Personal Injury
Attorney in Broward County

If you have been injured because of someone else’s actions, your entire focus will be on your recovery. As you begin to recuperate, the next thing on your mind might be how to pursue compensation that can help you pay for the medical costs associated with your injuries. Having a personal injury attorney on your side can go a long way toward helping you successfully navigate the process of filing a personal injury claim.

Our firm, The Law Offices of Scott Sobol, is proud to serve accident victims and their families in Davie, Florida, and the surrounding areas of Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Lauderhill, Oakland Park, Tamarac, Hollywood, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Weston, and Miramar. If you’ve been injured in an accident, call or reach out to our firm today to schedule a free case evaluation.

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Personal Injury Claims in Florida

There are a few different facets of personal injury claims that are important to understand. You should consider all of the following aspects when filing your personal injury claim:

Florida’s Comparative Negligence Rule

Comparative negligence states have laws in place that reduce the amount of damages you can collect if any part of the incident is your fault. Florida follows the comparative negligence rule. This means that your damages will be reduced by the exact percentage of fault you are assigned, whether it is 5% or 50%. For example, imagine you suffer injuries from an auto accident when a car decides to change lanes and run you off the road. As the court reviews your case, dashcam footage shows that you were speeding at the time of the accident. The court can decide to assign you with 10% fault for the accident to account for your driving at excessive speeds. If the court decides to award you with $100,000 in compensation, that number will be reduced by 10%, or $10,000, to account for your level of fault in the accident. This means that ultimately, you’ll only be eligible to collect $90,000 in compensation.

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Statute of Limitations

Every state has a statute of limitations when it comes to personal injury law. This means that you have a specific timeframe to file your claim. Once that timeframe lapses, you are no longer able to take any legal action or seek recourse. In Florida, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury claim is four years from the date of the accident.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim

When it comes to filing a personal injury claim, there are a few ways to go about it. Depending on the circumstances of your situation, you may have a few different options for how you choose to file a claim. For car accidents, many people choose to file a claim with their insurance company and with the other person’s insurance who caused the accident.

In some circumstances, your attorney may choose to settle — while in others, your attorney may be forced to litigate your case in court. Regardless of whether or not you choose to file a claim with your own insurance company or with the other driver’s insurance company, it is important to make sure that you seek medical attention so that your injuries are well documented for the purposes of damages.

Damages Available

In a personal injury case, you can seek monetary damages in the form of either compensatory or punitive damages. Compensatory damages aim to compensate you for money that you lost, whether it was through paying your medical bills or lost wages when you were forced to miss work while you recover. Punitive damages are typically assessed to punish the defendant for their negligent actions.

Florida has a cap for punitive damages, which are only available in a small percentage of cases. State laws limit punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000 — whichever amount is greater.