Recently, on the beach of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a young boy was playing in a bounce house when, all of a sudden, 85 miles per hour wind gusts triggered the bounce house to take flight causing the young boy to fall about 20 feet to the sand, breaking his arm. His parents filed a lawsuit against the city and the vendor, All Star Events, for damages. Said lawsuit alleges All Star Events was negligent in the way it assembled and secured the bounce house, failed to warn of the risks, failed to monitor the weather, and its failure to train personnel for emergencies, and other claims. The boy’s parents argue that All Star Events breached its duty of providing a safe environment for guests.
If you or a loved one sustained an injury at the fault of another person, it is imperative that you seek legal representation. Doing so will increase your chances of adequate compensation. The experienced Miami personal injury attorneys at Gerson & Schwartz, PA are here for you. Our attorneys have been representing accident victims and their families throughout Miami, Fort Lauderdale and other parts of South Florida for more than 43 years.
Statute of Limitations
First of all, please be advised that you have a limited amount of time by which you can file your lawsuit with the court of proper jurisdiction. This is termed the “statute of limitations” and varies from state to state. If the injury occurred in Florida, the suit is to be filed in Florida and must abide by Florida law, including the statute of limitations. Per Florida law, the plaintiff must file his or her personal injury lawsuit no later than four years from the date of injury. Nevertheless, if the plaintiff’s personal injury claim is against a city, county or even state government, the time limitation is three years. These limitations must be strictly adhered to. If you fail to file in time, you are most likely barred from doing so at a later time.
Negligence
From here, if you file a personal injury lawsuit similar to the one filed in the foregoing bounce house case, you, as plaintiff, must be able to at least show negligence on behalf of the defendant. Per Florida law, this requires the plaintiff to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the following five elements. First, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant owed him or her a duty of care. This is easy. As in the foregoing bounce house case, All Star Events owed a duty of creating a safe environment, properly training personnel, monitoring weather, etc. Second, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant breached said duty of care. For example, in the above bounce house case, All Star Events certainly breached its duty of creating a safe environment, properly training personnel, monitoring weather, etc.
Third, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s breach was the actual cause of his or her damages. Fourth, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s breach was the proximate cause of his or her damages. In other words, was the plaintiff’s injury a foreseeable result of the defendant’s conduct? In the bounce house case, the plaintiff falling from the flying bounce house was a foreseeable result of the defendant not properly securing the house and providing a non-safe environment. Lastly, the plaintiff must be able to exhibit his injuries/damages.
Take Action and Hire an Attorney for Your Case
If you or your loved one have been injured at the hands of someone else, it is imperative that you hire an attorney to increase your chances at adequate compensation. The Miami accident lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA are here to help. We continue our 43-year plus tradition of representing injury victims and their families. We are experienced Miami personal injury attorneys, resourceful advocates and aggressive litigators for clients seeking to recover damages for the full extent of their losses from negligent individuals, business operators and corporations.