident lawyer are so successful because of their extensive knowledge in local and federal law regarding personal injury. Odds are you’re focused on your physical well-being, and caring for yourself and your family and trying to become an expert litigator while dealing with an injury is not a realistic possibility for you. Also, our lawyer work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay a penny unless we win your case.
Frequently Asked Car Accidents Questions
How do I choose the right car accident attorney?
People often ask how to go about picking a personal injury lawyer when they’ve been hurt in a car accident. If you have someone who has referred you to a lawyer, great. Go to that lawyer. More to the point, however, you want a lawyer who’s done this before. Our practice is almost exclusively engaged in personal injury work. It’s been that way since day one, since 1982. You want someone who knows their way around the personal injury law. It has become complex. It has become controlled by the legislature in Tallahassee with the passage of many laws and statures. If you are not in it on a regular basis, you may not know what’s going on.
When shopping around for a lawyer, sit down with them and ask, “What’s your experience? How long have you been in practice? What percentage of your work is personal injury work? What percentage of your personal injury work is the kind of case I have?” Now, automobile accidents are, in the grand scheme of personal injury work, fairly common, particularly here in Fernandina Beach, FL. We have an east-west road, state road 200, which stretches from I95 into Amelia Island where we have two paper mills. We have hundreds of logging trucks that go in and out. It’s very dangerous. The road has been under construction for several years and will likely be under construction for several years after that. We have a whole host of automobile accidents on a daily basis. You need to know that your lawyer has the experience to handle those cases. If you’ve been hurt on state road 200 in Fernandina Beach or any other roadways in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, give us a call. We’d be happy to help you with your case and see where it goes.
How do you determine the value of my car accident case?
Even though many clients ask this in their first conference with us, we typically don’t answer it then because a lot of things go into determining the value of your case. The nature and extent of your injury, the amount of your medical bills and, if you have been working outside the home, the amount of lost wages. We don’t know a lot of these factors on day one of your case. There is a lot of what goes into valuing your case. We always advise clients to let us get the things done that we need to do. You get back to getting back on your feet as best you can. We’ll come to a time later on in your case where we get to value your case after all of these things have occurred and developed. If you’ve been hurt in Fernandina Beach or in the Duval County area, give us a call. We’ll sit down and talk about your case and figure out how best to approach it.
How does lost wage reimbursement work regarding a car accident case?
Clients who come to see us typically have not been involved in automobile accidents before. They don’t know how it works. They’ve had automobile insurance for years and years, have never had to use it. They get hurt. They can’t work. They want to know what to do about that. In Florida, if you drive on the streets of Fernandina Beach and Duval County, you know you have to have what is called PIP insurance. It’s Personal Injury Protection insurance. It’s also called no fault insurance. It will pay 60% of your lost wages.
When you get hurt, one of the early things you should do is call your insurance company. They, either online or through the US mail, will send you a bunch of paperwork. Several of those documents have to do with documenting your lost wages. You or they will send a form to your employer. They will fill out a lost wage verification form where they’re able to go back 13 weeks prior to your accident. They will take an average of that and pay you 60% of your wages. Now, additionally, if you work for a company that provides different kinds of insurance, some of the insurance might be short-term disability or wage continuation plans. You should contact your HR department or the representative for your health insurance, your short-term disability, and they will do the same thing. There will be a coordination so that your wages are protected as much as they can be. At a minimum if you have insurance, it will pay 60% of your wages.
If you’ve been hurt in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, or anywhere in northeast Florida, give us a call and we can help you walk through those issues that are mysteries to you. They’re not mysteries to us. We can help you through these issues, as well as other aspects of your case.
How long will it take to resolve my car accident case?
One of the first questions clients ask is how long a case will last. That answer varies. A good rule of thumb is 9 to 14 months. It could go longer, however, if your case gets into litigation and it gets complex. If we can resolve your case without filing the lawsuit, then it would be at the front end of that timeframe, maybe a little less, maybe a little bit more. It depends on several factors. One thing is certain. It will not be over in a couple of weeks. It’s not a matter of calling up an insurance company and asking them to pay us your money. It doesn’t work that way.
First of all, there’s analysis of your medical records, both pre-accident and after your accident, so that we have a good fix of your injuries. Collection of medical records and medical bills takes time. That stretches out the duration of your case a lot of times. Know that you have to be prepared to be in it for a while. When you come to a lawyer with the legal problem, leave the legal problem here. Let us do the work we excel at. You get back on your feet and do what you do in terms of getting back to as much of a normal lifestyle as you can. If you have those questions or any other questions, call us. If you’ve been hurt in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, the Amelia Island area, or western Nassau, call us. We’ll sit down with your case and figure out what’s best for you.
Should I speak to the insurance company after a car accident?
Many times, we get asked whether clients should talk to the insurance company. The insurance company can be several different companies. In Florida, you have a responsibility to talk to your own insurance company. That’s in your contract whether you know it or not. You have a duty to cooperate. That means talking to them, giving a statement if they ask for it, writing statements of what happened, and signing authorizations, etc. You have a duty of cooperation to your own insurance company.
You do not have that duty to the insurance company covering the other automobile that was involved in your collision. We recommend that people do not talk to the other insurance company. There are companies that are very professional. There are insurance companies that are not. You don’t know one from the other. It’s best to have all information channeled through the office of your attorney, who know the ins and outs so that things can stay organized while you concentrate on getting better. Again, don’t talk to the insurance company from the other side. Let your lawyer do it. Talk to your own insurance company because you’re supposed to. If you have a case like that, call us. We’d be happy to help you in any aspect of it, whether it happens in Fernandina Beach, FL, Duval County, Jacksonville, or Fernandina Beach.
What common mistakes do people make in their car accident cases?
Clients sometimes do not do the best things that will help their case. One of the common things that we see is, after a car collision, they don’t go to the doctor because they don’t think they’ve been hurt. Many times, people get hurt in what is known as a soft tissue injury where their muscles been damaged or their discs between their backbone have been hurt. Those types of injuries sometimes don’t come up for several days. When you’re in a collision, many times your adrenaline just goes off the chart and you don’t feel the injury. Whether you do or whether you don’t, go get checked out. In Florida, if you don’t get checked out and see a doctor for treatment within 14 days, you lose your right to have your own PIP or no-fault insurance pay for those bills. That could be a kick in the stomach to your situation.
Another mistake we see is people don’t get a hold of a lawyer. A lawyer can do many things in preservation of evidence, particularly here in Fernandina Beach, FL. State road 200 is the east-west main artery, only artery from I95 onto Amelia Island. It is under construction. It’s been under construction for several years. It will be under construction for many years to come. The makeup of the lanes change, sometimes on a daily basis. If you get a hold of a lawyer, a lawyer knows to go preserve the evidence, go out and take photographs of the accident scene because it’s going to change, particularly up here.
Cars get repaired. Another mistake we see is clients don’t get pictures of the damage to their car. Without it, although it’s not fatal, it weakens your case. You’ve heard the phrase a picture is worth 1,000 words. That is particularly true in courtrooms. Jurors love to see pictures. With it, we can extrapolate your damages and your injuries. If we have it, it’s a great tool. If we don’t have it, it’s one less tool in our toolbox.
Those two things are the primary mistakes that we see. That clients don’t get treated and they don’t preserve their evidence by taking pictures of the scene and pictures of the car. If you contact us early on, we can navigate you through those mine fields. We can preserve the evidence so that we can maximize the value of your case. If you’ve been hurt in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, or northeast Florida, give us a call. We’ll be happy to sit down with you, go over things, and see how best we could help you.
What happens if I get in a car accident and the other driver doesn’t have insurance?
Many times, people get involved in auto collisions and the at-fault driver does not have any insurance. Even though they are required to carry certain levels of insurance, there are many people who don’t buy the kind of insurance that will pay you for your injuries. Some people are on the road not driving with insurance at all. You can protect yourself. What do you do if someone doesn’t have insurance? If you’re concerned about protecting yourself fully, we always recommend that you obtain uninsured, under insured motorist coverage so that in the event that you’re involved in a collision and the other side who is at fault has no coverage, you are protected. If you’re hurt on state road 200 in Fernandina Beach or any artery or roadway in Fernandina Beach or the Jacksonville area in Duval County, give us a call. We’ll be happy to go over that with you and all other aspects of your case.
What should I do after being injured in a car accident?
What should you do after you’ve been involved in an automobile accident? One of the first things you should do is get treated. That is far and away more important than any other aspect of a case. Even if you don’t think you are hurt, go to your primary care doctor or to the emergency room and do it right away because many times you can be hurt and not know it. The sooner you get treated and the sooner you can get to see a doctor, the sooner the therapies can be implemented and the more effectively and the quicker you can get well. That is the very first thing that you should do.
Next, call a lawyer who can help you navigate through the complexities of insurance questions, including who should pay what, how it should be paid, and preservation of the evidence, such as the damage to your vehicle and the collision scene. Those types of things go away if you don’t get it done immediately. Your attorney can help you with these items while you are recuperating and getting your medical care. He can be that aid in the event that your case turns into a claim against a responsible party. If you’ve been hurt in Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Yulee, Callahan, Hilliard, Jacksonville or the Jacksonville area in Duval County, give us a call. We’ll be happy to help you in any way that we can.
Who will pay my medical bills after a car accident?
When people come to see us, they have a lot of questions. Typically, they’ve been in an accident. This is their first one. They don’t know what to do. The question that comes up is who’s going to pay the bills. Ironically, even though the accident was not your fault, you will pay the initial round. In Florida, you are required to have no fault insurance, also goes by Personal Injury Protection, PIP. That insurance will pay 80% of your medical bills. If you purchase additional insurance with your automobile insurance called medical payment insurance, you have to pay extra for it, but it will pick up the other 20%. Your auto insurance will pay potentially 100% of your bills.
That may sound backwards if someone else is responsible for the accident, but in Florida, that’s what pays first. After that, your health insurance, if you have it, will pick up these bills. At the end, if we resolve your case, either by settling before going to court or obtaining a verdict, the liable party will pay for your medical bills. At the end of the day, the at fault driver’s insurance company will pay, but at the beginning of the case, you have to take care of it. For answers to these and other insurance related questions connected with auto accidents, give us a call.
Call Our Fernandina Beach, FL Car Accident Lawyer
No one deserves to have to go through a car accident claim by themselves. You have enough to worry about already. Let us handle the hard parts. Call our Fernandina Beach, FL car accident lawyer today to set up your free initial consultation to go over the details of your case and get guidance that could lead to your full and fair compensation.
Fernandina Beach, FL Truck Accident Lawyer
Were you or a loved one seriously injured in a truck accident? We are so sorry that this is your reality, and we want to work as hard as we possibly can to make sure that you get the justice that you deserve. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Fernandina Beach, FL truck accident lawyer as soon as you possibly can. We can set up a free consultation to go over the details of your case and advise you on the legal action you should be taking to get the fun fair compensation you are entitled to. Call us today to get started.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are sometimes pretty unique compared to car accidents, for example. A truck accident could happen for normal reasons, such as violating traffic laws on the highway. Truck accidents, however, can also happen because of issues particular to the profession of truck driving. A lot of truck drivers are pressured to get a lot of work done in one day. That means that they’re driving a ton on little sleep. Being drowsy when driving is said to be just as or sometimes more dangerous than drunk driving.
If a truck driver is cut off and made to slam on their brakes, their vehicles are not going to stop like a normal car because they are so heavy. That could also cause an accident.
One thing that most truck accidents have in common is how severe they are. Victims of car accidents sometimes don’t walk again. It’s common for a truck accident victim to incur permanent damages.
Recoverable Damages in a Truck Accident Case
To get an idea of how cases are valued, you can look to this example:
Amy was on her way home from work on a highway driving when a semi-truck swerved into her lane and caused her vehicle to spin out and flip. Luckily, she survived and she was taken by ambulance to the emergency room.
She suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken bones, and paralysis in her lower body. When her Fernandina Beach, FL truck accident lawyer was valuing out her claim, he had to take into consideration her economic damages and her non-economic damages.
Her economic damages would include things like her disability for life after not being able to work due to the paralysis. They would also include the cost of surgeries and medical treatment needed after the truck accident and any medical care she would need for the rest of her life because of this accident. Economic damages can simply be defined by the amount of money that the accident cost you.
Amy’s non-economic damages are a little bit more complex to put a number on. Her lawyer considered the fact that she’s no longer able to walk, which significantly reduces her quality in life. She also suffers from PTSD from the truck accident and she’ll never work again. Someone’s life changing like this is a huge factor in the value of their claim. These factors are not taken lightly and your lawyer are going to fight hard to make sure that you get the results you deserve.
Tips for a Successful Claim
Act fast in everything that you do. Have a friend or family member come onto the scene to collect evidence, such as photos and videos of the scene and contact information from the witnesses, as soon as you possibly can, or collect the evidence if you personally can.
Get medical attention as soon as you possibly can, as well, not only to benefit your health but also to strengthen your case. If you wait to get medical treatment the insurance company will say that you lied about how you got hurt or how badly you were hurt, which is bad for your case.
Additionally, don’t ever give the insurance company a recorded statement about your truck accident. Truck accident insurance companies are very powerful and all they want to do is save themselves money, so if they get you on record saying something that could hurt your case, they will use it against you. Let your lawyer handle the insurance company.
Lastly, reach out to our Fernandina Beach, FL truck accident lawyer as soon as you possibly can. In the state of Florida, you have four years to bring your injury case or else you are barred from ever getting the justice that you deserve. Make this a priority in your life so that you don’t end up losing out on what you were entitled to.
Frequently Asked Truck Accident Questions
What should I do after being injured in a truck accident?
People that have been involved in accidents in a commercial trucking situation where a tractor trailer semi or a logging truck has collided with them often want to know what’s the first thing to do. Without fail, without exception, we tell them go get medical treatment, even if you don’t think you’re hurt, because many times, pain and discomfort don’t show up for several days. If you don’t get treated or if you don’t go see a doctor within the first 14 days, your own insurance is not required to pay. Go get checked out. Go get treated. Then the treatment process can happen and you’ll be in good shape.
The next thing to do is call a lawyer. Let the lawyer do the things that are important, such as preserve evidence. This is regardless of whether you actually have a case or not. He can go out to the accident scene, photograph the scene because collision scenes change, particularly up here in Fernandina Beach, FL. He can photograph the damage to your car. Cars get repaired, particularly if you have your own insurance collision coverage— they want to go in and get those cars repaired quickly. If we can get in early, we can preserve that evidence. The more we can preserve, the more value your case will have. First and foremost, if you’re involved in a trucking accident, commercial trucking accident. go get treated so that your medical condition gets as good as it can get. If you’ve been involved in a commercial trucking accident in Fernandina Beach, FL, Duval County, call us. We’d be happy to sit down with you, go over those issues and many more.
What common mistakes do people make in their truck accident cases?
Mistakes we see people make when they’ve been involved in a commercial trucking accident in northeast Florida, Fernandina Beach, FL, or Duval County, is they don’t get medical treatment. Sometimes with the rush of adrenaline immediately following a collision, the pain receptors are masked and you don’t feel like you’re hurt so you don’t get medical treatment. Sometimes this pain doesn’t come on for several days. If you don’t get treated immediately, you won’t get the optimal recovery. If you don’t get treated and we take your case to trial, a jury might not believe that you’re hurt. Get treated immediately, particularly in Florida because if you don’t get treated within 14 days of the accident, your own insurance, your PIP insurance, will not be obligated to pay. That’s another reason. Get treated and call a lawyer because the lawyer can help navigate you through all of that. They can preserve evidence and can do the things that lawyers can do. That will help your case as well. Call us today. We’ll be able to help you in your case in Fernandina Beach, FL, Duval County. Thank you.
How are truck accident claims different from car accident claims?
One thing that clients don’t fully understand is that different kinds of accidents on the roadway are treated differently. That is especially true when it comes to an automobile versus a tractor trailer commercial trucking case. The drivers in trucking cases may have requirements that are set by the department of transportation, such as limitations on how long they can drive without making stops. There’s a total number of hour limits on their driving. There are recording devices. There are many things connected with evidence preservation in a commercial trucking case that do not exist in an automobile accident case.
It’s important that you get a lawyer who has experience and knows the questions to ask, knows where to go look for this evidence because it’s important. If you miss it, you could be missing some valuable evidence that would enhance the value of your case. Those are just some of the differences between those two kinds of cases. We would be happy to sit down with you if you’ve been hurt in an automobile commercial trucking case on state road 200 in Fernandina Beach, FL or any of the roadways in Fernandina Beach or Duval County.
How do you determine the value of my truck accident case?
Putting a value on a trucking accident case is something that happens along the way in a case, not right away. People often ask in the initial conference what the value of their trucking accident case is. We don’t answer that question simply because we don’t have the answer in the initial conference. Lots goes into putting a value on your case: the nature and severity of your injury, whether your injury is permanent or not, and whether it impairs your ability to get through a day, for example. Whether you were working outside the home or not and other factors, whether the trucker was completely at fault or whether you and someone else shared the responsibility also goes into factoring the value of a case. Many times, we don’t have the pieces to that puzzle until later on. Typically, we won’t answer that question until we are well into the case after we’ve collected lots of information. Nonetheless, if you’ve been hurt in a trucking accident here in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, or anywhere in northeast Florida, give us a call. We’ll sit down. We’ll talk about that as well as all the other issues of your case.
How long will it take to resolve my truck accident case?
One common question we hear with potential clients is how long a case is going to last. Those who have been involved in trucking cases, particularly up here in Fernandina Beach, FL where we have trucks clogging up the only east-west corridor state road 200 going to and from the paper mills here, want to know how long it’s going to take. Trucking accidents are not like automobile accident cases. They are more complex. They will take longer. If we cannot resolve your case without filing the lawsuit, the lawsuit will get complex. It could take a couple of years. We could resolve your case without filing a lawsuit in 9 to 14 months, maybe less. It depends on several factors: our ability to collect records and get medical information, for one. If we get into the lawsuit, it will take longer than an automobile accident case simply because it’s more complex— two years, maybe longer. If you’ve been involved in a trucking accident in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, call us. We’ll sit down. We’ll go over the ins and outs and how best we can help you.
Should I speak to the insurance company after a truck accident?
People often ask whether they should be talking to the insurance company following a commercial trucking tractor trailer semi collision. There are two answers. With regards to their own insurance company, yes, you talk to that insurance company. They are your insurance company. You have a duty and responsibility under your contract with them to cooperate. What that means is you contact them immediately after the collision. You let them know you were hurt. They many times will want a statement from you, either written or over the phone. They will send you either online or via the US mail a packet of information that you will have to complete. You will want to do that. If you do not cooperate with your own insurance company, they can void your coverage. You do not want that in a time of need such as this.
With regards to any other insurance company, particularly the insurance company representing the trucking company, the driver, etc., do not talk to them. They are experts in their field. You are not. This quite likely is your first collision where you’ve been hurt. You do not know what you do not know. We will strongly advice you to not talk to the insurance companies. In fact, if you’ve come to see us, that is one of the things we will instruct you. Do not talk to them. Instead, give them our contact information and have them call us. They know the rules. It is illegal for them to talk to you once you have told them that you’re represented by a lawyer. They know how it works. The information will go through our office and then you can concentrate on getting better. If you’ve been hurt in a commercial trucking collision, either in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, any of the cities in there, call us. We’ll sit down and talk about it and figure out how best we can help you.
Can I sue the trucking company if the driver who hit me was driving drunk?
People often ask who we are going to sue in a trucking case, a commercial trucking case. We tell them we will sue as many people as we can think of. One issue is whether we can we sue the employer of the driver who was involved in this collision who was drunk. The answer is yes. The reason for that is that, in Florida, an employer who puts someone behind the wheel of a tractor trailer, a semi, is responsible for the conduct of that driver, whether they’re drunk or not. If they’re drunk, it puts the employer in a very difficult position. It can bring in issues of punitive damages. It’s the employer who usually buys the insurance policy. Whether you’ve got that issue or any other issue, call us. If you’ve been hurt in a trucking accident in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, we’ll sit down. We’ll go over things and see how best we can help you.
Do I have a claim if a family member dies in a truck accident?
When someone dies in a collision, we are often approached by a family member. They ask, what can we do? Can we make a claim? Can we sue the at fault trucker who killed my loved one? The answer is yes, under certain circumstances. When someone dies in the state of Florida, the case is governed by Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, which has been on the books for a very long time now. It allows people to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. They are known as survivors. Typically, they are the surviving spouse, children of the deceased person, and others that the deceased person was providing financial support for. If you’ve lost a loved one because of the negligence of a trucker in Nassau or Duval County, call us. We’ll sit down. We’ll go over everything and figure out how best we can help your situation.
Should I accept the first settlement offer for my truck accident case?
Sooner or later, clients ask about settlement offers. They often ask if we should take the first offer. Generally speaking, the answer is no. The reason for that is insurance company are behaving in these moments like most companies that are in negotiating mode. They will try to get offers as low as they can. They start with a low offer. Sometimes it’s so low it’s insulting. We tell the clients don’t be insulted.— we are in it for the long haul. They know we aren’t going to take the first offer. There are exceptions to every rule, however. If your case has very serious liability problems or other problems, we may revisit that. Even in that circumstance, we’re probably not going to take that first offer. Our goal is to get the best offer on the table. That takes multiple rounds of negotiating back and forth, which we’ve been doing for decades in northeast Florida, Duval County, and Fernandina Beach, FL. If you have a case where you’ve been hurt in a trucking accident case, call us right away. We’ll go over your case. We’ll see how best we can help you.
How do I choose the right truck accident attorney?
In Fernandina Beach, FL, we have a lot of tractor trailer semis. There is one east-west road from I95 that you can take. It’s the only road you can take to get to Amelia Island— state road 200. There are two paper mills on Amelia Island. Tractor trailer semis transporting timber of all sorts go 24/7, hundreds of trucks. We see automobile accidents connected with these tractor trailers a lot. It’s important that you retain a lawyer who has experience. If you are looking for an attorney on a trucking case, get one who’s done it before. We have done it before. This is an area where these are common, particularly up here in Fernandina Beach, FL. I95 goes through Fernandina Beach, FL, Duval County. The trucking industry is alive and well. They clog up the roadways. A day doesn’t go by that there’s not a trucking accident, it seems, and we have handled those cases. If you have experienced a truck accident in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, call us. We’ll sit down with you and go over your trucking case and see how we can help you.
Call Our Fernandina Beach, FL Truck Accident Lawyer Today for a Free Consultation
If you’ve been involved in a truck accident case, time is of the essence. Move as quickly as you can to reach out to our Fernandina Beach, FL truck accident lawyer to get started on getting the justice that you deserve. You should not have to suffer because of someone else’s negligence. Our job is to take the hard parts of a truck accident case off your hands so you can focus on your recovery. Call us today. Justice is around the corner.
Fernandina Beach, FL Wrongful Death Attorney
Losing someone you love is a grief that cannot be explained. Our Fernandina Beach, FL wrongful death attorney is so sorry that you’ve had to experience this kind of loss especially at the hands of a liable party. We fight for the rights of surviving family members when someone is lost. Call us right away to set up a free initial consultation and we will go over the details of your loved one’s case and provide guidance on what legal action you should be taking to get the justice that you all deserve after having had to endure this very difficult time. Call to set up your free consultation today.
What are Florida Wrongful Death Claims?
According to Florida state law, if someone has died in a way that is wrongful or involves a breach of contract by someone else or an entity not involving the victim, then the loved ones of the deceased can bring a civil lawsuit.
That’s a complicated way of saying that if you lost someone that you loved because someone else was acting in a way that was wrong or negligent or careless, then you may be eligible to receive a legal remedy for the damages and the losses that you and your family are going to have to suffer because of this incident.
Here are some examples of what a wrongful death case is:
A 90-year-old woman was in a nursing home and she was left unattended in her wheelchair by a stairwell. Her wheelchair was not locked and she rolled towards the stairs and tumbled down. She was not discovered for at least an hour when at that point she had passed away from her injuries. This is an avoidable death, which is one of the main characteristics of wrongful death cases.
A college student was exiting the parking ramp and walking towards his first class of the day. At a crosswalk, he steps in the road and a car comes whizzing around the corner and collides with him. He dies on impact. The driver of the car did not obey the rules of the road and it is a wrongful death due to that fact.
A middle-aged woman goes into the ER complaining of chest pain. Because symptoms present differently in men and women for heart attack, the doctor assumes that what the middle-aged woman was experiencing was a panic attack. He prescribes her some Ativan and sends her home. The following evening she suffers another heart attack and, as a result, passes away. Because she did not receive any treatment for her first heart attack and had a subsequent heart attack, she died due to medical malpractice and her family would be eligible to bring a civil claim against the hospital.
The Plaintiff in a Florida Wrongful Death Claim
The word plaintiff refers to the person who will be bringing a lawsuit. If it was a slip and fall where someone got hurt at a grocery store, the plaintiff would be the person who slipped and fell. For a wrongful death claim, the plaintiff has to be representative of the deceased. Here’s what you need to know about who is eligible to be the plaintiff in your particular wrongful death case.
The law in Florida insists that a personal representative of the deceased estate is the person who is going to be eligible to file the lawsuit for wrongful death. This person is likely going to be the one who was named in the loved one’s will or estate plan. In the case where there is no estate plan and there is no will, then the court can appoint someone to be the personal representative for the estate and therefore be the plaintiff and wrongful death case. Our Fernandina Beach, FL wrongful death attorney will guide you through what this process will look like.
Please note that just because one person is going to be filing this particular claim it does not mean that only one person is going to see the results of the justice. The personal representative is going to be fighting for the rights of the family as a whole. Any suffering the family members have to endure is included in a wrongful death settlement. For example, if the loved one who passed away had children that they would have been providing for, those children are entitled to damages of not only loss of a relationship with a parent but financial support their parent would have provided them in their lifetime. A full and fair compensation award would include the damages suffered by all surviving family members not just the personal representative.
Family members who can potentially recover wrongful death damages in a case in Florida is the following:
- Parents of the deceased
- Children of the deceased
- Blood relatives such as siblings or adoptive siblings who were either partially or entirely financially dependent on the deceased
We understand that this can be complex and we want to help you understand this fully. Give us a call right away to set up a free initial consultation with our Fernandina Beach, FL wrongful death attorney.
Florida Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
In every state in the United States, the rules and laws and statutes are slightly different regarding wrongful death and personal injury cases. Every state is going to have a period of time in which the personal representative is allowed to bring a wrongful death claim as a lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations. A lot of states in the US have different laws for wrongful death as opposed to personal injury cases.
Florida State law statute of limitations says that a claim must be filed within two years of the loss of a loved one. There are some extenuating circumstances in which a case could be postponed but you would have to discuss this at length with your Fernandina Beach, FL wrongful death attorney to see if your case, in particular, qualifies for an extension. In most cases, it’s going to be those two years only. We urge you to act quickly.
Cases that are brought past the statute of limitations are barred from trying to seek justice. We do not want that to happen to you. The sooner you reach out to us, the better off your case will be. Please understand that we know how hard it is to deal with the loss of a loved one and we respect that you need to grieve. We take the stress of a case off of your hands so that you can focus on yourself and your family. Please don’t delay reaching out to us, as we can help get the ball rolling on what needs to get done so you get the justice you are entitled to.
What are Florida Wrongful Death Damages?
When you bring a wrongful death claim, please understand that it is a civil claim. That means that it is not a government-brought claim, it is involving your loved one’s estate. This is basically saying that while there is wrongdoing in your loved one’s death, this is not going to be a criminal case. There are certainly criminal cases that turn into wrongful death civil claims but, for the interest of the justice you are seeking with a wrongful death case, it is civil first and foremost. The justice that you are seeking is solely financial. You are not putting anyone behind bars in a wrongful death claim. A criminal claim would not involve financial compensation for the surviving family members.
The following are damages that you and your loved ones are entitled to after losing someone in a wrongful death case:
- The loss of a relationship with a family member and the support they would have provided for you and your loved ones
- Mental and emotional suffering as well as pain and suffering after having lost a family member
- The cost of medical services provided to the family member who you lost
- Burial and funeral costs
Our Fernandina Beach, FL wrongful death attorney will help you understand exactly what you and your family are entitled to. We will make this an easy process for you and everyone affected by this loss.
Frequently Asked Wrongful Death Questions
Are Punitive Damages Recoverable in a Wrongful Death Action?
Yes, you can get punitive damages in a wrongful death action. The laws can be rather complicated about punitive damages. Over the last 30 some odd years, the law has gotten complicated about that, but yes, you can recover under appropriate circumstances if the conduct of the person at fault rises to certain levels and other things happen. Yes, you can recover. These are matters for experienced lawyers. Our wrongful death attorney has been in practice for 38 years and has handled wrongful death cases with punitive aspects to them. If you think you have that kind of case which has occurred in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, call us. We’ll sit down and talk about it and make the decisions that are right for your case.
Can I File a Wrongful Death Claim for a Sibling?
Generally speaking, the answer is no. If you are the personal representative, which is who files the claim for the wrongful death, then you can file it on behalf of the estate. Now, there are some very limited circumstances where a sibling might be able to recover directly. If a sibling came to us with that question, we would ask them a lot of wide-ranging questions about the other survivors, surviving spouse, children, etc. to see if they fit under the survivors of the wrongful death act, which controls these kinds of cases. If you have that question and your loss has occurred in Fernandina Beach Duval County, or the surrounding areas, call us. We’ll sit down. We’ll talk about it. We’ll get the answers to those questions for you.
Can the Heirs Hire Separate Attorneys for a Wrongful Death Case?
In wrongful death case, there are often multiple survivors. Sometimes, they want to know if they can get their own lawyer for a variety of reasons. Maybe they don’t get along. It happens and it has happened once or twice at our practice. Survivors or heirs can hire their own lawyer but it is not something we recommend. It causes control issues and any number of problems, which can reduce the value of the case and would not exist if one lawyer represented everyone.
One thing that you must remember is a wrongful death case is prosecuted by the personal representative of the estate. That person is the quarterback of the case. That is the person who makes the decisions in the case. The heirs can hire their lawyers, and if there is disagreement, it can cause problems, notwithstanding the fact that the personal representative makes the final decision. If you have that situation and those questions come up in a wrongful death case in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, or any of the surrounding areas, we can help. Call us today to discuss.
How Do I Choose the Right Wrongful Death Attorney?
When looking for an attorney in these matters, there is absolutely no substitute for experience in a wrongful death case. These are different kinds of cases. The damages are different. The emotions are high. You need a lawyer who has gone in the trenches, handled these cases, tried these cases, and knows what a jury can do with these cases. Our wrongful death attorney has been in practice 38 years and handled multiple wrongful death cases. Again, these are not simple cases. It’s imperative that you get a trial attorney who has been around, who has been into the court room and has handled these things. If you’ve suffered this loss in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, or any of the surrounding areas, call us. We’ll sit down at your convenience. We’ll go over things. We’ll come up with a plan that suits you the best.
How Do You Determine the Value of a Wrongful Death Case?
Sooner or later in a wrongful death case, we begin talking about the value of the case. A wrongful death valuation is different from a personal injury because what you look to recover is the loss that the surviving person, be it the spouse, surviving children, or other relative. It’s a little bit counter intuitive but that’s how you determine that. These valuations are not done quickly. They generally get made later in the case. Once we have acquired evidence and have learned more about the family, the surviving spouse and children, what exactly their loss was, or what kind of person the deceased loved one was, we can begin to assess value. As we get closer to trial date or other key points, we will begin to make that valuation range and have those discussions. If you’ve suffered a loss of a loved one and you think you may have a wrongful death case in Fernandina Beach, Duval County, or surrounding areas, give us a call. We’ll sit down with you, go over your case, and see how best we can help you.
How Long Does It Take to Resolve a Wrongful Death Case?
There are variables, as with every case, but typically these cases take 9 to 14 months. If we have to file a lawsuit, you can add a year at least to that. If it gets complicated, it will be longer than that. There are other processes which can extend that time. The point is that is not going to be over in a couple of weeks or even four to six weeks. Once that timeframe is set and clients have that kind of an expectation, then they can go through a better healing process of recovering as best they can from the loss of a loved one, the spouse, the child, and can have a confidence that their case is with an experienced lawyer who will handle their case properly and with compassion. If you’ve suffered that kind of loss in Fernandina Beach and Duval County, call us. We’ll sit down at your convenience. We’ll go over things and figure out how best we can help you.
Should I Speak to the Insurance Company Regarding My Wrongful Death Case?
Should you talk to the insurance company of the liable party? That answer is always no because they do not have your interest in mind. They have the interest of their insured, the driver or owner of an automobile, the owner of a company, the owner of a product, anything where that person died as a result of the negligence of their insured. They are gathering information for the benefit of their insured.
We always advise clients in our first meetings to not talk to anyone connected to the other side. Instead, have them call us. Information will go to and from this office appropriately, and that’s how we handle it. You will never talk to the insurance company directly. If you have a wrongful death case in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, call us right away. We’ll direct you appropriately and lay out a road map to help you.
What Benefits Are Available in a Wrongful Death Case?
What are the things that we can recover in a wrongful death case? You can recover several things. These cases are brought by the estate, by statute. Whatever claims the estate has for recovering medical expenses and things of that nature, those are benefits that can be recovered. The intangible losses that surviving spouses or surviving children have, such as the loss of companionship, pain and suffering, mental anguish, or loss of the capacity to enjoy life because that loved one is gone, can also be recovered. If you have suffered a loss of a loved one in Fernandina Beach and Duval County, call us. We’ll go over those things and so much more. We’ll lay down a road map for how we can help you.
What Does It Cost to Pursue a Wrongful Death Claim?
Clients who come to us with wrongful death cases sign what is known as a contingency fee contract. What that means is, if there is a recovery, our fees come from that recovery. In other words, we advance the cost of the case. If there is a recovery, those costs come out of the share of the survivors and the estate. The costs vary widely. It can be anywhere from $5,000 or $10,000 upwards up to six figures of cost. Every case is different. Every case has its own expenses, if you will. Some cost more than others. If you have that situation, we’re prepared to handle the case, whether it’s at one end of the spectrum or the other as far as costs are concerned. Call us right away. We’ll sit down. We’ll answer them as best we can and figure out how best we can help you.
What If My Relative Lives for Some Time and Then Dies from Their Injuries?
Many times, someone dies because of the negligence of others but they don’t die immediately. If a loved one has been hurt and they linger on for several months and then they pass away from those injuries, do you have a case? The answer is yes. The case is a wrongful death case if the death occurs at the hands of another, whether that person dies immediately or sometime down the road. The injury merges with the death and we handle it that way. If you have a loved one who lingered, even for a very long time, and ultimately died as a result of negligence of others, call us. We’ll go over things and see how best we can help you.
What If the Individual Was Partially at Fault in Causing Their Own Death?
Sometimes when people come to us in these matters, they know a little bit of something of how the accident happened and suspect that their loved one might have been partially responsible for his or her own death. They want to know if there’s a case. The answer is perhaps. Florida has what’s called comparative negligence. Comparative negligence simply is you can be partially responsible for your death and still recover damages.
Let’s say that a person died in an automobile accident. We go try the case in court and the jury said that the person who died was 50% at fault and the other driver was 50% at fault and they awarded the survivors $100,000. The comparative negligence of the person who died is factored in and the judge will reduce that $100,000 ward by half so that it becomes $50,000. That’s how that works. Comparative negligence applies in wrongful death case. It’s not fatal to a wrongful death case. It simply reduces the value of it, one of the main things we take into consideration. If you have that situation, do not hesitate to call us if it’s occurred in Fernandina Beach or Duval County, or any of the surrounding areas. We will sit down with you, walk you through it, and see how best we could help you.
What Is a Wrongful Death Claim?
What is meant by “wrongful death”? It’s a phrase that we lawyers use all the time to describe a particular kind of case. A wrongful death is an incident, an accident, an event that takes the life of someone through negligence in a way that it should not have happened had there not been negligence. The death of that person, the loss is for the people that that loved one has left behind. The damages that are recoverable for those left behind, called survivors, are then determined. That’s a process. That’s the meaning of wrongful death. Someone has died at the negligence of another leaving behind surviving loved ones. If you have that situation where a loved one has been killed as a result of negligence of another, call us. We can sit down and talk about your case and see how best we can help you.
Who Is Considered a Wrongful Death Survivor?
Wrongful death cases are different than personal injury cases. Those who are allowed to recover with a death of a loved one are generally a surviving spouse, children up to a certain age, and some others. Primarily, it’s a surviving spouse and children. Those can change depending upon the kind of case that the death occurred in, but generally speaking, that’s it. Those people can come to us when they have suffered the loss of a loved one. Sometimes we have a case where someone has died, and because of the manner in which they died, there are no survivors under the laws of the state of Florida. We go through that in great detail in the very first conference so that people’s expectations are appropriately set. If you think you have a wrongful death of a loved one, call us. We’ll go over it. We practice in Fernandina Beach and Duval County primarily. If you have suffered a loss in those areas, call us. We’ll sit down and go over things and see how best we can help.
Call Our Fernandina Beach, FL Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Our Fernandina Beach, FL personal injury lawyer wants to fight for your rights to full and fair justice. Please don’t hesitate to give our office a call today. You’ll speak with one of us directly during a free consultation. In your consultation, we will go over the details of your case and direct you on what legal action you should be taking. Call us today to get started.
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