Miami accident lawyers

February 2, 2017

TIMELINE IN A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

If you have been injured, you are likely wondering what you should do next? Should you speak with an attorney now or later? Should you try and handle the claim on your own? Should you focus on healing and not worry about trying to bring a legal claim in court or at all? You may wonder, how will I pay for medical bills, property damage, lost wages, out of pocket expenses or recover money for pain and suffering after a serious injury? Miami personal injury attorneys help injury victims through injury claims. No matter how you were injured—whether it was in a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall, or in some other type of incident personal injury claims take time to resolve. Many injury victims don’t understand that amount of information that needs to be processed. From the minute you walk into the law firm office information needs to be gathered. Case facts need to be analyzed. Injuries also can take time to heal and in some cases the long term consequences are not recognized until well after an accident. As personal injury lawyers, our job is to not only understand how an accident occurs, but also how understand how it will affect our clients long term. Is future medical care needed? Are the injuries going to heal on their own? Is the defendant financially viable? There are many in variables to consider after serious accident, injury or death claim.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO HAPPEN FIRST AFTER AN ACCIDENT

If you have not hired a lawyer yet, you will probably receive calls from insurance companies, investigators or insurance adjusters. These insurance companies will likely try to settle the claim for as little money as possible. If you were in a car accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company may contact you. If you slipped and fell in a store, the store’s insurance company representative may call you too. As a rule of thumb, if you are injured in Miami, Florida then you should not speak to these insurance companies without the advice or guidance of an reputable accident attorney.

October 24, 2016

Can You Sue Someone for Road Rage?

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

This week, news outlets reported that Matthew Apperson was sentenced to twenty years in prison for shooting at George Zimmerman during a 2015 road rage incident. Apperson allegedly followed Zimmerman in his vehicle while flashing his lights and honking his horn. At some point, Apperson moved into the lane next to Zimmerman and fired into Zimmerman’s vehicle. Zimmerman was not shot, but he suffered cuts from the shattering of his car window. Apperson was convicted of second-degree murder. Of course, criminal charges are appropriate in such a situation. However, civil claims may also be filed against an individual, regardless of whether criminal charges have been filed for an incident. Miami personal injury attorneys seek justice for injury, accident and road rage victims who were injured by the reckless or careless acts of others.

When are civil claims appropriate? Civil claims involving injuries typically require three parts: A legal duty was owed to the victim, breach of the legal duty, due to that breach, the victim suffered damages. Generally speaking, road rage incidents are dangerous and can end up with serious or catastrophic injuries and in some cases fatal consequences. One source reported that 66 percent of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving. Two percent of drivers have admitted to trying to run another driver off of the road.

Aggressive Careless Driving and Following Too Closely- Violations under Florida law

April 24, 2015

Proximate Cause and Products Liability Converge in New Case

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

We discuss causation (sometimes called proximate cause) often in this blog, and for good reason. It’s usually the most difficult part of an injury lawsuit to prove, and defendants often challenge proximate cause vigorously at trial. Additionally, the concept of causation is often so vague that different courts may appear to rule differently in every factual scenario.

What is Proximate Cause?

Just as it sounds, proximate cause asks whether the defendant’s negligence actually caused the injury. By way of example, assume a car rear-ends a vehicle driven by a person with a heart condition. Two days later, that person dies of a heart attack. Did the accident cause the death, or the heart condition?

February 25, 2014

Florida Federal Court Decision Discusses Basis For Bad Faith Claims Against Insurers

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last month, our Miami personal injury attorneys saw that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a decision in the case of Cabrera v. MGA, discussing legal and factual basis upon which an insured can establish a claim against his or her insurer for a claim of bad faith.

A claim that an insurance company acted in “bad faith” is based upon the legal premise that an insurance policy constitutes a contract between the insured and insurance company, which includes an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. This means that the insurer must deal with the insured party honestly, fairly, and in good faith, to ensure that the insured receives the benefits of the contract to which he or she is legally entitled.

An insurance is considered to have acted in “bad faith” when it unreasonably withholds the benefits of the policy from the insured. The most common ways in which insurance companies act in bad faith are: intentionally delaying payment on a claim; denying benefits to a claim without reason; failing to investigate a claim; refusing to settle a claim; and/or refusing to fully compensate an insured for his or her losses.

October 28, 2013

Charity Bicyclist Injured, Personal Injury Attorneys Say Investigation Could Reveal Important Clues

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last month, 24-year-old Jacob Landis, of Annapolis, Maryland, was severely injured after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in a bicycle accident in Florida in the final leg of a cross-country cycling trip to raise money for deaf individuals. Our personal injury lawyers in Miami, Florida are all too familiar with these and many other unfortunate accidents cases over the years.

Landis was knocked unconscious at approximately 10:00 pm on September 21, 2013, after being hit by the mirror of a passing tractor-trailer on US Highway 27 southbound in Polk County, Florida. Landis was accompanied by his riding partner and cousin, Jack Riddle, who witnessed the incident. Landis was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for a concussion, multiple fractures and various lacerations. The truck that struck Landis did not stop after the crash, and, according to the local sheriff’s office, it was possible the driver of the truck didn’t realize he had hit the bicyclist.

At the time of the accident, Landis had been cycling for several months and rode almost 11,000 miles to 29 of the 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in the U.S., raising $140,000 help the hearing impaired get fitted for cochlear implants.