BROWARD COUNTY ACCIDENT LAWYER

One of the many reasons why clients hire personal injury attorneys from Morgan and Morgan is because our personal injury attorneys can handle every type of case, from dog bites to medical malpractice. Although we take on any type of personal injury case, a few types of personal injury cases are more common than others in Broward County.

Marine Accidents

The Atlantic Ocean offers sea lovers many types of outdoor recreational activities, including boating, jet skiing, and deep-sea fishing. During the peak tourist season, Fort Lauderdale and adjoining beaches reach full capacity before noon. The large influx of tourists combined with a large native population is a recipe for marine accidents. Marine accidents happen for many reasons, with the most common causes being the reckless operation of a boat and operating a marine vessel while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Golf Car Accidents

Florida is a trendsetter in many ways, and one of the most influential trends to sweep the United States concerns the growth in the use of golf carts as a mode of transportation. Operating a golf cart as a mode of transportation took off in popularity in the planned community called The Villages located near the Interstate 4 corridor in Central Florida. Although Florida restricts the top-speed golf carts that can travel under any circumstance, accidents still unfold at an alarming rate for reasons such as failing to obey traffic laws and carrying too much weight.

Elder Abuse

As the most popular state for Americans to retire, Florida’s healthcare system includes a heavy emphasis on senior care. Unfortunately, far too many facilities devoted to caring for seniors fail to live up to their mission statements. The result is a high number of reported elder abuse cases. Examples of elder abuse include neglect, assault, and failing to provide sufficient medical care. Some elder abuse cases never get reported, while other cases can be difficult to detect. Obvious signs of elder abuse regard physical distress symptoms such as bruises and malnutrition.

The steps that you take after an accident determine the outcome of an insurance claim, and if warranted, a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Although we handle a wide variety of personal injury cases, the steps to take after an accident are similar.

Get Your Injuries Treated

Your priority after an accident should always be to receive medical care to diagnose and treat your injuries. Whether you sustained injuries using a defective product or fell victim to one or more acts of medical malpractice, receiving prompt medical care boosts the strength of an insurance claim and a personal injury lawsuit. If you feel healthy enough to remain at the scene of an accident, you should eventually receive medical attention to take care of any lingering healthcare issues.

Report the Accident

After a car accident, the first item on your to-do list is to call 911 to activate the emergency response system. The nearest law enforcement agency responds to secure the scene and conduct a detailed investigation. An emergency medical team also responds to the vehicle collision to determine whether you or other victims require emergency medical care. For all other types of personal injury incidents, you should report an incident to the proper authority. If you slipped and fell at a restaurant, you should report the incident to the manager on duty. For a defective product, you should call the 800 number listed by the manufacturer.

Gather Physical Evidence

If you feel healthy enough to remain at the scene of an accident, you should take advantage of the time by collecting evidence for your accident lawyer in Broward County to review. Your attorney does not receive a copy of the formal incident report until a few weeks, maybe a couple of months after the accident. Taking photos of the accident scene, as well as obtaining the names and contact information of witnesses, helps your personal injury conduct a separate investigation. Photographs can help your attorney determine the cause of the accident.

Contact a Personal Injury Attorney

You should contact a personal injury attorney before you contact the appropriate insurance company. During a free case evaluation, you can expect to answer several questions that help your accident lawyer in Broward County establish cause. After reviewing the preliminary physical evidence, your personal injury attorney waits for the arrival of the formal incident report to determine the best course of legal action. In addition to offering a free case evaluation, Morgan and Morgan also does not charge any upfront legal fees. This helps you focus on your case and not on your bank account.

Your personal injury attorney has two opportunities to negotiate a settlement. The first opportunity develops if the insurance adjuster processing your claim denies it. Negotiating a settlement allows you to avoid the time-consuming appeals process. The second opportunity to negotiate a settlement occurs during the discovery phase of the litigation process. Discovery represents a legal procedure that brings both parties involved in a lawsuit together to share information such as witness statements and physical evidence.

Regardless of whether your personal injury attorney negotiates a settlement during a civil lawsuit or the insurance claim process, your attorney follows a similar negotiating procedure. First, your attorney submits an offer, which the other party can either accept or reject. If the other party rejects the initial offer, you might receive a counteroffer or a certified letter stating negotiations have ended. Several rounds of counteroffers can follow the initial offer until both parties reach an agreement or decide to take the next step in the compensation process.

Another type of legal support provided by an accident lawyer in Broward County concerns the filing of a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Your personal injury attorney ensures you file the right paperwork for a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Every state has established a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. Most states have set the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit between two and four years. However, you might move to a state that has established a filing deadline of as long as six years and as short as one year. Florida has set the statute of limitation for taking legal action at four years. The clock usually starts to tick on the filing of a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages on the day of a personal injury incident. However, the court might grant you an extension if you can show you sustained one or more injuries that developed delayed symptoms.

Although four years is plenty of time to take legal action, you should not procrastinate for two important reasons. First, waiting too long to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages can diminish the credibility of witness statements. Witness accounts tend to be much more accurate when they are given close to the date of a personal injury incident. Second, you are responsible for paying the bills associated with medical care and property damage repairs. If you wait too long to file a personal injury lawsuit, you might fall into a deep financial hole.

Plaintiffs that fail to meet the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit can expect the court clerk processing their claims to remove them from the judicial docket.

Sustaining one or more injuries as the result of an accident can negatively impact your life for years to come. Don’t allow that to happen—contact an accident lawyer in Broward County right away. You can easily schedule a free case evaluation today with Morgan and Morgan to get started.