The Hammocks Personal Injury Lawyer

Common Personal Injury Accidents in The Hammocks, FL

The Hammocks is a master-planned community in Miami-Dade County, located southwest of Miami, with around 60,000 residents. Personal injury accidents include any type of accident that causes injuries, which are the result of another’s negligence. 

Auto accidents are the most prevalent of all injury accidents in The Hammocks. Crash data from 2024 for the county showed there were 59,995 crashes, with 29,356 injuries and 283 fatalities. The county averaged about 5,000 crashes per month, or about 164 per day. 

Common accidents that result in personal injury cases include:

• Car accidents: The most frequent location for car crashes is at intersections, especially on multilane roads. 
• Truck accidents: Most accidents involving semi-trucks usually occur on the highways, toll roads, and interstates used by daily commuters.
• Motorcycle accidents: With the favorable South Florida weather, almost year-round, Florida has one of the highest rates of motorcycle accidents, usually as a result of distracted driving, speeding, and driving recklessly. 
• Bicycle accidents: Many bicycle accidents occur because drivers are distracted or are unaware of the bicycle laws in the state that require motorists to share the road with cyclists. 
• Pedestrian accidents: Pedestrians are hit by vehicles when drivers are not paying attention or fail to yield the right of way. 
• Slip-and-fall accidents: Broken and cracked pavement and tiles, torn carpets, poor lighting, wet or slick surfaces, and faulty safety equipment can all lead to slip-and-fall accidents. 
• Medical malpractice: When a healthcare provider fails to perform their duty of care to patients and causes injuries, they can face a medical malpractice lawsuit. 
• Swimming pool accidents: Swimming pools are very common in The Hammocks. Homeowners, community centers, and resorts can be held liable when someone is injured in their pool. 
• Dog bites: Dog owners have a duty of care to maintain control of their dog and prevent it from biting others. When they fail to take the proper steps, they can be sued for any injuries their dog causes. 

Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle in The Hammocks

Our experienced lawyers handle all types of personal injury claims in The Hammocks, including:

• Motor vehicle accidents: Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents usually result in some type of injuries and property damage. 
• Bicycle and pedestrian accidents: When drivers hit cyclists or pedestrians, they are liable for any injuries they cause. 
• Premises liability cases: These personal injury cases include slips and falls, dog bites, and swimming pool accidents.
• Medical malpractice: Injury claims could involve misdiagnosis, treatment errors, surgical errors, birth injuries, and medication errors. 
• Wrongful death: When someone dies due to another’s negligence, they can be held liable with a wrongful death claim. 
• Catastrophic injuries: The severity of these injuries usually has long-term, life-altering impacts on the victim and their families. 
• Workers’ compensation: Get help with denied claims, issues with employers, or their insurance companies. 
• Nursing home abuse: Nursing homes have a duty of care to ensure the safety and well-being of their residents. 
• Boating accidents: When boat owners cause injuries, they can be held liable. 
• Construction accidents: Being injured in a construction zone or on a construction site could involve multiple responsible parties.  

Florida Personal Injury Law

A key aspect of Florida personal injury law is to prove negligence. Negligence involves four elements:

• Duty: Every person has a duty of care to behave in a reasonable manner to reduce and prevent injury-causing accidents. 
• Breach: A breach occurs when an individual fails to provide a duty of care. 
• Causation: The responsible party’s actions were the contributing factor that resulted in injuries.
• Damages: The victim experienced actual physical injuries and losses. 

You also need to be aware of the statute of limitations, the amount of time you have to file your injury claim. Florida law allows two years from the accident date to initiate your claim for most personal injury claims. If you do not file a claim within this time, you cannot seek damages from the responsible party.

In cases where you are partially at fault, you may still have the legal right to seek damages under Florida’s comparative negligence rule. As long as you are 50% or less at fault, you can still file your claim, but your compensation is reduced by the percentage you are at fault. For instance, your total settlement is $50,000, but you are 25% at fault. The actual amount of your settlement would be $37,500.

Compensation Available for The Hammocks Personal Injury Victims

• Economic damages: Any financial losses experienced as a result of your injuries, such as current medical expenses, future medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. To recover compensation for future medical expenses, expert testimony is sometimes necessary.
• Non-economic damages: Losses without an actual dollar amount, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment. 
• Punitive damages: Special damages awarded when the responsible party’s actions are considered grossly negligent, reckless, or malicious as a means to punish them. 

Calculating the financial compensation you can recover involves adding up all your actual financial losses (economic damages). Next, a multiplier is used to determine the amount of non-economic damages using the total of your economic damages. The multiplier ranges between 1.5 and 5, based on the severity of your injuries. Then your total economic damages are added to your non-economic damages to determine your total settlement amount. Punitive damages are at the discretion of the judge and are only awarded in rare situations. 

How Our The Hammocks Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You

Our personal injury attorneys in The Hammocks can help you protect your legal rights while ensuring you obtain the compensation you deserve by:

• Providing a free consultation to review your case and legal options.
• Conducting a thorough investigation and gathering the evidence needed to support your claim.
• Filing your claim with the insurance companies.
• Handling all negotiations with the insurance companies to reach a favorable settlement.
• Taking legal action and trial representation when a settlement cannot be reached.

Throughout the claims process, your injury attorney keeps you informed and will never accept a personal injury settlement offer without your approval. 

Dealing With Insurance Companies After a The Hammocks Accident

Insurance companies are for-profit businesses, so they do not like paying out huge settlements. Instead, they will make low-ball offers or use various tactics, like saying medical treatment is unnecessary, to devalue your claim or even deny it. 

They will also use anything you tell them against you later, often taking it out of context.  Therefore, before speaking with the insurance company, it is better to find out your legal rights, options, and the financial compensation you could claim with a free case consultation. 

Notable Results and Settlements

The goal of our The Hammocks law firm is to help you secure maximum compensation for your injuries and losses. Some of the financial recovery verdicts and settlements we have helped other victims obtain include:

What To Do After a Personal Injury in The Hammocks

After a personal injury accident, it is imperative to take action as soon as possible due to the statute of limitations, to protect your legal rights, and to ensure you can pursue maximum compensation. 

Steps to follow include:

1. Seek immediate medical treatment, even if injuries seem minor.
2. File a police report or accident report.
3. Document the accident scene by taking pictures and videos, including your injuries and property damage.
4. Obtain contact details for any witnesses.
5. Preserve all evidence, especially for serious injuries, like your clothing.
6. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney in a timely manner.

It is vital to avoid posting about the incident on social media. Insurance companies are notorious for checking social media posts and using them against individuals to downplay the seriousness of their injuries and reduce their settlement. Even if your accounts are set to private, they could subpoena your posts.  

The Contingency Fee Advantage — No Fees Unless We Win

Our personal injury law firm in The Hammocks offers a free consultation and takes cases on a contingency-fee basis to ensure people have access to expert legal advice and representation. 

Our contingency fee structure means that all case costs are covered by our law firm upfront, and we collect a percentage of your settlement later. There are no fees unless we win and reach a settlement or verdict in your favor. 

During your initial consultation, we will review this in great detail. It is worth mentioning that even with a contingency fee, our clients still receive more money than they would have if they had attempted to settle their cases without legal representation. 

Serving The Hammocks and Surrounding Miami-Dade Communities

Our personal injury law firm serves clients throughout South Florida and Miami-Dade County in:

Contact Our The Hammocks Personal Injury Lawyers Today

Florida personal injury laws can be confusing, overwhelming, and complex. Attempting to file your injury claim alone usually results in a significantly lower settlement than obtaining legal help from our law firm. 

Whether you need assistance filing your claim or have already received a settlement offer and want a second opinion, our experienced attorneys at Bernstain & Maryanoff are here to help. Contact us to request your free consultation today. Hablamos Español.

About Bernstein & Maryanoff, Injury Attorneys

Bernstein & Maryanoff was founded by Jack Bernstein in 1983. Over the years, our law firm has grown into one of the largest in the state, with law offices in Miami-Dade and Broward County, as well as Tampa, thanks to our ability to help clients secure maximum compensation. 

Our legal team has extensive experience not only negotiating favorable settlements with insurance companies, but also actual trial experience litigating cases in court, and obtaining successful verdicts. 

Part of what sets us apart from other personal injury firms is our substantial financial resources at our disposal. From expert testimony to gathering strong evidence, we are committed to securing the maximum recovery for everyone, regardless of the extent of their injuries. We always work in your best interests to secure the compensation you deserve.

Frequently Asked Questions