Negligence

Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Lakeland Area Attorneys

The majority of personal injury lawsuits are based on negligence.

We all have a duty to go a little farther than restraining ourselves from intentionally hurting each other and actually use a minimal level of care needed to not cause injuries to other. Car wrecks, medical malpractice, slip and fall and other accidents and injuries almost always come down to negligence.

Sure, there are some sick people out there and it is not unheard of for a driver to ram someone on purpose, a doctor to intentionally cause harm to a patient, or for a bad character to throw their soda on the floor to watch someone slip and fall so they can laugh about it. Those things do happen, but in most cases negligence is to blame, not intentional wrongdoing. And while we, as a society, do not generally put people in jail or punish them for simple negligence, we do hold them financially responsible for the harm they cause to others.

You should not be left footing the bill for someone else’s failure to use due care. If you have been harmed by someone else’s negligence,

My Price Lawyers is here to help you get the legal help that you need at an affordable price so that you and your family can get the compensation that you deserve and the peace of mind of knowing that your bills will be paid.

Please call us today at (888) 473-6137 for a free injury claim evaluation.

How My Price Lawyers Can Help When You Have Been Harmed by Negligence

The fact that the person, company, government agency or organization that caused your accident or injuries did not intend to cause you harm does you little good when you are trying to deal with your injuries or the injuries of a loved one. Right now, what matters is trying to heal physically and figuring out how you will pay your medical expenses as well as your regular bills.

You need to know how you will pay for your ongoing needs, which could be a lifetime of medical care. You may never be able to go back to work. You need to know where to turn for help.

My Price Lawyers takes the burden of finding an attorney off of you. We direct injury victims to experienced, caring and affordable personal injury lawyers. Your attorneys will pursue every avenue of compensation for you so that you can recover maximum compensation for your injuries.

The attorneys in the My Price Lawyers network represent injury victims, and the loved ones of those who lost their lives as a result of the negligence of others, on a contingency fee basis. You do not need to worry about how you will afford to hire an excellent attorney. You are not asked to pay anything up-front. There is no retainer and there are no hourly attorneys’ fees. Instead, your attorney receives a percentage of the money they win for you. If you do not receive compensation, your attorney does not get a fee.

The Murky Waters of Negligence vs. Intentional Wrongdoing

If you have been hurt or if someone you love has been hurt or killed, this can be a very emotional subject. The texting driver didn’t hit you on purpose, but they didn’t accidentally pick up the phone and take their eyes off the road either. The drunk driver didn’t go out planning to get in a wreck, but they did make a conscious decision to drive drunk knowing where that leads.

The same can be said for speeding, running red lights, and other driver negligence. And we can expand this concept to other types of accidents, such as premises liability and medical negligence.

Drawing that line between intentional wrongdoing and negligence can be very difficult and a source of great anger for victims and their families. On the other side, the person who caused your injuries may be reeling with guilt and telling everyone they know, “but I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” Not much of a consolation for you, but it is at the heart of the matter when it comes to where things stand legally.

Intentional wrongdoing is not the intent to do the thing that caused your injury, but the actual intent to cause your injuries. It is very difficult to prove intentional wrongdoing in a personal injury case.

Elements Required to Receive Compensation for Negligence

Negligence is the failure to use a reasonable amount of care. It is the failure to use the same level of care that a reasonable person would use in a similar situation either by action or inaction.

You can only sue someone for negligence if their negligence actually caused you harm. For instance, you cannot sue your doctor for making a mistake if that mistake did not actually harm you, no matter how horrifying the potential harm of such a mistake.

Elements you must prove when suing someone for negligence are:

  • The defendant owed you a duty of care – for instance, the doctor was actually your doctor, not just someone you looked up online and called to ask a question
  • The defendant breached that duty of care
  • That breach of duty was the cause of your accident or injuries
  • You suffered damages

Your attorney must prove that the defendant was indeed negligent and that the defendant’s negligence caused your accident or injuries. Sometimes, that is not as simple as it sounds. Accidents tend to be messy and complicated. The defendant will put up a fight. In most cases, their insurance company is the one putting up the fight. They will try to say that your own negligence caused your accident.

If you were hurt in a slip and fall accident, the property or business owner may claim that you were not being reasonably careful, that the dangerous condition was obvious and you should have seen it, but you were too busy looking at your phone, just as an example.

Your attorney must also prove that your accident or injuries caused damages. That it cost you money in some way. If you fell, but you did not get medical attention, this can be hard to prove. If you delayed seeking medical evaluation, the other side may claim that your injuries were caused by something else, even if you can prove that their negligence caused your injuries.

An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to gather the right evidence to prove that the defendant was negligent and that their negligence caused your injuries. And just as important, your attorney will know how to prove the long-term costs of your injuries so that you can recover full and fair compensation that will pay for the care that you will need for the rest of your life.

Compensation If You Were Partly to Blame

You can still win substantial compensation for your injuries if you are found to be partly to blame for your injuries. Florida follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence. That means that you are allowed to recover compensation even if you were 99% to blame for your injuries.

Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If your damages are $100,000 and you were 30% to blame for your injuries, your compensation is reduced to $70,000. Your portion of the blame is referred to as contributory fault. You want to fight contributory fault, but it does not bar you from recovering in Florida.

Who Pays When Multiple Parties Were to Blame?

There can be multiple defendants in a personal injury lawsuit. And the outcome can be that more than one party is found to be to blame for your injuries. While some states hold each liable party responsible for paying the full amount of your damages, Florida law makes each defendant responsible only for their portion of blame. That can make it more difficult for injury victims to collect the compensation that they are awarded if one liable party lacks the ability to pay.

If you have been hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence, you can hold them financially responsible for your injuries. You owe it to yourself and to your family to pursue full and fair compensation.

My Price Lawyers is here to help. We can connect you with an experienced and affordable personal injury attorney in Tampa, St. Petersberg, Orlando, Clearwater, Brandon, Lakeland, Sebring or a nearby area of Florida. Please, call us today at (888) 473-6137 for a free consultation.