If you or someone you love has been injured in a serious accident, it is critical to ensure that you have a clear and comprehensive understanding of your legal rights. Under Florida’s personal injury laws, serious accident victims and their families are entitled to just compensation in many cases. If you have a claim for just compensation, you can hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you at no out-of-pocket cost—and you can rely on your lawyer to use Florida’s personal injury laws to your advantage.
But, while you can—and should—rely on a personal injury lawyer to help you, it can be helpful to learn about Florida’s personal injury laws as well. Not only will this allow you to make more informed decisions, but it can also help give you confidence that you are doing the right thing for yourself and your family.
Understanding Your Personal Injury Claim After a Serious Accident in Florida
So, what should you know about Florida’s personal injury laws? Here is some important information about filing a personal injury claim after a serious accident in Florida:
Negligence: Proving Liability in Most Personal Injury Cases
In most cases, filing a personal injury claim requires proof that a person or company was negligent in causing the accident to occur. Negligence can take many different forms, and determining what it takes to prove negligence requires a clear understanding of the facts involved in any particular case.
Auto accident cases, premises liability cases, construction accident cases, air and railroad disaster cases, and maritime accident cases all typically involve claims based on negligence. With this in mind, some of the more common forms of negligence include:
- Unsafely operating a car, truck, golf cart, or boat
- Unsafely operating a commercial vessel, airplane, or train
- Failing to conduct necessary inspections or maintenance
- Performing faulty construction work or repairs
- Hiring unskilled or unqualified personnel to do a job that puts others’ safety at risk
But, again, these are just examples of numerous possibilities. When you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will conduct a comprehensive investigation focused on examining all potential forms of negligence and gathering the evidence needed to build the strongest possible claim for just compensation.
Strict Liability: When Proof of Negligence Isn’t Required
While proof of negligence is required in most cases, there are exceptions. Sometimes, accident victims and their families can pursue personal injury claims based on strict liability.
Florida’s strict liability laws hold product manufacturers and other companies accountable for putting consumers at risk. While these companies can be held liable for negligence, they can also be held liable without proof of negligence if they sell dangerous and defective products.
Strict liability laws are intended to give companies a strong incentive to ensure that their products are safe for their intended use. Yet, from airbags and medical devices to home appliances and children’s toys, defective products remain alarmingly common.
Many strict liability claims are based on issues with the product itself. For example, defective airbags can explode rather than deploying properly, and this can lead to serious—if not fatal—injuries. But, strict liability claims can also be based on a manufacturer’s “failure to warn.” If a product comes without adequate warnings, this can also be classified as a defect that warrants a claim for strict liability under Florida law.
Florida’s Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases
In Florida, all personal injury claims are subject to a statute of limitations. This is a specific type of law that restricts the amount of time individuals have to assert their legal rights. If you have a personal injury claim but allow the statute of limitations to expire, you will lose the ability to seek the financial compensation you and your family deserve.
Until recently, Florida’s statute of limitations for most personal injury claims was four years from the date of the accident. However, in 2023, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that made several significant changes to Florida’s personal injury laws. One of these changes was to reduce the statute of limitations from four years to two. This law has now taken effect, which means that Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is now two years from the date of the accident in most cases.
While there are a few exceptions, there is also one critical fact to keep in mind: When it comes to asserting your rights under Florida’s personal injury laws, the sooner you take action, the better. As a result, no matter how long you have until the statute of limitations expires, it is strongly in your best interests to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible. Issues that can arise if you wait to take action include (but are not limited to):
- Evidence of negligence can disappear;
- Witnesses’ memories can start to fade; and,
- It can become more difficult to prove the cause of your (or your loved one’s) injuries.
Although talking to a lawyer about filing a personal injury claim can seem stressful, it can be far more stressful not to assert your legal rights. The costs of serious accident-related injuries can add up quickly—and, as discussed below, accident victims and their families can recover all of these costs under Florida law. At Silva & Silva, we make the process as easy as possible for our clients. Our lawyers will explain everything you need to know, and we will take legal action on your behalf while you focus on your recovery.
Florida’s Comparative Negligence Law for Personal Injury Cases
Another significant change to Florida’s personal injury laws enacted in 2023 was a change to the state’s comparative negligence statute. This statute comes into play when accident victims are partially responsible for their own injuries.
Previously, Florida followed the rule of “pure comparative negligence.” Under this rule, accident victims could recover partial compensation regardless of their percentage of fault (as long as it was less than 100 percent). For example, even when accident victims were 90 percent at fault, they could still recover 10 percent of their losses—which could still amount to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now, however, Florida follows the rule of “modified comparative negligence.” Under this rule, if accident victims are more than 50 percent at fault, they cannot recover any compensation for their accident-related losses. As you might expect, insurance companies are now using this to their advantage, and this makes it especially important for accident victims to seek experienced legal representation when comparative negligence is (or might be) an issue in their case.
Compensatory Damages in Florida Personal Injury Cases
Under Florida’s personal injury laws, accident victims are entitled to just compensation for all of their accident-related losses. Compensatory damages can range from tens of thousands to tens of millions of dollars; and, if you have a personal injury claim, it will be critical to work with an experienced attorney who can accurately calculate the compensatory damages you are entitled to recover.
Broadly, compensatory damages fall into two categories:
- Compensatory Damages for Financial Losses – Financial losses include medical bills, prescription costs, other out-of-pocket costs, and loss of earnings.
- Compensatory Damages for Non-Financial Losses – Non-financial losses include pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, emotional distress, loss of consortium and companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life.
When you have a personal injury claim under Florida law, you are entitled to compensatory damages for your present and future losses. This is true even if you will continue to accrue accident-related losses for the rest of your life. Accident victims’ future losses will far exceed their present losses in many cases—and this, too, makes it important to work with an experienced lawyer who can help you seek the full compensation you deserve.
Punitive Damages in Florida Personal Injury Cases
Florida’s personal injury laws allow for recovery of punitive damages in limited circumstances. As explained in Section 768.72 of the Florida Statutes, “[a] defendant may be held liable for punitive damages only if the trier of fact, based on clear and convincing evidence, finds that the defendant was personally guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.” As Section 768.72 goes on to explain:
- “‘Intentional misconduct’ means that the defendant had actual knowledge of the wrongfulness of the conduct and the high probability that injury or damage to the claimant would result and, despite that knowledge, intentionally pursued that course of conduct, resulting in injury or damage.”
- “‘Gross negligence’ means that the defendant’s conduct was so reckless or wanting in care that it constituted a conscious disregard or indifference to the life, safety, or rights of persons exposed to such conduct.”
Even when punitive damages are warranted under Section 768.72, these damages are capped by Section 768.73. With only limited exceptions, punitive damages are capped at the greater of: (i) three times the compensatory damages awarded; or, (ii) $500,000. Drunk driving is an example of conduct that can constitute “gross negligence” in a personal injury case—but, there are many other examples as well, and you should not hesitate to ask your personal injury lawyer if you have a question about seeking punitive damages.
Florida’s Bad Faith Insurance Statute
Yet another important Florida personal injury law that changed in 2023 was the state’s bad faith insurance statute. Generally speaking, insurance companies have a legal obligation to handle personal injury claims in good faith; and, if they fail to do so, they can be held liable for additional damages. The 2023 change to Florida’s bad-faith insurance statute made it more difficult for accident victims and their families to pursue bad-faith claims; however, the insurance companies can still be held liable for engaging in bad-faith negotiation and delay tactics in some cases.
Florida’s “No Fault” Insurance Statute
The final personal injury law we want to cover is Florida’s “no-fault” insurance statute. We saved this for last because it applies exclusively to car accident cases. If you have a personal injury claim after a car accident in Florida, the state’s “no-fault” insurance statute limits you to filing a personal injury protection (PIP) claim unless you can prove that you suffered a significant or permanent injury. But, if you (or a loved one) suffered a significant or permanent injury, this limitation does not apply. It also doesn’t apply in cases involving tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Florida Personal Injury Lawyer at Silva & Silva
At Silva & Silva, we represent individuals and families in personal injury cases involving serious, catastrophic, and life-altering injuries. If you have questions about filing a personal injury claim in Florida, we invite you to contact us for more information. Please call 305-445-0011 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.