Personal Injury

The Villages Personal Injury Lawyer: Helping the Injured Seek Justice

Being injured in an accident can be a painful and stressful experience that is compounded even more if you’re an older Florida resident. Under Florida law, those who have been hurt in an accident because someone else failed to be careful can file a personal injury lawsuit. Such lawsuits aim to compensate injured individuals for medical expenses, lost wages, and any additional pain and suffering that may have occurred as a result of the injury. Without The Villages personal injury who devotes themselves to your case, your claim is unlikely to succeed.

In the sprawling retirement community of The Villages, it is not uncommon for these types of accidents and resulting lawsuits to occur. From car accidents to slip-and-fall injuries, medical malpractice cases and accidental neglect or abuse, those living and working within The Villages are often prone to experience these types of accidents. Working with The Villages personal injury attorney who uniquely understands the community and has experience navigating the Florida personal injury landscape is a sound approach to ensuring you receive compensation and proper care for your injuries.

Common cases your The Villages personal injury attorney can help with are:

• Car Accidents
• Premises Liability
• Bicycle Accidents
• Motorcycle & ATV Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Cruise Ship Injuries
• Swimming Pool Accidents
• Medical Malpractice
• Slip and Fall
• Negligent Security
• Worker’s Compensation
• Electrocution And Electrical Contact
• Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse
• Trucking and Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Breaking Down Personal Injury Claims in The Villages

Personal injury law in Florida encompasses any harmful act, intentional or accidental, for which the law can provide a solution. There are many different types of personal injury, including, applying bodily injury to someone, being destructive to someone’s property or character, or wrongly denying someone his or her rights. The state of Florida allows up to four years for a personal injury claim to be made. For medical malpractice, the state of Florida recognizes two years.

Grounds for determining a personal injury claim include:

Intentional Behavior

A person intends for the outcome of the event to result in specific consequence. This type of personal injury can be classified as battery, fraud, assault, false imprisonment, trespassing, invasion of privacy and conversion.

Negligence

This refers to the failure to act rationally or use reasonable care. The law imposes that every person should act as cautiously as a levelheaded, ordinary, sensible person in a similar situation would.

Strict Liability

This is when the direct action of an individual results in another’s injury or harm regardless of fault. This usually applies to those involved with hazardous or dangerous activities including fumigating, manufacturing explosives, etc. Carelessness can lead to unfortunate injury that our lawyers witness every day in Florida.

Why You Should Hire The Villages Personal Injury Lawyer

You may be wondering whether you can afford to hire an attorney to deal with your personal injury case. It may be tempting to simply accept whatever you’re being offered from the at-fault party’s insurance carrier. However, hiring an experienced The Villages personal injury attorney is often the difference between getting what you deserve and settling for barely enough to cover your total losses. There are numerous benefits to hiring a lawyer that lead to a better outcome for your case and offset any costs you may incur.

Attorneys bring a level of experience that makes them a tough opponent when negotiating with insurance companies. Hiring Whittel & Melton, trial lawyers who handle cases in The Villages, to take the reigns and negotiate directly on your behalf will ensure that your case is handled quickly and efficiently and that you receive the highest amount of compensation possible. If the insurance company is unwilling to offer what you deserve, our team is prepared to go to trial and fight for it. You won’t have to worry about paying any attorney’s fees unless you win your case.

How Will The Villages Personal Injury Attorney Win My Case?

Most people think that initiating a lawsuit means you need to be prepared to spend years in court. Depending on the complexity of your case, this is rarely true – instead, your attorney tackles your case in stages designed to compel the at-fault party’s insurance company to make you a favorable settlement. Your lawyer will generally approach your case in three phases: the investigative phase, the claim preparation phase, and the negotiation phase. In most cases, your attorney will be able to negotiate for the settlement you deserve – but if they aren’t satisfied with the insurance company’s offer, they will prepare to go to trial instead.

The Investigative Phase

In the investigatory phase, The Villages personal injury lawyer will ask you a series of questions about your case, and get to work contacting all of the relevant parties who may have more information related to your claim. For example, if you filed a police report, your attorney will thoroughly review the document and speak with each of the responding officers, witnesses, and named parties within the report. Once that review is complete, your lawyer will likely get to work determining whether these parties should be called as witnesses in your case. They will also be pulling crucial information, such as your medical records and subsequent bills to assess how much you should be owed as part of your lawsuit. Once all of this information has been gathered, your attorney will get to work preparing your lawsuit.

The Claim Preparation Phase

As your attorney is preparing your claim, they’ll be focused on gathering many of the above-discussed materials, like the police report, vehicle damage reports, medical records, and any other documentation that might convince the at-fault party’s insurance company to make a reasonable offer. At this stage, it’s crucial that you provide your attorney with access to as much information as possible so they can accurately assess what you are owed and demand that much from the insurance company.

The Negotiation Phase

While it’s unlikely that the insurance company will automatically offer what your attorney is asking for, their demand sets the stage for negotiations. At this point, your attorney and the insurance company will enter into a back-and-forth negotiation that aims to reach an amount that makes everyone whole. Your attorney will consider whether the settlement is enough to cover both your costs and their attorney’s fees, and he or she will make a recommendation on whether you should accept the insurance company’s offer based on whether it truly covers all of your needs.

If the insurance company refuses to make a fair settlement offer during these negotiations, then The Villages personal injury attorney will prepare to file a lawsuit. At this point, the case will become more contentious, as attorneys will once again revisit crucial documents obtained in the investigative phase in order to determine which evidence will be most crucial to prove your claim in court. While there will be a series of motions by each opposing party – which are designed to get the insurance company to once again consider making a settlement offer – you may very well end up having to go to trial in order to be reimbursed for your medical expenses.

Contact The Villages Personal Injury Lawyer Today

It’s important to remember that 95 percent of all personal injury cases are resolved with a settlement offer once a lawyer gets involved in the case. Without the experienced counsel and guidance of an attorney, you may find that your lack of legal knowledge and experience may ultimately cost you and hinder your negotiation power. Instead, consider contacting the offices of Whittel & Melton for an initial consultation on your case. With experience handling cases for residents of The Villages, they understand the unique circumstances of your situation and recognize that your case needs to be approached with sensitivity and care. We are willing, ready, and able to get to work on your behalf.