What Is Personal Injury Law?

One of the questions that personal injury lawyers in Clearwater, FL, answer too often is: What is personal injury law? Personal injury law, or tort law, covers cases where an individual gets hurt due to another person’s negligence. This law attempts to right a wrong by awarding compensation to the injured party. The injured party must, however, bring a claim or suit against the negligent party and successfully prove all the elements of a personal injury claim.

To explore your legal options after getting injured due to another person’s negligence, call 727-499-9900 for a free, no-obligation consultation with personal injury lawyers at Magazine & Light Law Group.

The Basics of Personal Injury Law in Florida

Personal injury laws in Florida hold the government, businesses, or individuals legally and financially accountable for causing injuries to others. In the legal system, holding negligent parties or entities liable falls on the civil litigation side. This means it is not criminal law, and criminal penalties are not attached. Instead, individuals or entities found liable are expected to pay monetary compensation to the victim. In some exceptional cases, an injury can stem from a crime. In such cases, the injured party can pursue the perpetrator civilly and criminally.

However, not all injuries can result in a successful personal injury claim. The best way to determine whether you have a case is to screen for the elements of a personal injury claim.

Elements of a Personal Injury Claim

The premise of a personal injury lawsuit is negligence. Negligence is when a person or entity fails to act reasonably, and someone gets hurt as a result. If a defendant is not negligent in his or her actions or lack of action, then proving your case and getting damages is impossible.

You must prove the following elements in a personal injury case to be eligible for compensation:

Duty of Care

This element refers to the legal obligation to act reasonably to avoid injuring or harming others. It highlights how a reasonable and cautious person would and should act under the same conditions or circumstances. Examples of how to act reasonably include motorists paying attention to the road, observing all traffic rules, and not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Another example of duty of care is employers providing a safe working environment for employees, which includes providing safety training. A third one would be doctors following strictly outlined protocols in treating and caring for patients.

Breach of Duty

Once you establish the duty of care owed, you must show that the duty was breached or violated by the defendant’s actions or inactions. Examples include a driver speeding through a red light on a highway, operating a vehicle while drunk, or engaging in distracted driving. Another example of breach of the legal duty of care is a surgeon leaving surgical instruments inside the body of a patient after a surgical procedure. A manufacturer failing to warn about the harms associated with its products also amounts to a breach of duty.

Causation

The duty owed and the duty getting breached do not make one immediately liable for a personal injury. A third element called causation must exist. This element requires the injured party to prove that the defendant’s breach of duty was the cause of his or her injuries. The law doesn’t require an individual to predict precise injuries. However, the injury must have been a foreseeable consequence of negligence.

For example, an anesthetist who walks into a surgery drunk surely knows that his or her action might harm the patient. The anesthetist is also aware that this action goes against the outlined standard of care.

Damages

The final element of the personal injury claim is demonstrating that you suffered measurable harm due to the defendant’s negligence. This harm can be economic, physical, emotional, and even psychological. You can prove damages using documents like medical bills, wage statements, eyewitness statements, your own testimony, and expert witness testimony. A testimony from an expert witness is particularly necessary if your injuries require ongoing medical care.

The Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations speaks to the duration of time within which you need to file a case. Once this timeline expires, you are time-barred and ineligible to take legal action against the defendant.

The statute of limitations for personal injury suits in Florida is two years. The clock begins ticking on the day of the injury. However, there is a provision known as the discovery rule that allows matters to proceed in court after the two-year period. The discovery rule is applied in instances where damage is not immediately established. This is more common in product liability and medical malpractice lawsuits, where harm to a patient can take a duration of time to manifest.

What Are the Most Common Personal Injury Cases in Florida?

A personal injury claim can result from nearly all incidents where an individual gets injured. This is especially true if the four elements of a personal injury claim are satisfied. That said, most personal injury cases have precedence, but you can have a precedent-setting case in unique circumstances. The most common personal injury claims in Florida are caused by:

Automobile Accidents

Car accidents form the bulk of personal injury claims in Florida. State laws have multiple statutes relating to car insurance and remaining on the scene after an accident. The state also operates under the comparative negligence rule, where liability can be fully on one party or shared in varying percentages between multiple parties. A driver liable for an accident is the defendant, but the driver’s insurer steps in to defend and pay the claim.

You can also have a personal injury claim following a boating accident, cruise ship accident, and cycling accident.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when healthcare professionals fail to follow the set standards of care, and patients suffer bad outcomes. Examples of medical malpractice include misdiagnosis, wrong prescriptions, surgical errors, and anesthesia errors.

Premises Liability

Property owners are expected to ensure their properties are safe for habitation. If they fail to satisfy this duty of care, they can be held liable for injuries that happen to others while they are on their property. An example is when a customer falls on a staircase with a loose plank. In such a case, the business owner can be held liable if the owner knew or should have known of the hazard and failed to fix it.

Product Liability

You can sue for personal injury damages if you buy a product and get injured while using it. You need to show that the product was defective and that negligence on the manufacturer’s end caused your injury. You wouldn’t have a cause of action if the manufacturer can prove that you failed to use the product correctly.

The Role of Personal Injury Lawyers

Hiring a personal injury lawyer or a personal injury firm when you or a loved one suffers an injury is among the best decisions you can make for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that an attorney will take on all aspects of your case, including investigations and evidence gathering.

A main concern for personal injury victims is how much personal injury lawyers charge. This is a fair concern, especially when you might have lost income and have mounting medical bills. Most reputable law firms will take on your case at no fee to you until they win the case. Once the settlement comes in, they take a percentage of the funds.

Attorneys will also look into liability matters. In Florida, you only get compensation if your share of liability in an injury does not exceed 50%. An attorney can help assess liability through evidence gathering and try to ensure your percentage liability is zero or as low as possible.

Another huge undertaking in personal injury claims is settlement negotiation. So once an attorney takes on your case, the attorney will compute damages. There is a system for doing this. With a ballpark figure, the attorney will send a demand letter to the liable party’s insurer, state his or her case, and ask for a settlement. If you are lucky, the liable party’s insurer will pay.

More commonly, though, the insurer will reach out with a counteroffer or deny liability. If the insurer denies liability, your attorney will proceed to file a case in court so that the matter can go to trial. Your attorney will then prepare your case, compile evidence, consult expert witnesses, and argue the matter in court to ensure your interests are protected.

The liable party’s insurer would rather not pay your claim. At Magazine & Light Law Group, our seasoned personal injury lawyers will fight hard to ensure you are compensated fairly. Contact us for a free, no-obligation case review if you got hurt due to another person’s negligent or wrongful actions.

Jim Magazine

James (Jim) Magazine is a Florida Board Certified Civil Trial lawyer who has spent his career helping injured victims. Jim is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida since 1990 and is also admitted to practice at the Appellate level and admitted to the United States Supreme Court.

Years of Experience: More than 30 years
Florida Registration Status: Active
Bar Admissions:
Clearwater Bar Association
West Pasco Bar Association