Maximum Compensation And Justice

Brandon Personal Injury Lawyers At Holland & Lamoureux Will Fight To Get You Maximum Compensation And Justice

If you or your loved one’s serious injury happened because someone wasn’t being cautious, it’s best to talk to a personal injury lawyer right away. The experienced Brandon personal injury attorneys at Holland & Lamoureux will take the time to understand your situation. We’ll clarify your legal rights and options, which might include a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim. Get a free case evaluation with an experienced personal injury attorney at Holland & Lamoureux by calling (813) 655-9069 or contacting us online.

Information Center

1. What Is A Personal Injury?
2. Types Of Personal Injuries
3. Steps To Make A Personal Injury Claim
4. FAQs

What Is A Personal Injury?

Any time someone gets hurt because a person was not careful or acted recklessly, there is a potential personal injury. The law calls the person’s dangerous behavior negligence. There are countless ways to act negligently, but when some carelessness hurts someone else, the person who caused it must take responsibility.

Not every injury is a possible legal case. However, many victims of careless actions could file personal injury cases. Experienced personal injury attorneys will explain the difference between negligent behavior that calls for justice and accidents that do not give rise to legal responsibility.

When the injury was caused by someone’s negligence (or by someone’s intentional or recklessly dangerous conduct), a skilled personal injury attorney may help you get justice. Specifically, you may receive money to pay for medical bills and cover other costs of the injury. The lawyers at Holland & Lamoureux are personal injury professionals who’ve seen all kinds of injuries from all different causes and excel at helping injured people get compensation for their losses after injuries happen.

Types Of Personal Injuries

For a good reason, many people think of car crashes when they imagine a personal injury case. Florida roads had more than 400,000 car wrecks in 2021, leaving 252,900 people injured and taking 3,763 lives. The truth, though, is that there are very many ways to get hurt in the modern world.

Beyond injuries on the roads, there are many types of injuries that a personal injury attorney can help you with. Indeed, a personal injury attorney can bring the responsible party to justice and get you financial compensation. Some of the most common types of personal injuries we see at Holland & Lamoureux include:

•   Boating incidents
•   Motorcycle injuries
•   Biking injuries
•   Big truck crashes
•   Premises liability (slip and falls)
•   Car crashes
•   Wrongful death
•   Pedestrian injuries

Each case is unique, and every injury is personal to the victim who has had their life tossed upside down because someone else was driving dangerously or not doing their job safely.

Big Truck Crashes

We rely on big trucks to get the goods and supplies of life to our stores and homes. We appreciate the hard work of the delivery drivers who do the job well every day. But, due to the massive size and weight of these vehicles, all Florida drivers are at risk of serious injury or death when something goes wrong with a big rig. In 2020 there were 4,014 fatalities from large truck crashes and many times as many serious injuries. Sadly, it’s the occupant of the much smaller car killed in 97% of crashes between a big truck and a passenger car.

Boating Incidents

An abundance of coastline, inland lakes, and waterways make Florida a prime boating destination. Unfortunately, with more boaters on the water, there are more injuries and deaths in boating incidents. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports a dramatic increase in boating accidents in 2020. The 836 reported incidents involving boats were the most in any year in the past decade. If you are boating, stay safe and follow all rules and regulations.

Motorcycle Injuries

With so many sunny clear days and gorgeous scenery, Florida is ideal territory for motorcycle riders. On a bike, though, you’re exposed to the dangers of the roads without a metal frame surrounding you, as car drivers have. Exposure puts motorcyclists at special risk of harm in an accident. We lose an average of 550 bikers a year to fatal crashes, and thousands more have their lives forever altered with severe injury.

Premises Liability – Slip And Fall Incidents

The staggering costs of unexpected falls due to things like slippery floors and unsafe stairways added up to more than $3.6 billion in 2012. The median hospital charge for non-fatal fall injuries was a life-changing $46,067 for those who suffered a hip or ankle fracture or displacement or a traumatic brain injury due to a hard fall. When someone’s negligence caused the circumstances that led to the slip or trip and fall, you may want a personal injury lawyer to help you get your life back together and cover the medical bills and lost wages it’s caused.

Pedestrian Injuries

It’s not a record Florida is proud to hold, but a 2021 report by Smart Growing America puts the Sunshine State at the top of the list of most dangerous states for pedestrians. Florida had nine of the 13 deadliest metropolitan areas in the country for people on foot out and about. South Florida alone reported 1,675 pedestrian deaths between 2010 and 2019. Part of the reason is that cars often go too fast on city streets, and drivers are often distracted. Distracted, reckless drivers pose a risk to pedestrians.

Steps To Make A Personal Injury Claim

After you’ve been hurt because someone wasn’t being careful enough, you may have a personal injury claim. You might get compensation to cover your losses from the injury. While you may initially see a personal injury case as going to court to sue the responsible party, it’s more likely that your attorney can settle the case long before filing a lawsuit and going to court.

What should you do next if someone’s negligence has hurt you?

The injury is usually frightening and traumatic, whether it’s a car accident that smashed your vehicle and whipped your neck around or a boating mishap that left you with stitches from a propeller impact. Your first concern must always be to take care of yourself and those around you. Do your best to get to a place of safety and call for help. In most cases, a police report is an essential part of a legal claim as official documentation of the situation that caused you harm.

If medical professionals are at the scene of your accident, take the opportunity to let them assess your injuries. Follow their recommendations, whether it’s taking an ambulance to get emergency care or following up with your doctor as soon as possible. Doctors are essential in documenting the injuries you’ve suffered in a legal claim.

Consider having a lawyer help you navigate the legal process. A personal injury attorney can provide you with legal advice and advocate for you. Additionally, personal injury lawyers can assess how much compensation the law entitles you to for what you have endured.

Skilled legal professionals understand the laws that apply to your case, and they’ve dealt with many insurance companies and courts. A consultation with Holland & Lamoureux costs you nothing and can provide peace of mind. Even better, you don’t pay a thing until your case is resolved.

Your lawyer can gather the facts and records and send a notice of your claim to all relevant insurance companies. Multiple insurance companies are involved in many cases, so multiple insurance companies must be aware of the claim and your injuries.

You may have already talked to your insurance company because you need to inform them of the situation as soon as possible. It’s essential to keep your communications with the insurance company as brief and straightforward as possible. While you pay your insurance to your company for coverage in an accident, they don’t work for you. Insurance is a business, and the companies involved may strive to pay the smallest amount possible to end a claim.

The insurance company may offer to settle your claim based on their investigation. You may wish to consult your attorney before accepting a settlement offer. Your attorney works for you and can advise you of the potential value of your claim and how to maximize your compensation.

Your attorney can gather all the essential documents, from police reports to witness statements to medical records, into a settlement demand. The settlement demand presents your claim in full and a dollar figure to resolve it. When the insurance companies have all the essential records and documents, they can thoroughly evaluate your claim and start to get serious about paying what is due for their insured’s negligence.

Often, there can be a back-and-forth process between your attorney and the insurance representatives about a fair amount for your claim. These discussions cover details about the damages you’ve suffered:

•   Medical bills
•   Lost wages
•   Pain and suffering.

In many cases, your attorney can resolve your claim at this point and get a speedy settlement that will cover all your costs and expenses to get your life back together after the injury. A personal injury claim is focused on what the law calls “making you whole again,” which means putting you back in a position where you were before the injury happened.

If the responsible party doesn’t agree to adequately compensate you for what you’ve suffered in the accident, a lawsuit may be the next step. You may want an experienced attorney on your side. Court rules are stringent on how, when, and where legal documents must be filed to start legal action. The legal team at Holland & Lamoureux has experience taking cases to court to get compensation for our clients. We’re not intimidated by insurance defense lawyers or courtrooms to go after what our clients need.

In some cases, you may have the option to pursue Alternative Dispute Resolution, which can be a more efficient way to get justice. Options may include arbitration or mediation to settle your claim. These are less formal, court-like procedures where both sides of the claim present their case to a neutral person who can help resolve it without the added stress of a courtroom trial.

Some cases resolve quickly, and others take some time. You might get a judgment in the court awarding you monetary damages for your claim, or you might get an agreement to settle your case out of court.