No one plans to be in an accident, but our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer knows that motor vehicle crashes, truck wrecks, slip and falls, construction accidents, medical malpractice, and boating wrecks happen far too often to innocent people. Victims of Fort Lauderdale accidents causing serious personal injuries may be entitled to recover compensation under Florida law. This includes compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and lost future earnings. This is because some victims may suffer catastrophic personal injuries including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and other devastating injuries. Entire families are also affected now that they have to help care for an injured loved one, have decreased monthly income from a loved one being unable to work, and have increased expenses with burdening medical bills. In the most devastating of crashes, some families may lose a loved one due to the negligence of another person, business, or government entity. Some victims and families may not know where to turn for help.
But in these times of great uncertainty, victims and their families can rely on Schlacter Law to help them after a personal injury accident. Our experienced bodily injury lawyer and award-winning law firm will compassionately handle your case while aggressively pursuing your rights. We work with some of the leading experts to establish liability and build your claim for damages. Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer has recovered millions of dollars for personal injury victims throughout Florida, especially for Fort Lauderdale residents. We do not let insurance adjusters take advantage of our clients to deny or undervalue a claim. If you or a loved one were seriously injured, or if a loved one was wrongfully killed due to the negligence of another, please call our personal injury lawyer firm for a FREE consultation to learn how our Fort Lauderdale lawyer can protect your rights to compensation under Florida law.
Our experienced personal injury lawyer and award-winning law firm handle any type of accident case resulting in serious, debilitating, or catastrophic personal injuries occurring here in Fort Lauderdale. This includes the following types of accidents:
Car wrecks Trucking accidents Slip and falls or trip and falls Medical malpractice, including birth injury cases Construction site accidents including fires, explosions, and electrocutions Motorcycle collisions Bicycle crashes Workplace mishaps Dog bites or animal attacks Cruise ship, boating, jet ski, and other watercraft incidents Intentional torts Fatal accidents resulting in wrongful death Crimes including assault, battery, rape, and other offenses Swimming pool accidents Negligent security claims Pedestrians hit by a car Other incidents that our personal injury lawyer may be able to help protect your rights to under Florida lawUnder Florida law, victims of a personal injury accident may be entitled to “damages” which is a form of relief in a legal action. Personal injury cases usually result in monetary compensation as a form of relief. Victims and their families may recover the following types of monetary compensation in Florida personal injury accidents:
Past pain and suffering from the accident date to the settlement date or court award date Future pain and suffering from the payment date to the estimated end of life for the victim Medical bills, including all ambulance, hospital, specialist, surgical, therapy, and related medical expenses Future medical bills, expenses of all future medical expenses such as future surgeries, therapy, medications, and other treatment that is able to be proven in court Lost wages from being out of work due to injuries or appointments Future lost wages if a victim is unable to return to the same line of work and must take a lower-paying job Modifications to a home or vehicle, including ramps, lifts, handles, and other devices Medication expenses, both reimbursement for past expenses and for future expenses Nursing care, especially as a victim ages or for victims who are catastrophically injured Loss of consortium and services, which includes love, affection, protection, guidance, and other familial relationship connections between loved ones Mobility assistance devices such as wheelchairs, canes, braces, and other ambulatory devices Costs for therapy, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, emotional/psychological therapy, and other expenses Property damage Wrongful death damages, including funeral costs, burial expenses, loss of income, and other damages Punitive damages in rare but egregious cases Other damages related to a Fort Lauderdale personal injury accident that should be evaluated by our bodily injury lawyerThere are many different types of serious personal injuries that could be caused by the negligence of another. Our lawyer knows that some damages may require surgical repair including placement of painful hardware such as rods, plates, pins, screws, and other medical equipment. Other times victims may require multiple surgeries, especially for joint replacements, back surgeries, and burn-scar reductions. Some of the most common types of personal injuries our Fort Lauderdale lawyer may agree to help you with include the following:
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions, diffuse axonal injuries, coup-contrecoup, penetrating damage, brain bleeds, and other damages to the head or brain [1] Spinal cord injuries (SCIs), including paraplegia and quadriplegia [2] Amputations Broken bones and fractured bones Loss of one’s senses, including vision, smell, taste, sensation, and hearing Burns Back or neck injuries, including disc ruptures, slipped discs, annular tears, and disc herniations Head or face damages Organ damage Disfigurement Any other serious or catastrophic damages due to a reckless, careless, or negligent accident that our Fort Lauderdale lawyer may be able to help you withThere are many different types of accidents that could result in catastrophic personal injuries. No one plans to be in an accident and no one plans to be seriously hurt. But there are some steps that a victim may be able to take after a crash or wreck which could help save a victim’s life and preserve a claim. Our lawyer provides some of the most important tips that you should know in the event you are involved in an accident. These tips from our lawyer include the following:
Call for help (911): Always call the police for help. If you are injured on the property of another in a slip and fall or animal attack, call the police and let the property owner know. The police will conduct an investigation and generate an official report that you may be able to use. Some property owners like businesses have incident reports which could future be used to support your claim Get medical help: If you are injured or even slightly hurt, have some discomfort, or feel sore, get medical care and treatment. No matter how much of an inconvenience it may appear, going to the hospital for a full evaluation could save your life. Some injuries such as brain bleeds can take half an hour to a few hours to manifest themselves. If you wait for the first symptoms to appear, the damage is likely already irreparable. Only trained medical providers know how to detect these symptoms, and failing to get evaluated could turn this catastrophe into a tragedy. Other injuries such as back injuries may take weeks or even months to become debilitating and require surgery. In this situation, having your injuries medically documented can save your claim Take photographs or videos: If you are medically able to, take photographs or videos of the scene of the incident including important signs, weather conditions, and your injuries. This can be crucial evidence to both support your claim and to defeat potential defenses commonly used by a defense lawyer. Always make sure to tell your lawyer about the photographs and videos you took, even if you think that it may hurt your case Gather and exchange information: Make sure to exchange contact information and insurance information for any type of personal injury. This includes medical malpractice cases where you will want to get witness information, especially of other healthcare providers who had to come to help you Gather and exchange documents: Keep every document that you generate or are given after a crash causing you any type of personal injury. This includes consents, discharge sheets or instruments, and other documents. Provide this information and as much as you have to your lawyer as soon as you can Keep a journal: Document your daily struggles, pain, appointments, disability, and other setbacks that you had due to the harm you suffered. This can help support your claim in the future while also helping your lawyer chart your progress and build your case Contact a lawyer: Even before you submit an insurance claim, get a lawyer on your side to help you. While you could handle a personal injury claim alone, you are simply not going to get the same amount of money that a lawyer could get for you. Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize a victim’s damages while maximizing a victim’s comparative fault. Most insurance adjusters also have a defense lawyer helping them defend your claim. Unless you hire your own lawyer, you are left fighting an uphill battle. Do not go it alone, ask our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer at Schlacter Law how we can help youSometimes the most catastrophic of injuries are not recoverable. Families who lose a loved one in a Fort Lauderdale car wreck, trip and fall, or medical malpractice case have rights to compensation under Florida law. These are very complicated types of cases that can have many pitfalls. It is best to hire an experienced bodily injury law firm like Schlacter Law to protect your family’s rights after a loved one is wrongfully killed due to the careless, reckless, or negligent actions of another. Our lawyer may be able to help families get the following types of compensation:
Pain and suffering of their loved one before death Medical expenses and medical bills Burial and funeral costs Emotional harm or distress Loss of financial support and income Property damage Loss of consortium, guidance, protection, and society Punitive damages for gross negligence and outrageous instances of negligence Other damages that our Fort Lauderdale lawyer may be able to obtain for families after the wrongful death of a loved oneWhile some states may bar a claim for a victim who was partially at fault, under Florida law a victim may still be able to recover compensation for personal injuries. This is because Florida is a “comparative fault” state. This means that Florida apportions the fault of the victim and the defendant, and then adjusts the final recovery by subtracting the victim’s percentage of fault.
For instance, if a victim recovers $100,000 but is 40% at fault, a victim may still recover $60,000 for his or her case. This allows victims to still pay for their medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses even if they were partially at fault. This is also why having an experienced lawyer is imperative because an insurance adjuster and defense lawyer will try to maximize a victim’s comparative fault in order to reduce the total award.
When the reckless, careless, or negligent actions of another person, business, or government entity cause you or a loved one serious personal injuries, call our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer at Schlacter Law to defend your rights to compensation. We will not let abusive insurance companies undervalue your injuries or your claim. Ask our award-winning law firm for a FREE consultation by dialing (305) 999-1111 to learn how we can fight back to get you the compensation that you deserve.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/index.html ↩https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/Public/Facts%20and%20Figures%202019%20-%20Final.pdf ↩
Reviews