Titusville Personal Injury Lawyer

Florida follows a “modified comparative negligence” doctrine with a 51% recovery bar regarding the issue of contributory fault.

This means that you can still potentially recover compensation if you are partially at fault for your accident – but only as long as you aren’t mostly at fault.

Per state law, you may be assigned a percentage of blame for your accident. You will be barred from getting damages if this percentage amounts to 51% or higher. Otherwise, your damages can be reduced according to your assessed percentage (for example, sharing 15% of the blame can reduce your damages by 15%).

Because of how this system works, the defendant in your case will likely try to pin as much blame on you as they can. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is the best way to deal with these kinds of allegations, as an attorney can respond appropriately and aim to minimize the percentage of responsibility you are assigned.

The Florida statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years by default. That means you will generally have two years from the date of your accident or injury to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. If you miss the deadline, you’ll likely lose your ability to recover damages.

Note, however, that there are many exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations. You may have a different amount of time to take legal action in your case. Contact our law offices as soon as you can to confirm the deadline for your circumstances and to protect your legal interests.

It’s possible, but not likely. Most personal injury cases don’t even make it to court in the first place and, instead, are resolved via settlement negotiations.

However, sometimes, the at-fault party will refuse to negotiate in good faith or offer an adequate settlement agreement. In these cases, it may be in your best interest to file a lawsuit and take the case to court.

Once a lawsuit is filed, pretrial discovery can take place. This process allows your legal team to collect information from the defendant that could strengthen your claim substantially. Settlement negotiations can still continue during this time as well, so this newfound evidence could persuade them to increase their offer.

Defending a case at trial is also a resource- and time-intensive effort. Oftentimes, the other party may prefer to avoid litigation. Therefore, the mere “threat” of a lawsuit and potential trial could lead to a more lucrative settlement offer for your case.

Personal injury cases vary significantly in terms of how long they take to resolve. Some reach a final outcome in just a matter of days or weeks, but others can take months or longer.

One factor that can influence the timeline is whether you’ve reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), which is the point at which you’ve recovered as much as possible from your injuries. Ideally (though it may not be realistic in all cases), you’d wait until this stage to demand compensation from the at-fault party; otherwise, it can be difficult to know how much your case is truly worth.

Another factor is whether your case requires filing a lawsuit. Cases that make it to court – and especially those that reach trial – will likely take longer to finalize. However, sometimes, that’s the best way to get full compensation for your claim.

At the end of the day, our lawyers are here to help you achieve your desired goals. We won’t cut corners in representing you and will make sure you are kept apprised of your case’s status at all times. Call us today for more information about the possible timeline of your specific case.