Orlando Personal Injury Lawyers

How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida? 

The statute of limitations on nearly all personal injury cases in Florida is four years from the date of injury. In some cases, you may have four years from the date on which you discovered the injury or reasonably could have discovered it to file your lawsuit in court. 

There are some exceptions to this deadline, but they are rare. What’s more, you typically have much less time—often just a few days to a couple of weeks at most—to file an insurance claim. This is usually the first step in seeking compensation after an accident or injury, so it is important that you act quickly. The sooner you contact our Orlando personal injury lawyers, the sooner they can begin reviewing your claim and building your case. 

Types of Damages in Personal Injury Cases

The main purpose of filing a personal injury claim is to seek financial compensation for “damages,” or the economic and non-economic losses you have endured as a result of your injury. Depending on the situation, the person directly responsible for your injuries may be liable for paying your damages; sometimes, their insurance provider is the one responsible for providing a settlement. 

In still other cases, another third party—such as a manufacturer or medical facility—could be partly or entirely liable.

There are two types of damages in personal injury cases: 

• Compensatory Damages: These are meant to compensate the individual for specific losses they have suffered.
• Punitive Damages: These are meant to punish the defendant for acts of gross negligence or egregious misconduct.

Additionally, there are two types of compensatory damages: 

• Economic: These have a specific dollar value attached to them. Examples include medical bills, lost income, lost wages, and costs associated with in-home assistance and care.
• Non-Economic: These do not have a specific dollar value attached to them and include things like pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and loss of earning capacity.

The circumstances of your case determine the types of damages you may be entitled to recover, as well as the overall total value of your claim. 

At Ali & Blankner, we are committed to your personal wellbeing, and we can fight for you. The effects of a personal injury case can be profound and can remain in a person’s life for years. We work with skill and precision to fight for your personal injury case and strive tenaciously for the settlement or verdict you deserve. 

Proving Liability in Your Personal Injury Case

Most personal injury claims are brought on grounds of negligence. This means that the person bringing the claim (known as the “plaintiff”) alleges that the other party (called the “defendant”) acted negligently or wrongfully. 

To prove a personal injury case based on negligence, you will likely need to prove each of the following elements: 

• Injury: You must prove that you suffered an actual injury, whether it was physical, mental, or financial in nature. 
• Duty of Care: This is the legal responsibility the defendant had to take and avoid certain actions to prevent foreseeable injury.
• Breach: This refers to the defendant’s failure to uphold their legal responsibility to avoid causing harm, typically by acting negligently or wrongfully.
• Causation: Causation is the connection between the defendant’s conduct and your injuries/resulting damages. 

Because Florida follows a rule of “pure comparative negligence,” you do not need to prove that the defendant was entirely or even mostly at fault to have a case. Even if you share some of the responsibility, you can still file a claim and seek compensation for your damages. However, the amount you can recover will be reduced by your percentage of fault. 

Injured in an accident? Call (407) 753-1312 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation with our team today. Hablamos español.