What Is the Personal Injury Statute Of Limitations In Florida?

What Is the Personal Injury Statute Of Limitations In Florida? In a world where a lot of accidents occur, knowing your legal options to seeking justice against those who wronged you is vitally important. Personal injury cases exist to help residents of Florida file a lawsuit for any injury they may have sustained at the hands, decisions, or negligence of someone else. If you find yourself injured due to an occurrence that could have been prevented, you may find yourself stressed due to missing work, or worse, dealing with a permanent or life-altering injury.  If you’re a resident of Boynton Beach, Florida, you need to know what the personal injury statute of limitations is in case you are ever in a situation where you find yourself needing to file a claim. 

What Is a Personal Injury Case?

The legal term “personal injury” refers to any injury or harm a person experiences due to the negligence of someone else. The type of personal injury case you file is a small section under the umbrella term.  Here are common personal injury cases (but not limited to):

• Slip and fall
• Dog bites
• Car accidents 
• Medical malpractice
• Workplace injury
• Chemical and other toxin torts
• Defective products

Although there are more incidents that can fall under a personal injury case, it’s important to know that proving personal injury is a key aspect in any of these cases and can be difficult to prove without the help of an experienced Boynton Beach Personal Injury Lawyer. Sometimes personal injury cases can become a “he said, she said” situation if there is not sufficient evidence to prove there was negligence involved. In Florida, there is a certain statute of limitations in place and deadlines to follow to ensure each personal injury case is given a fair chance at being reviewed. 

How Long Do I Have to File A Claim?

Are you trying to file a personal injury claim in Florida? The deadline to do so is two years following the accident.  This can get kind of tricky if the exact start date of the accident is not known due to it being a cumulative injury. For instance, you develop cancer after using a certain product over time without knowing the product could lead to this health crisis. If you experience this type of situation, then you must think back to the first time you missed work or visited the doctor for the symptoms you began to experience as a result of this cumulative injury. Other injuries such as slip and falls, car accidents, or dog bites are easy to pinpoint. It is highly advisable that the day you suffer from the injury, you begin to file a claim if you are able to do so physically. 

What Happens If I Miss the Deadline?

If you fail to report the injury within two years from the date, your case may be barred. However, if you are filing for a cumulative injury as described above, the deadline could be extended for you. 

Deadlines & Exceptions to Filing Claims

There are certain exceptions for extending the two-year deadline in personal injury cases. These exceptions will either extend the time to file your case or “pause the clock” in case one of the following scenarios were to occur during your time of filing:

• The plaintiff is deemed as “incapacitated”
• The defendant had left the state before the claim was filed
• The defendant has concealed their identity to become more difficult to find

These scenarios prove that it is vitally important to get the ball rolling with your claim as soon as you can. If you are ever injured at the expense of someone else’s negligence, especially if it’s during a car crash, obtain their information so you can give it to the police and your personal injury attorney serving Palm Beach.

What About The “Comparative Negligence” Rule?

Florida uses a “comparative negligence” rule which means it could be found that you are held with some of the blame for the accident. This is clearly seen with the no-fault rule Florida has when it comes to car crashes. If you are found semi-responsible for the accident, this can reduce the amount you receive in your settlement at court.  The amount you can expect to receive out of your personal injury settlement can vary on a variety of factors. If you are found to share some of the blame for the accident, your percentage of the blame will likely be subtracted from your settlement.

How Will I Be Paid in A Personal Injury Case?

Once you hire an attorney and file the lawsuit papers, the other party is served, and the case begins. The defendant has the option to pay a settlement, but if they choose not to, the case will then go to court. When the case makes it to court, it is now the jury’s responsibility to decide how much the plaintiff will receive in extra compensation. Again, your attorney will present their evidence and findings, and based on your economic and noneconomic sum and the percentage (if any), you may be eligible for a settlement.  Economic losses are anything that can be actually added up such as medical bills and physical damages, such as your car. Noneconomic damages refer to the physical and mental anguish you might have acquired as a result of the accident. For example, suppose your injury was severe, and the jury thinks you should be awarded $100,000 in damages, but they find you 30% responsible for the accident. 30% is then taken away from $100,000, which means you will walk away with $70,000 before you pay your court dues and lawyer fees.  Your amount also might be multiplied by a number from one to five in degrees of severity from the accident, which will boost your settlement figure. Therefore, if the $70,000 is multiplied by four, you will actually receive $280,000 before paying legal fees.  Your hired attorney can give you an indication as to how much you can anticipate to walk away with by the end. 

Hire The Best Attorney

Are you looking for the best route to take with your personal injury case? You can’t go wrong hiring a Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyer.  If you’re looking for a lawyer with decades of experience, our 40 years in practice says it all for our success. We are a highly rated firm with exceptional attorneys who are waiting to help you seek the extra compensation you may rightfully deserve. Navigating the legal world can be very confusing, especially if this is your first case. We want to help any way we can, which is why we offer no-obligation free consultations for you to come in and meet the team. You will be able to sit down with one of our attorneys and discuss your case to hear how we can best help you to build a favorable outcome. If you are ready to get started, either visit us online to fill out our free consultation form or call us at (561) 800-8000. We look forward to meeting you and hearing how we can help you seek extra compensation. Give us a call today.