How To File a Personal Injury Claim

When you’ve been injured, you may feel isolated and frightened. Unexpected injuries can disrupt every aspect of your life and leave you with medical bills and other expenses. You may find yourself coping with shock from the incident, in addition to physical injuries. In severe cases, you may be unable to work or engage in your favorite activities. 

While a personal injury lawsuit can’t undo the physical or psychological damage from your accident, it can help you get the money you need to cover these expenses while you recover. Let’s examine what’s involved in filing a personal injury claim and how a Miami accident attorney can help with your Miami personal injury lawsuit.

What Are the Steps You Must Take To File a Personal Injury Claim?

You must take several steps to file a personal injury claim, starting with your actions immediately following your accident.

What Should I Do Immediately After an Accident To Support My Claim?

You should comply with local laws to support your accident claim. Suppose you were injured in a car accident. You must stay at the scene, report the accident to authorities, and exchange personal and insurance information with the other drivers.

In addition to those steps, you should also do the following:

• Assist other injured persons
• Seek medical care
• Make notes about the accident scene and other parties involved
• Record contact information for witnesses
• Capture videos and photos of the scene
• Notify your insurance company, if applicable

You should also consult a Miami personal injury lawyer. 

What Legal Steps Do I Need To Take?

You can consult an attorney from the accident scene. Speaking to a lawyer ensures you know what to do and keeps you from taking unnecessary steps. Suppose you were in a car accident. You should not admit fault or incriminate yourself. You may be in shock after the accident and not thinking clearly, and an attorney will help you remember what you should and should not do.

Your next legal steps involve identifying the at-fault party and issuing a demand letter outlining your complaint and the compensation you seek. 

After issuing your demand letter, you can attempt to negotiate a settlement. If successful, you’ll resolve your claim without going to court. However, suppose the at-fault party denies responsibility or offers less compensation than you deserve. In that case, you can file a lawsuit and take your case to court.  

How Long Do I Have To File a Personal Injury Claim in Miami, FL?

Florida’s statute of limitations determines the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. In most cases, victims have 24 months from the accident date. However, victims have an additional year if their claim involves a government entity and an additional two years if they’re filing a child sexual assault claim. Injury victims can extend the deadline if they’re incapacitated or the at-fault party leaves the jurisdiction or conceals their identity. 

What Documents Do I Need To File a Personal Injury Claim?

The following documents help justify the damages you seek and your grounds to file a claim:

• Accident report
• Bills and receipts
• Insurance information and letters
• Lost wage form
• Medical records
• Photographs
• Victim statements
• Videos
• Witness statements

How Do I Prove Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim?

Proving the at-fault party’s negligence is necessary to win a personal injury claim. The foundation of negligence begins with the at-fault party’s obligations to others. You must demonstrate they were responsible for conducting themselves safely to avoid harm to others. 

Once you establish the at-fault party’s duty of care, you must show they breached it by acting or failing to act in a way to prevent harm. Suppose a speeding driver hit you. You can demonstrate they had a duty to obey traffic laws while operating their vehicle but breached that duty by speeding. 

Causation is the third step involved in proving negligence. This involves showing that the defendant’s breach of duty caused your injuries. Finally, winning your case involves showing the damages you suffered because of the defendant’s conduct. 

What Compensation Can I Seek in a Personal Injury Claim? 

Personal injury victims in Miami and throughout Florida can seek compensation for economic (monetary) and non-economic (non-monetary) damages.

Economic damages are costs incurred or revenue forfeited because of your accident and can include the following:

• Burial costs
• Childcare bills
• Funeral expenses
• Lost income
• Medical bills
• Personal care bills
• Property damage costs
• Transportation costs

Non-economic injury compensation in Miami and throughout Florida allows compensation for the following:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Disfiguration
• Grief
• Loss of intimacy
• Loss of quality of life
• Pain and suffering
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

When you find a lawyer who can handle your personal injury case, they can help identify grounds for your damages. Your lawyer will confirm if you have grounds to fight for punitive damages, which apply in cases involving gross negligence. 

How Do I Calculate the Value of My Personal Injury Claim?

Calculating the economic damages you can seek involves calculating bills from accident-related costs and calculating losses, such as lost income and lost revenue from missed opportunities for promotions at work. Your lawyer can help you calculate these costs and the value of your non-economic damages. Many injury cases involve ranking your injuries on a scale of one to five, with five applying in cases involving permanent injuries. Your attorney will multiply your economic damages by the appropriate multiplier to determine the value of the non-economic damages you can seek. 

How Do I Handle Medical Bills While My Claim Is Being Processed? 

Your health insurance can pay some or all of your medical bills while resolving your claim. Car accident victims can also use personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. You can negotiate a payment plan if your insurance doesn’t cover everything. 

Can I File a Personal Injury Claim if I Was Partially at Fault?

Florida’s comparative negligence laws allow you to seek compensation if you were partially at fault, as long as your percentage of liability is 50% or less. Suppose you were 20% liable. In that case, you could seek 80% of recoverable damages from the other at-fault party. 

How Long Does It Take To Resolve a Personal Injury Claim?

It may take months to resolve your claim, particularly if you go through a lengthy discovery phase before negotiating a settlement. If you go to trial, your case can take two years or more.

What Is the Process for Negotiating a Settlement in a Personal Injury Case? 

Negotiating a settlement begins with calculating damages, issuing a demand letter, and meeting for settlement negotiations. You should present evidence establishing fault and justification for the damages sought. It may take more than one settlement meeting to resolve your claim. Insurance companies often make low offers to attempt to resolve the claim for the lowest sum.

You may be wondering, will my personal injury case go to court? The answer is: it depends. It could go to court if you do not reach an agreement during settlement negotiations. But if you do reach an agreement during negotiations, you’ll need the agreement presented in writing. You should review it to ensure it matches the terms reached during your negotiations.

How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help With My Claim? 

Your attorney will handle the following tasks:

• Provide legal counsel
• Investigate your accident
• Gather evidence
• Depose witnesses
• Prepare legal paperwork
• Calculate damages
• Lead settlement negotiations
• Issue subpoenas

When you find the best personal injury attorney in Miami to handle your case, they’ll use legal precedents to support your claim, build your case, and prepare to represent you at trial if you do not settle out of court.

Let Bernstein & Maryanoff Injury Attorneys Help 

Our legal team is ready to help you with your Miami personal injury claim. We will look after the legal matters so you can prioritize your recovery. We’ll explain your options and ensure you have the legal information you need to make informed decisions until you get fair compensation for your injuries.

Sources:

Accidents or Unintentional Injuries. (2024). 

Kenton, W. (2024). Demand Letter: Definition, Purposes, Sample Contents, and Legality. NHTSA Launches Put the Phone Away or Pay Campaign; Releases 2023 Fatality Early Estimates. (2024).