Personal Injury

Published on: August 19, 2024

What’s the Cost of Hiring a Cape Coral Personal Injury Lawyer?

It’s reasonable that anyone considering any type of service would first inquire how much it’s going to cost. Hiring a Cape Coral personal injury lawyer is no different in that regard. But it’s important to understand that there are some key differences in how, when, how much, and even if you pay a Florida injury lawyer – compared to other service providers, but even compared to lawyers in other practice areas.

Personal injury lawyers practice a type of law called “torts.” A tort is some act or failure to act that causes harm to someone else and rises to the level of a civil wrong (as opposed to criminal) for which the court can impose liability. The most common torts arise from personal injuries stemming from negligence, the failure to use reasonable care when one had a responsibility to do so. Typical tort cases are motor vehicle accidents (motorcycle accidents, car accidents, bicycle accidents, truck accidents, etc.), medical malpractice, and premises liability/dangerous property cases.

How Attorneys Determine Fees

How much a Cape Coral personal injury lawyer charges for taking on a case will depend on several factors, including:

The attorney’s experience, reputation, and ability.
The fee customarily charged in that area for similar legal services.
The time and labor required, the difficulty of the question involved, and the skill required to handle the case successfully.
The potential value of the case, and the results obtained. (Generally cases involving serious injuries, multiple insurance policies, and clear fault/injury cause are going to have a higher overall value – though this can be offset by elements like complexity, numerous injured parties, etc.)

Understanding Contingency Fees

You do not pay upfront attorney’s fees for the services of a Cape Coral personal injury lawyer. Injury lawyers typically assess the value – and viability – of your injury claim upfront for no cost. They’ll tell you if they think you can win, and whether they can help. If they agree to take you on as a client, you still don’t pay attorney’s fees upfront. Those are only paid at the end of the case, and only as a percentage of what you win. This is referred to as a contingency fee structure. Continue reading

Published on: July 16, 2024

The Risk of Rushing to Settle Your Naples Personal Injury

by Leland Garvin

Whether 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

Published on: March 13, 2024

What Factors Can Affect Damages in Fort Myers Personal Injury Cases?

by Leland Garvin

One of the first questions a lot of people ask when they’re first considering filing a Fort Myers personal injury lawsuit is, “What is my case worth?”

In legal terms, we would phrase “the amount owed” as “damages.”

To answer this question, your Fort Myers personal injury lawyer would certainly start by examining the type of injury, who was at fault, how much you’ve racked up in medical bills, and the wages you’ve lost while you’ve had to take off work to recover. Determining the full scope of damages can quickly get complicated.

That’s partially because not every loss is tangible. You may be entitled to compensation for your physical pain and suffering or even for the emotional anguish you went through as a result of the incident. Those things aren’t easily measurable in dollars and cents (even if that’s how they’re ultimately paid).

Other factors that must be considered:

The type and severity of injury.

Minor injuries shouldn’t be dismissed, of course. But the reality is that unless your injury landed you in the hospital, resulted in a permanent injury, significant loss of function, permanent scarring, and/or forced time away from work, it’s unlikely to result in a significant settlement without the hiring of a skilled personal injury attorney.

If you are in a car accident in Florida, you actually can’t step outside the no-fault system to pursue damages against the at-fault driver unless the extent of your injuries meets or exceeds the serious injury threshold, as outlined in F.S. 627.737. This requires evidence that your injury consisted of a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, or death.

However, this same rule won’t apply to motorcycle injury victims because they do not carry the no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. So again, the type of injury can impact how your case proceeds and how much it’s worth.

It’s also worth pointing out that certain types of cases may be more difficult/complicated to successfully pursue. For instance, a case of medical malpractice or product liability is going to require more resources, expertise, expert witnesses, attorney time, etc. They may also yield higher damage awards as there will likely be more recoverable assets/insurance coverage, but all of this will be weighed in determining the value of a case. Continue reading

Published on: February 20, 2024

Florida Brain Injury Lawyer Breaks Down Brain Injury Lawsuit Deadlines

by Leland Garvin

Doctor reviews brain scans of a patient represented by South Florida brain injury lawyer A traumatic brain injury can make it seem as if time is literally standing still. Many of the 2.5 million people diagnosed with a TBI in the U.S. each year describe a sense of “depersonalization” or “derealization” that disrupts their sense of time – along with their memory, balance, sleep cycles, mood patterns, brain function, and more. Unfortunately, as a Florida brain injury lawyer can explain, that doesn’t always mean you’ll have more time to file a civil negligence claim for damages related to that injury.

Traumatic brain injury or “TBI” is a contributing factor in an estimated one-third of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Safety Research revealed the cost to society for care and lost productivity due to brain trauma is enormous: $76 billion annually. Not all TBI sufferers are permanently impacted, but the National Institutes of Health report an estimated 5.2 million people in this country are disabled due to their TBI.

Although we don’t know exactly how many TBI injuries are caused by another’s negligence, we do know a fair number of Florida litigants include TBI claims. A longitudinal study published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology found that approximately 40 percent of TBI victims in one city had filed a personal injury lawsuit related to their claim.

A Florida brain injury lawyer can also tell you that many of the most common types of actionable injury claims involve head trauma: Car accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, slip-and-falls, hotel and resort injuries, golf cart injuries, construction accidents, nursing home falls, medical malpractice claims, criminal assaults on business property, etc. Depending on how serious your injuries were and whether someone else was at-fault for what happened, it may be possible to take legal action against at-fault parties in civil court to recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

Factors That Impact How Long You Have to File Your Florida Brain Injury Lawsuit

Published on: December 13, 2023

5 Must-Know Facts About Florida Personal Injury Law

by Leland Garvin

Florida personal injury law explained by Fort Myers injury law firm

The first introduction many people have to Florida personal injury law is when they find themselves injured and in need of an attorney or being sued. Especially for an injured party emerging from the traumatic fog of that experience and still healing, it can feel overwhelming trying to follow along with the intricacies of the vocabulary, statutes, timelines, court procedures, etc.

Here, our Fort Myers personal injury lawyers offer up 6 facts about Florida personal injury law that we find are most relevant to the plaintiffs, who are our clients in these cases.

1. No-Fault Laws Don’t Absolve Anyone From Liability in a Car Accident.

There’s a common misconception that Florida’s no-fault car insurance law, F.S. 627.736, means that there is no finding of fault in car accident cases. This is false. What is true is that with the personal injury protection (PIP) coverage that is required of all registered vehicles in Florida, up to $10,000 in damages can be paid to the policyholder for things like medical bills and lost wages – and this is paid regardless of fault. However, as you likely already know, $10,000 is nowhere near enough to cover one’s losses in a crash, especially if the injuries are serious.

According to the National Safety Council, the average economic cost of a disabling car accident in 2021 is $155,000. That includes wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, property damage, and uninsured costs for employers. The average cost of a fatal crash is $1.8 million. Even in cases where injury is “possible but not evident,” the cost was $24,000 – 150% more than what PIP covers.

Florida’s no-fault law just means you need to go to your PIP insurer first. If your injuries meet the “serious injury threshold,” you can step outside of that system and take legal action against the at-fault drivers.

2. Florida Now has a 2-Year Statute of Limitations.

Published on: November 27, 2023

“Can the Defense in My Fort Myers Injury Lawsuit Spy on Me?”

by Leland Garvin

Fort Myers injury lawsuit spying by defense The uneasy feeling of being covertly watched is one that’s inspired more than a few catchy songs, but you should know it’s a possibility if you’re the plaintiff in a Fort Myers personal injury lawsuit.

Whether we’re talking about a matter of medical malpractice, a car accident injury, or a dangerous product case, there’s nothing in Florida law that will technically block the defendant from conducting some type of surveillance on you. In fact, you should probably expect it. In personal injury cases, the goal of “spying” is to rebut damage claims. Florida courts have generally held that because of the public interest in exposing fraudulent personal injury claims, plaintiffs can anticipate that a “reasonable” investigation is likely to include independent verification of their injuries.

But that doesn’t mean your privacy goes out the window. By working with a Fort Myers injury lawyer, you’ll get a much better sense of what these investigators are likely to look for and ways you can shield your privacy. We will help ensure that your rights are protected, and injury case defendants won’t get away with playing dirty.

What Are the Surveillance Rules in a Florida Injury Lawsuit?

Fairly common surveillance tactics in Florida injury lawsuits:

Monitoring your social media pages to see what sort of activities you’re up to. They may scour the posts and pictures for clues about not only your physical capabilities, but your mental/emotional state – which can be a significant component of damages in a Fort Myers injury lawsuit.
They might have an investigator post up to watch/record you as you leave your home, enter your place of employment, or carry on with daily activities.
They might request surveillance footage of local businesses or government agencies that might show you moving throughout a typical day – grocery shopping and lifting bags, walking through the park with a backpack on, unloading items from your vehicle at a local print shop, etc.

However, this “spying” is not without limitation. Continue reading

Published on: October 9, 2023

5 Fast Ways to Sabotage Your Fort Myers Personal Injury Claim

by Leland Garvin

Fort Myers injury claim lawyer As longtime Fort Myers personal injury lawyers, we recognize that most claimants in these cases are in uncharted waters. It’s not every day (thankfully) that a person is seriously injured in something like a car accident, slip-and-fall, or criminal attack on another’s property. And it’s not unheard of when these things happen for the person to try and file a claim for damages on their own. There’s no law that says you must hire a personal injury attorney for these cases. But doing so is like traversing an unfamiliar path without a guide.

The injury claims process is foreign to so many people, and thus opens the door for inadvertent mistakes that can sabotage their chances of full and fair financial recovery for injuries.

Some of the most common mistakes we’ve seen torpedo Florida injury claims:

Published on: September 20, 2023

Recalled Bicycle Helmets Increase Florida Bicycle Head Injury Risks

by Leland Garvin

Florida bicycle head injury risk defective bike helmet Many serious and recreational cyclists know they can reduce their risk of a Florida bicycle head injury by 60%-90% just by wearing a bicycle helmet. But what if the helmet you’re wearing is defective and provides inadequate protection?

Bicycling has never been more popular in Florida than it is now. With its flat terrain, year-round sunshine, and an abundance of nature trails, beaches, and scenic roads to ride, Florida has residents and tourists alike increasingly partaking. But the risk of Florida bicycle head injury is higher than you think – and defective bicycle helmets certainly don’t help.

In the first seven months of 2023, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced at least eight bicycle helmet recalls. These include:

Giro Merit Bicycle Helmet. Does not meet CPSC federal safety standards for bicycle helmets, and would fail to protect in the event of a crash, posing a heightened risk of head injury.
Xinerter Teal Adult Bicycle Helmet. Sold exclusively on Amazon from 2020 to 2023, the helmets don’t comply with positional stability and certification requirements of the mandatory federal safety standard for bike helmets, and would fail to protect riders from head injury in the event of a crash. The CPSC has warned consumers to immediately stop using them, cut the straps, and dispose of them so no one else can use them either.
SQM Bicycle Helmet. Sold on Amazon from 2022 to 2023, the single-sized helmet doesn’t comply with positional stability and certification requirements of federal safety standards. It would fail to protect the head in a bicycle accident or car accident.
Ventura Adult Bike Helmets. Roughly 1,750 of these helmets have been sold in the U.S., but they don’t provide adequate protection against Florida bicycle head injury risk.
Hurtle Multi-Purpose Children’s Helmet. About 1,800 of these bicycle helmets for kids were sold – despite failing to meet federal safety standards to ensure protection against brain injuries in the event of a crash.
Lelinta Multi-Purpose Kids Helmets. These kids’ bicycle helmets, manufactured by Lucky Global and sold exclusively at Walmart.com, don’t comply with federal safety standards and won’t adequately protect a child from the possibility of a serious head injury in the event of a Cape Coral bicycle accident.
TureClose Bicycle Helmets. These bike helmets don’t comply with federal safety requirements for positional stability, retention system, impact attenuation, or labeling requirements. Although the Chinese seller has refused to issue a recall, the CPSC is continuing to pursue a recall because if a rider crashes, they will not be adequately protected from a head injury.
Multi-Purpose Kids Bike Helmets, size medium. Sold on Amazon by Ouwoer Direct, these kids’ helmets don’t meet the standards for positional stability and impact attenuation required to ensure prevention of a child head injury.

What Legal Options Do I Have if a Defective Helmet Causes a Florida Bicycle Head Injury?

Published on: August 15, 2023

Who is Responsible for Fort Myers Teen Car Accidents?

by Leland Garvin

For a teenager, that first set of car keys feels like freedom – at last! Parents, of course, usually have a different perspective. There’s often a great deal of apprehension around those first few driving years. Unfortunately, those concerns are well-founded, as the risk of Fort Myers teen car accidents is especially high for new drivers.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car crashes are a leading cause of death for teens. In a single recent year, 3,058 teens ages 13 to 19 were killed in car accidents and another 227,000 were injured. Not all of those involved teen drivers of course, but the risk of fatal Fort Myers teen car accidents is three times higher for those 16 to 19 than in any other driving age group (per miles driven). Drivers aged 16 and 17 were at higher risk than those 18 and 19.

The good news is that since the mid-1990s and early 2000s, more states started adopting graduated licensing systems for young motorists. The purpose is to phase in driving privileges, rather than simply hand over the keys and hope for the best.

In Florida, graduated driver licensing laws outline limits and restrictions for drivers 15 to 17. For instance, teens with a learner’s permit (which they hold for at least 12 months or until they turn 18, whichever comes first) are only permitted to operate a car during daylight hours for the first three months. They’re restricted from driving after 10 p.m. They must always be accompanied by a licensed driver over the age of 21, and they need at least 50 hours of supervised driving – including 10 nighttime hours. Once they earn their driver’s license, 16-year-olds aren’t permitted to drive between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., and must always be accompanied by an over-21 licensed driver – unless they’re driving to or from work. Once they turn 17, they are given a bit more freedom with nighttime driving, but still can’t be on the road between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. They also must be accompanied by an over-21 licensed driver unless they’re driving to and from work.

So, Who Pays For Fort Myers Teen Car Accidents?

Published on: August 4, 2023

Fort Myers Crash Lawyer Tips: What to Do If Your Car Catches Fire

by Leland Garvin

Car fires aren’t anywhere near as common as they used to be a few decades ago. However, as a Fort Myers crash lawyer, I’ve seen more than a few lead to serious injuries.

Thousands of vehicles have caught fire over the last decade – including at least a half a dozen electric vehicles that went up in flames in Southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian-related flooding. (Similar issues were also reported with golf carts and scooters post-storm – especially dangerous because unlike car fires caused by engine combustion, those involving compromised batteries can keep reigniting.)

Are Florida Vehicle Fires Truly That Big of a Problem?

Overall occurrences of vehicle fires have dropped by 60 percent since the 1980s, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). But whether the car is powered by gasoline, lithium-ion batteries, hybrid powertrains, or electricity – car fires are always a possibility after a crash. In a single recent year, the NFPA estimates there were more than 212,000 vehicle fires in the U.S., resulting in 1,500 injuries, 560 deaths, and nearly $2 billion in property damage. It breaks down to about 400 vehicle fires daily. Vehicle fires resulted in 4.5 times the number of deaths as non-residential structure fires and 1.6 times the number of apartment fire deaths. Fires involving vehicles account for 16 percent of the 1.3 million fires that get reported to fire departments annually, as well as 15 percent of fire-related deaths and 10 percent of fire-related injuries.

The vast majority of these are highway vehicle fires, the most common causes are:

Mechanical failures & malfunctions
Electrical failures & malfunctions
Misuse of certain products or materials, such as spilling caustic liquids too close to the car

Older vehicles are especially prone to issues with flammability. When larger trucks are involved in a crash-related fire, the potential injury or death rate soars.

In some cases, vehicle manufacturers may be responsible for vehicle fires. For example, more than 7 million Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been recalled for vehicle fire risk, with more than 3,100 such fires (and 103 deaths) reported since 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It’s thought that perhaps these fires are related to the type of engine used by both car makers (they use many of the same parts suppliers), but it’s also possible faulty brake systems, wiring, and battery issues may be to blame. Where manufacturers haven’t been able to fix the fire risk right away, they’ve urged drivers to park the vehicles both outside and away from structures to minimize the odds of property damage if the vehicles do catch fire.

What Should I Do if My Car Catches Fire?