Your Florida Lawyers for Negligence and Personal Injury
FLORIDA ACCIDENTS AND PERSONAL INJURY
Personal injury and negligence Attorneys Tania Alavi and Andrew Pozzuto know that any injury or damage caused by the negligence of an employer, landlord, or business owner may result in disabling injuries or financial difficulty that can affect every aspect of your life. The cost of lost wages, emergency care, surgeries, and other medical treatment can add up to a large financial burden. If your wreck or injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, you should not have to pay for these losses out of your own pocket. Our Florida Accident and injury Attorneys will evaluate your personal injury, negligence, or accident case for free to determine if you have grounds for a claim. We know what is at stake for you and your family. Our compassionate lawyers will guide you through every stage of the claims process and will make sure the insurance company does not try to force you into accepting an undesirable settlement.
WHAT IS NEGLIGENCE?
The 2019 Florida Statutes 768.81 Comparative fault
(1) DEFINITIONS,-(c) “Negligence action” means, without limitation, a civil action for damages based upon a theory of negligence, strict liability, products liability, professional malpractice whether couched in terms of contract or tort, or breach of warranty and like theories. The substance of an action, not conclusory terms used by a party, determines whether an action is a negligence action.
(2) EFFECT OF CONTRIBUTORY FAULT.- In a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory fault but does not bar recovery.
(3) APPORTIONMENT OF DAMAGES.-In a negligence action, the court shall enter judgment against each party liable on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several liability.
(a) 1. In order to allocate any or all fault to a nonparty, a defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a nonparty and, absent a showing of good cause, identify the nonparty, if known, or describe the nonparty as specifically as practicable, either by motion or in the initial responsive pleading when defenses are first presented, subject to amendment any time before trial in accordance with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
2. In order to allocate any or all fault to a nonparty and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the verdict form for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant must prove at trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fault of the nonparty in causing the plaintiff’s injuries.
COMPARATIVE FAULT LAW
Florida follows the pure comparative fault system in which your level of negligence is not a bar to recovery for your injuries even if you were mostly at fault for them. For example, if the jury found that you were 80 percent at fault for the accident, then you would still be able to recover 20 percent of your damages from the other party.
Because Florida has a pure comparative fault system, even if you were partially at fault for your injuries, this is not a bar to suing for damages. If you suffered injuries in the car accident however, just because you can sue under comparative fault principles does not mean you will not face other obstacles to recovery. Florida Law has set a medical threshold for personal injuries in car and truck accent cases, so you must meet certain qualifications. The standard to be met are: Significant and permanent loss of an important body part, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring, or disfigurement and death.
CONSULT A FLORIDA PERSONAL INJURY AND NEGLIGENCE ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR CASE TODAY
At The AP Law Group in Ocala and Gainesville, our attorneys have over 55 years combined legal experience and have seen thousands of clients that have suffered serious injuries causing physical pain and financial hardship. We will hold the negligent parties accountable and will not settle for less for our clients. If you have been injured in a car accident or through the negligence of another person, contact our attorneys today in Ocala or Gainesville at 352-732-9191.