It’s our goal to make the process of going through a lawsuit as easy on you as possible. With that in mind, we offer our services based on a contingency plan. That means we only get paid after we successfully resolve your case. Nothing comes out of your pocket, so there’s no risk to you. Our fee comes out of the favorable settlement or the winnings we recover for you in court.

Because each injury is unique, it’s tough to pinpoint an exact timeframe for resolving a claim. No matter what, Morgan & Morgan will fight for your full compensation.

Here’s how we do it:

• Your lawyer will file a complaint against the defendant outlining the wrongful actions or negligence that led to your injury.
• Both sides will exchange information. This is called “discovery.”
• If the defendant’s insurance company offers a settlement, your lawyer will consult with you to help you determine if it’s fair.
• If the two parties are unable to reach a fair settlement, your attorney will prepare the case for trial.
• Once the case has been won, the defendant will pay you the compensation you’re owed.

Morgan and Morgan specializes in handling every type of personal injury case. Our more than three decades of experience have allowed us to put together a list of the five most common personal injury incidents that take place in DeLand and throughout central Florida. No matter how you got hurt, Morgan and Morgan assigns you an attorney who specializes in your type of case.

Car Accidents

Car accidents represent the most common type of personal injury case not only in central Florida, but also throughout the United States. Interstate 4, which connects both coasts, experiences one of the highest numbers of vehicle collisions of any other road and highway that traverses through the Sunshine State. Some of the most frequent causes of auto crashes include distraction, reckless driving, and driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The personal injury lawyer in DeLand that represents you from Morgan and Morgan might be able to prove negligence by gaining access to traffic camera footage.

Boating Accidents

Central Florida includes dozens of watersheds that provide avid boaters with opportunities to relax on a getaway boating excursion. Throw in DeLand’s proximity to Daytona Beach and the Atlantic Ocean, and plenty of factors can come together to cause a boating accident. As with car accidents, the same culprits also cause the most common occurrences of boating accidents. Reckless operating of a marine vessel includes trying to make too sharp of a turn at a high rate of speed, as well as failing to follow far enough behind another boat. Frequent injuries sustained by boat operators and passengers include whiplash, head trauma, and fractured bones.

Golf Cart Accidents

Although Florida is known as one of the most popular destinations for avid golfers from all over the world, golf cart accidents unfold well beyond the perimeter of the state’s golf courses. Because of the warm weather and construction of the appropriate infrastructure, many residents and visitors get around communities such as DeLand by riding golf carts. Speed is not as much of a problem as reckless operating tactics like running red lights and failing to yield at a designated intersection. Retirement communities experience an unusually high number of golf car accidents.

Slip and Fall Incidents

A slip and fall incident can happen just about anywhere, from a private residence to one of the numerous convenience stores located in DeLand. As one type of premise liability law, a slip and fall case requires a personal injury lawyer in DeLand to prove another party failed to live up to the duty of care doctrine. The duty of care doctrine places the legal burden for protecting customers and visitors on property owners. For example, the owner of a car wash is responsible for protecting customers and visitors from slipping and falling while on business property. If car wash employees fail to respond to a safety hazard in a timely manner, the car wash can be held legally liable for any slip and fall incidents that take place on the premises.

Elder Abuse

Florida is known as the retirement haven of the United States. Add to the list of seniors the hundreds of thousands that flock south for the winter from regions such as the northeast, and the state has one of the largest populations of seniors of any state in the country. Although the influx of seniors is a good thing for local economies, the flip side of the coin is the substantial number of elder abuse cases reported by local law enforcement officials. Elder abuse is often physical, but it also can involve acts of emotional and financial abuse. It can be difficult to sue an elder care facility for many reasons, from lack of evidence to a victim refusing to cooperate.

Whether you sustained one or more injuries produced by a boating accident or a slip and fall, you might have to assume some of the fault for causing the personal injury incident. Realizing that not all personal injury cases involve just one party committing negligence, Florida passed a law that implements the principles behind the comparative negligence doctrine. Comparative negligence means more than one party involved in a personal injury incident must share some of the blame for causing the incident.

For example, let’s say you got involved in a golf cart accident while playing one of the courses located near DeLand. After a thorough investigation, your personal injury lawyer in DeLand discovers another party forced you off a cart path by performing a risky maneuver. However, you might have avoided the accident if you had paid attention to what transpired around you before the accident. Because of distraction, you must shoulder some of the blame for causing the golf car collision.

If the judge hearing your case awards you monetary damages valued at $40,000, but also assigns you 20 percent of the blame for causing the golf cart accident, your award decreases to $32,000 to account for the 20 percent fault assigned by the judge.

The steps that you take after a personal injury incident go a long way toward determining whether you receive compensation to recover financial losses. Although each type of personal injury incident requires a couple of unique steps, you should follow several of the same steps regardless of why you got hurt.

Receive Medical Treatment

Getting medical care leaves behind a paper trail that demonstrates the seriousness of your injuries, as well as how much medical care has cost you. You also receive a prognosis for making a full or partial recovery, which might qualify you to receive compensation to cover the costs associated with future medical procedures. Even if you feel healthy enough to remain at the scene of a personal injury incident, you should eventually seek medical care to diagnose and treat your injuries. If you fail to act with a sense of urgency, the other party’s attorney might claim you did not sustain injuries that justify the awarding of monetary damages.

Report the Incident

Different types of personal injury incidents require different types of reporting methods. If you got involved in a car accident, your attorney reviews the official police report that contains a conclusion assigning fault. On the other hand, slipping and falling at a public venue such as a shopping mall requires mall management to submit a copy of the incident report to your personal injury lawyer in DeLand. Incident reports should include the date and time of the incident, as well as the contact information of every witness. They also should include attachments that present physical evidence, as well as a detailed list of the medical services provided to the victim.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer in DeLand, Florida

Before you file an insurance claim, you should first meet with a Florida-licensed personal injury lawyer to determine how to proceed with your case. Your attorney reviews the case file, including the incident report, before determining whether to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Another important reason to meet with an experienced attorney involves getting the type of legal support you need to file a convincing insurance claim. After the meeting with your lawyer, you no longer have to directly deal with the insurance company. Your personal injury attorney acts as an intermediary, which entails monitoring the progress of your claim and handling negotiations if the insurance company wants to settle your claim.

Although Florida law grants you four years to file a personal injury lawsuit, you should act with a sense of urgency by taking legal action as quickly as possible after a personal injury incident. Because healthcare providers do not wait for insurance claim approvals and favorable lawsuit judgments, you can expect to pay medical bills before you receive compensation. The sooner you file an insurance claim and/or civil lawsuit, the sooner you get the money required to take care of your rapidly mounting bills.

Act today by scheduling a free case evaluation and learn how a personal injury lawyer in DeLand from Morgan and Morgan can help.

Los abogados de lesiones personales de Morgan & Morgan entendemos lo importante que es resolver todas sus preguntas legales en el idioma en el que usted pueda entender mejor. Por eso contamos con una sección de Preguntas Frecuentes en nuestra página de abogados.com. Recuerde que en caso de ser victima de un accidente y necesitar ayuda legal, usted cuenta con los abogados de Morgan & Morgan. Siendo el bufete de abogados de lesiones personales más grande de los Estados Unidos, contamos con los recursos y la experiencia que usted necesita para defender sus derechos. ¡La justicia es derecho de todos!