Port St. Lucie Personal Injury Lawyers
On an annual basis, nearly 25 million Americans visit a doctor for accidental injuries. Many of these injuries were caused by nothing more than bad luck or even clumsiness. In some cases, however, these injuries were the direct result of something that another person did or failed to do.
If you were hurt in an accident that was caused by another person, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against them. Through a lawsuit, you can recover money for your medical bills, lost wages, future medical care, emotional distress, and other losses. Our seasoned Port St. Lucie personal injury attorneys will fight to help you get maximum compensation for your losses.
At Gould Cooksey Fennell, we are dedicated to helping accident victims get the money that they deserve for their injuries. We use our skill and knowledge to help our clients get the best possible outcome for their case. Contact our law offices today to schedule a free initial consultation with a Port St. Lucie personal injury lawyer.
Do You Have a Personal Injury Claim?
In Florida, personal injury cases (torts) are usually based on a theory of negligence or carelessness. Negligence is the failure to use the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would use in a similar situation. A person may be negligent based on something that they did or something that they failed to do.
To win a personal injury lawsuit, you (plaintiff) will typically have to prove that the other party (defendant) was negligent in some way. Negligence has four elements:
- Duty: the defendant owed you a duty to use reasonable care
- Breach: the defendant violated that duty in some way
- Causation: this violation was the direct cause of the accident
- Damages: the plaintiff suffered losses as a result of the accident
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A person can be negligent in many different ways. For example, if someone texts and drives (in violation of Florida law) and causes a crash, they may be considered negligent. If a property owner knows about a fall hazard on their premises and doesn’t fix it, leading to a slip and fall, they could be considered negligent.
Our law firm represents clients who have been injured through negligence in all different types of cases, including:
- Car accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Scooter and moped accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Boating accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Dog bites
- Premises liability
- Slip and fall injuries
- Products liability
- Child injuries
- Medical malpractice
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We represent clients who have suffered both minor injuries as well as more serious ones, such as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. We also represent families who have lost loved ones in accidents in wrongful death lawsuits. In each case, our goal is to get our clients maximum compensation for their injuries.
Each of our cases begins with a free initial consultation. During this meeting, we will listen to your story and offer you legal advice on your rights and options for pursuing a claim. If you decide to hire our law firm, we will get started right away to build the strongest possible claim for compensation.
What Happens After You File a Personal Injury Claim?
Most people are fortunate to never be involved in any kind of personal injury case. While this is a good thing, it can also make it hard to know exactly what to do if you are hurt in an accident. You might be a bit overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next.
Filing a personal injury claim against the responsible party is the next step in the process. Through a claim, you can recover compensation for your losses. Although money won’t make you whole again, it can give you the financial stability that you need to move forward with your life.
If you choose to work with our Port St. Lucie law firm, we will begin with a full investigation of your case. We will interview witnesses, request an accident report, analyze your medical records, and review photos and videos of the accident scene. We will also consult with experts and research Florida personal injury law.
Once our investigation is complete, we will draft a demand letter that will be sent to the defendant’s insurance company. This letter will contain three parts: (1) an explanation of what happened; (2) the legal reasons why their policyholder is liable; and (3) a demand for damages (compensation). In most cases, the insurance company will respond to a demand letter with a counteroffer, beginning the negotiation process.
Depending on the facts of the case and whether there is any question about liability, our Port St. Lucie personal injury attorneys may be able to negotiate a settlement in as little as 2 to 3 months. If there are disputed issues in the case, negotiations may take longer. For example, if the insurance company argues that you were partially responsible for the accident, then it may take some more time to come to an agreement.Â
In many cases, it may also be necessary to file a lawsuit to preserve your legal rights. In Florida, there is a 2-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases. With some exceptions, this means that if you don’t file a lawsuit within 2 years of the date of your accident or injury, then you won’t be able to bring a claim at all.
Filing a lawsuit does not mean that your case will go to trial. In reality, the majority of personal injury claims are settled outside of court. Filing a lawsuit is a way to continue negotiations while protecting your rights and learning more about the case through discovery.
If the insurance company refuses to offer you fair compensation for your injuries, then our Port St. Lucie personal injury lawyers will take your case to trial. In court, we will advocate for you and ask the jury to return a verdict in your favor. As skilled negotiators and litigators, we will do everything that we can to get you the best possible result for your case.
Compensation for Your Florida Personal Injury Case
In a Florida personal injury case, there are three types of damages that may be available: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages. Most personal injury settlements will include economic and non-economic damages (referred to jointly as compensatory damages). Punitive damages are only available in cases involving something more than negligence.
Economic damages compensate accident victims for their financial losses. Examples of economic damages include:
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Medical bills
- Future medical expenses
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Essentially, if you have paid (or will pay) for something related to your accident, then it may be included as economic damages. This can include things outside of the above list, such as adaptive devices if you have a disability as a result of your accident.
Non-economic damages pay for intangible losses. While you won’t get a bill or an estimate for these types of losses, they are just as important to your overall recovery as economic damages. They may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
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Punitive damages are awarded in more unusual cases where the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly. Most personal injury cases are based on a theory of negligence/carelessness, so punitive damages won’t be available. However, there are cases (such as drunk driving accidents) where punitive damages may be awarded.
You May Need a Personal Injury Lawyer
After an accident, you may be approached by an insurance adjuster. They might ask you to give a statement or to sign some paperwork. They may even tell you that the insurance company accepts responsibility and offer you a settlement. Should you take it?
In most cases, it is a bad idea to talk to an adjuster, give a statement, or sign anything before you have a chance to talk to a lawyer. Insurance companies do not have your best interests at heart. Their priority is to pay out as little as possible on your claim, which is certainly not your goal for your personal injury case.
Even if you are offered what seems like a lot of money, it is important to remember that settlement agreements are basically final. The agreement will include a provision that releases the defendant and insurance company from all future claims. This means that even if you discover 6 months down the road that your injuries were worse than you thought, you won’t be able to seek more money.
When you hire a Port St. Lucie personal injury lawyer, they will work for you and your best interests. At every step of the way, they will fight to get you maximum compensation for your injuries. Your attorney will protect your legal rights and make sure that you don’t accept a settlement offer that does not fully cover your losses.
Studies show that people who are represented by counsel recover an average of 40% more than people who represent themselves in personal injury claims. When an injury victim hires a personal injury attorney, the insurance company knows that they won’t simply accept a lowball settlement offer. As a result, the insurance company is far more likely to offer you a fair settlement.Â
It is possible to settle a personal injury claim without the help of an attorney, but this is only advisable in cases involving property damage and/or extremely minor injuries. The better option for any personal injury case is to hire an experienced attorney who will fight for your right to full compensation. In St. Lucie County, our law firm stands ready, willing, and able to advocate for you and get you the compensation that you deserve.
Help for Accident Victims in Port St. Lucie, Florida
After an accident, the last thing that you want to deal with is pushy insurance adjusters or endless paperwork. Our law firm will take on the insurance company for you. We will work to get you the best possible outcome while you focus on your health and well-being.
Gould Cooksey Fennell offers the highest quality legal representation to clients throughout Florida’s Treasure Coast region. We are dedicated to helping our clients get justice for their injuries, and we never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a Port St. Lucie personal injury lawyer, give us a call at 772-742-4912 or fill out our online contact form.
Related:
Detailed Medical Knowledge
Cutting-Edge Technology
Modern Trial Techniques
FREE CAR ACCIDENT CONSULTATION
- No Fee Until We Win
- $150M+ in Recent Personal Injury Verdicts & Settlements
- U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firms for 10 Consecutive Years
Our firm is here to take that burden off of our clients and handle their claim completely. We will help you get the compensation you deserve.
Notable CAR ACCIDENT Settlements and Verdicts
We’ve recovered over $150 million for our clients. These are real case results from real people who came to us for help. And we got them what they were owed.
Plaintiff was operating a small motorcycle/scooter when a 91 year old man turned left in front of him hitting him essentially head on. As a result of the collision, the Plaintiff sustained catastrophic injuries to his lower body, including snapped femurs and fractures to the spine and pelvis. After a two week trial the Indian River County jury returned an award totaling $9.381 million.
A Brevard County Jury awarded Plaintiff $6.4M against Defendant State Farm, following an accident that resulted in numerous catastrophic orthopedic injuries, including a below knee amputation of the Plaintiff’s left leg.
Plaintiff sustained numerous orthopedic injuries as a result of the negligence of a driver working for the State of Florida Department of Agriculture. At trial, the case resulted in a verdict of $5,582,776.82. Because the government’s damages are statutorily limited to $100,000 under Sovereign Immunity laws, Gould Cooksey Fennell’s Personal Injury Group was forced to fight in the Legislature for several years to pursue the passage of a Claims Bill. Ultimately a Bill was passed for 40 times the statutory limitations.
Indian River County crash resulting in significant injuries to a husband and wife. This matter was resolved prior to filing a lawsuit.
Obtained a Trial Verdict of $1.64 million dollars for injuries sustained by an 86 year old woman in a rollover auto accident on SR 60 in Vero Beach, Florida. After prolonged hospitalization, Mrs. Koebele never fully recovered and an Indian River County Jury awarded $1,170,130 for her injuries and $475,000 for her husband’s consortium claim.
Automobile crash in Vero Beach, FL resulting in cervical injury, including disc herniation to a 22 year old tennis professional.
While stopped at the intersection of US Hwy 1 and Vista Royale Boulevard, the Plaintiff’s vehicle was struck from behind with such force that the rear of his SUV was lifted off the ground and his vehicle slammed into the rear of the vehicle in front of him. As a result of the violent impact, Plaintiff sustained permanent injuries to his cervical and lumbar spine. An Indian River County jury awarded the Plaintiff $1,487,412.99.
While stopped at the intersection of 43rd Ave and 8th Street, Plaintiff was rear-ended by the Defendant, launching her vehicle into another vehicle in front of her. Plaintiff sustained permanent injuries to her right knee and cervical spine, both requiring surgical intervention in the years following the collision. After a nine day trial, an Indian River County jury returned an award of $1,259,090.73.
Indian River County jury awarded verdict against Defendant State Farm following an automobile accident where the defendant Driver was underinsured.
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