An accident caused by someone else’s negligence may qualify as a personal injury case in Florida. These cases arise when a person, business, or professional fails to act with reasonable care and someone is hurt as a result.
Below, our Florida personal injury lawyers explain how negligence works, what must be proven to pursue compensation, and the types of accidents that commonly lead to personal injury claims.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence occurs when someone fails to exercise the care that another reasonable person would in a similar situation.
Proving Negligence
Establishing negligence is essential in most personal injury cases. To do so, we must demonstrate the following:
- Duty of care: People owe each other a duty to prevent injuries. The specifics of this duty depend on the situation. For example, drivers owe other drivers and pedestrians a duty to follow laws and drive safely. Property owners owe visitors a duty to clear or warn of any hazards. Doctors owe patients a duty to uphold their field’s standard of care.
- Breach of duty: The at-fault party breached their duty of care to you. For example, a driver who texts and drives or speeds has violated their duty to you. A property owner who fails to fix a broken railing has violated their duty. A doctor who fails to check notes before a surgery has failed to uphold the standard of care.
- Causation: The breach of duty must be the cause of your accident or injury. For example, the texting driver runs a red light and t-bones your vehicle. You suffer a spinal cord injury. The property owner fails to fix a broken railing, and you fall down the stairs, suffering a traumatic brain injury. The surgeon fails to double-check their notes before a surgery and operates on the wrong body part.
- Damages: You sustained financial, physical, and/or emotional damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
Examples Of Florida Personal Injury Cases
Our team handles all types of injury cases in Florida, including:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle wrecks
- Truck crashes
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle crashes
- Slips and falls
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
Building a Personal Injury Case
A strong personal injury case is built on clear, well-documented evidence. From our perspective as a law firm, our role is to gather, preserve, and present that evidence in a way that tells your story and proves liability and damages.
Evidence in a personal injury case may include:
- Accident reports
- Photographs or video of the scene
- Medical records
- Witness statements
- Expert testimony
- Documentation of lost wages or reduced earning capacity
We also work closely with medical providers and specialists to understand the full scope of your injuries and how they may affect you long-term.
Just as important as evidence is timing. Acting quickly allows us to preserve critical information before it disappears and ensures your claim complies with all legal deadlines, such as Florida Statute § 95.11. Our goal is to build a comprehensive case that reflects not only what happened but also how the injury has impacted your life physically, emotionally, and financially.
How Do Personal Injury Cases Resolve?
Personal injury cases can be resolved in several different ways. While every case is unique, most follow one or more of the paths below. We can guide our clients through each option and help them make informed decisions at every stage.
Settlement
A settlement can occur at almost any point during a personal injury case, including before a lawsuit is filed or even during trial. A settlement happens when the at-fault party (or their insurance company) offers compensation, and you agree to accept it in exchange for signing a release of further legal claims.
While settlements can provide faster resolution and certainty, not all settlement offers are fair. Insurance companies often make early offers that do not fully account for future medical care, lost income, or long-term consequences of an injury.
For that reason, we generally do not recommend accepting a settlement until you have either reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) or have a clear medical prognosis (and until you have run the offer by us). This ensures any settlement reflects the full extent of your losses, not just what you’ve experienced so far.
Mediation
Some personal injury cases are required to go through mediation, while others use it voluntarily as a way to resolve disputes. Mediation is a structured negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party, known as a mediator.
During mediation, both sides present their positions, and the mediator works to help the parties reach a mutually acceptable resolution. Mediation is not a trial, and no decision is imposed on you. You remain in control of whether to accept or reject any proposed agreement.
From our standpoint, mediation can be an effective way to resolve cases efficiently, especially when both sides are motivated to avoid the time, cost, and uncertainty of trial. We prepare thoroughly for mediation to advocate strongly for your interests.
Award or Verdict at Trial
If a case does not settle, it may proceed to trial. At trial, a judge or jury hears the evidence and determines whether the defendant is legally responsible and, if so, how much compensation should be awarded.
A trial verdict can result in a court-ordered award for damages, such as medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses. While trials can take longer and involve more risk, they are sometimes necessary to achieve fair compensation, particularly when the opposing party refuses to make a reasonable settlement offer.
Our firm prepares every case as if it will go to trial. This approach strengthens your case and ensures we are fully ready to advocate for you in court if needed.
Loss or Denial of a Claim
Not every personal injury case results in compensation. In some situations, a claim may be denied by an insurance company or a case may be lost at trial.
When a claim is denied or a case is unsuccessful, our firm reviews all available options, including appeals, alternative legal strategies, or pursuing other potentially responsible parties when appropriate. While we work diligently to build strong cases and pursue favorable outcomes, we also believe in being transparent with clients about risks and realistic expectations at every stage of the process.
Get Help With Your Personal Injury Case In Florida
Anidjar & Levine are here to build a robust injury case and fight on your behalf. We handle cases with no upfront fees, so there is no reason to wait.
Call us today for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
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