Articles Tagged with Naples personal injury lawyer

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Naples personal injury lawyer Florida statute of limitations blue clock dissolvingWhen it comes to Naples personal injury claims, acting swiftly can make all the difference between securing rightful compensation and losing your opportunity to file a claim.

In Florida, the statute of limitations — essentially, the legal time frame you have to file a lawsuit — has undergone significant changes in recent years. As of March 2023, Florida law reduced the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims from four years to two years. For those who have been injured as a result of someone else’s carelessness or wrongdoing, that means it’s critically important to hire an experienced Naples personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

Understanding how the statute of limitations works and its potential impacts on your case can  help you avoid costly mistakes.

Florida’s Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit. Under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a), most personal injury cases—such as car accidents, slip-and-falls, and other incidents stemming from negligence—must now be filed within two years of the date of the injury.

This recent change was part of a broader tort reform package aimed at addressing insurance-related concerns. The shorter time frame applies to incidents occurring on or after March 24, 2023, while claims for injuries that occurred before this date remain subject to the four-year limit.

Failing to file within the statute of limitations results in an automatic dismissal of your case. It doesn’t matter how strong your evidence may be. Courts are strict about these deadlines, and exceptions are rare.

Why Acting Fast is Essential

While two years might seem like plenty of time, it’s often not. Preparing a personal injury case involves many critical steps that require time and effort. Here’s why moving quickly to hire an attorney is essential:

  • Evidence Gathering

    • Key evidence, such as surveillance footage, eyewitness statements, and physical evidence from the scene, can quickly deteriorate or disappear. The sooner your attorney begins investigating, the better chance you have of preserving crucial evidence to support your claim.

  • Damage Assessment

    • Personal injury cases often involve complex calculations of damages, including medical bills, lost wages, future care needs, and pain and suffering. Your personal injury lawyer will need time to consult with medical experts, financial analysts, and other professionals to determine the full value of your claim.

  • Negotiating With Insurance Companies

    • Before filing a lawsuit, your Naples personal injury attorney will attempt to negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance company. Insurance adjusters often delay or deny valid claims, making it necessary to build a strong case backed by clear evidence. These negotiations take time, and a shorter statute of limitations compresses the timeline.

  • Complaint Filing

    • If a fair settlement cannot be reached, your Naples personal injury attorney must draft and file a formal complaint in court. This document must adhere to strict legal standards and include detailed information about the accident, the at-fault party’s negligence, and the damages you are seeking.

Consequences of Waiting Naples personal injury lawyer

Delaying action can jeopardize your case in a number of ways. Key evidence (documents, eyewitness memories, surveillance footage, physical evidence) can become lost or degraded over time. In cases that are complex, it may take more time to gather medical records, accident reports, or other evidence — which leaves less time for negotiation or filing. Also the later an attorney gets involved, the weaker of a position we may be when it comes to negotiations. If you fail to meet the statute of limitations deadline, it can leave you with no legal recourse at all.

Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations in Naples Personal Injury Cases

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Naples personal injury lawyerWhether we’re talking about a motor vehicle accident, medical mistake, or slip-and-fall, one of the surest paths to unfair financial compensation is signing off on the insurance company’s initial settlement offer without first running it by a Naples personal injury lawyer.

This might be OK if the only losses you’ve suffered are property damage and some minor injuries. But if you were hospitalized, had bones broken, had to take off work for a while, etc., it’s important to avoid signing away your rights to pursue full and fair damages by agreeing to the first settlement offer insurers put in front of you without having a lawyer look at it.

Insurance companies commonly try to take advantage of the fact that you are in shock, traumatized, concerned about money, and don’t realize your case may be worth a lot more. If you sign off on the first settlement agreement they thrust in front of you, you could well be signing away your right to a great deal more money.

At the very least, having a Naples personal injury lawyer review it will give you peace of mind that the deal you’re inking isn’t going to be to your detriment down the road. Settling an injury case too quickly means you might not have a complete sense of the full scope of your losses – in which case a settlement can mean you’ll be losing money.

It’s not about being greedy. It’s about making sure you don’t end up paying out of your own pocket for an injury caused by someone else’s carelessness.

Most Naples Personal Injury Cases Are Resolved Via Settlement

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Fort Myers personal injury lawyerMedical bills are one of the central claims filed in virtually any Fort Myers personal injury lawsuit. But if you don’t have health insurance (or enough health insurance) while your personal injury claim is pending, you could well find yourself with something called a hospital lien.

As our Southwest Florida personal injury lawyers can explain, a hospital lien – sometimes called a medical lien – is basically when a healthcare provider is granted payment rights for services rendered to a patient with a pending personal injury case. This seems fair enough: You get treatment at the hospital after a car accident, file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver, and providers are ultimately paid from the amount collected in that case. (You likely even signed discharge paperwork granting them permission to send in a claim against any court-awarded costs to pay medical debts related to your treatment.)

Where it can get a bit dicey is in determinations about how much is “reasonable.” Healthcare providers may have one idea about what’s “reasonable,” and the auto insurer(s) involved may have quite another. It’s a major issue because, in the Sunshine State, hospital liens are often given priority over any and all other recoverable damages – including lost wages, pain, and suffering, etc. That means they may argue that they are first in line when it comes to getting paid.

Who can you trust to advocate for you during these negotiations? Your Fort Myers personal injury lawyer’s at Garvin Injury Law. Not only do we understand what is considered reasonable for services rendered, we know what insurers are likely to agree on and whether the injured party may face challenges in actually collecting that sum. We’re also skilled in negotiating with hospitals and other healthcare providers on this front.

Also worth noting: Florida does it a bit differently than other states. While most other places have a single hospital lien statute, Florida allows each county to enact its own hospital lien statutes. (The state used to have a single health care lien law, but it was deemed unconstitutional in the 2012 Florida Supreme Court ruling in Shands Teaching Hosp. & Clinics, Inc. v. Mercury Ins. Co. of Fla.) What this ultimately means is there can be a big difference between when you might expect in Monroe County or Collier County versus what you might expect in Lee County or Sarasota County. Some counties don’t allow medical liens at all, while some do require they be filed in short order. Continue reading

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Naples injury lawyerMost people who file damage claims for personal injuries from a car accident, slip-and-fall or some other incident won’t have to worry about the prospect of a compulsory medical exam. As a Naples injury lawyer can tell you though, this changes if you actually file a lawsuit.

A compulsory medical exam (sometimes referred to as a “CME”) is a medical examination of a plaintiff or defendant in a personal injury lawsuit at the request of the other party (usually of the plaintiff at the request of the defense). Per Rule 1.360 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, parties to personal injury lawsuits have the right to request an examination when “the condition of the subject in question is in controversy.” In other words, the other party is asserting doubt about whether the injury in question is as severe as one claims. An “independent” doctor is called upon to conduct their own medical exam and put forth their conclusions.

We put the word “independent” in quotations because the choice of medical examiner typically rests with the requesting party, who must establish to the court that they have “good cause” for the request.

The reason most injury claimants needn’t worry about this is because most Florida personal injury claims are resolved in settlement negotiations – without the need for a lawsuit or long before a trial begins. But even if your case does not ultimately go to trial, preparing for one may require you to undergo a CME. An experienced Naples injury lawyer can tell you what to expect and what you need to know. Continue reading

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Florida personal injury lawsuit

If you file a Florida personal injury lawsuit, chances are your case will never go to trial. In fact, U.S. Justice Department data shows about 97 percent of all claims are settled or dismissed without a trial.

Even so, it is helpful to know the risks and benefits of both trials and settlements, something your South Florida personal injury lawyer should explain while reviewing your case. Ultimately, your attorney should not shy away from going to trial if it is what is in your best interest, but settlements can remove uncertainty and can often be the best course of action.

What is a Personal Injury Settlement? 

The term “settlement” refers to a kind of formal resolution of your claim or lawsuit before a judge or jury hears it. It means you agree to accept money in exchange for dropping your action against the person or business who caused your injury.

Settlement agreements can be reached at any point during litigation, up to the point that a case has been tried, but before jurors reach a verdict. In some instances, your case can settle before you ever even have to file a Florida personal injury lawsuit.

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Naples injury lawsuitSuccess in a Naples personal injury lawsuit is going to depend on dozens of factors that are specific to your case. These can include the degree of the other person’s carelessness, what type of insurance you have, what pre-existing conditions you have, and whether there were complaints or verdicts against the defendant for similar conduct.

Some of these elements are more nuanced than they initially appear. That is why it is so important to consult with an injury attorney who has extensive experience handling tort claims before writing off your chances of winning.

Understand that personal injury attorneys in Florida accept these cases on a strict contingency fee basis, meaning they are not paid unless you prevail. That means injury attorneys have ample incentive to be frank about your chances of winning, and it helps to know some of the aspects they are considering. Continue reading

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Main Office
4280 S Cleveland Ave
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Phone: 239.277.0005 Fax: 239.277.0004 Toll Free: 800.977.7017
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#302
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