Frequently Asked Questions

What do you mean by "personal injury"? What sorts of cases does this include?
"Personal injury" is a broad term that means any kind of accident or occurrence that leads to bodily injury. This includes not only injuries related to automobile accidents but also injuries related to slip and falls, trip and falls, negligent security, cruise ship injuries, etc.

How much do you charge for a personal injury case?
We charge on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you will not pay us any fee unless there is a settlement or a winning verdict at trial. Typically, our fee is one-third or 33.3% of the total recovery in addition to case costs (money that we pay out to others in order to prepare your case).

How much is my personal injury case worth?
The case value is based on several areas assuming that the liability issue is straightforward. Those areas include:

Past Medical Bills
Future Medical Bills
Past Lost Wages
Loss of Earning Capacity in the Future
Pain and Suffering

A case value is also affected by other evidence such as: whether there are discrepancies in the testimony, medical records, or other evidence that may detract from the injured party's case.

Why are we using my auto insurance provider if the auto accident was not my fault?
Florida has what is known as "no-fault" automobile insurance, and by law, it requires the automobile insurance company to pay 80 percent of a person's medical bills and 60 percent of their lost wages up to $10,000 regardless of whether the party is to blame. This is known as personal injury protection benefits or "PIP".

How long will my case take?
Every client is an individual and the recovery time varies with each person. Often a case cannot be resolved until we are able to determine the full extent of the injuries sustained and that may require time for surgery, rehabilitation, etc.

With that in mind, the average premises liability/auto or general negligence cases will reach resolution in four months to a year. That timeline is bound to fluctuate depending on the characteristics of each case.

What is a letter of protection used for?
Medical facilities and doctors will sometimes accept a "letter of protection," which is a document allowing the patient to continue treatment without having to pay for it until a later date. In some cases, people may lack insurance coverage or their PIP benefits may have been depleted. In these cases, a medical provider may request a letter of protection. It is essential that the client understand that if the case is not resolved in their favor, the client would still be responsible for paying off their medical bills even if there is a letter of protection on file.

What is MMI?
MMI is your maximum medical improvement as determined by your treating physician. At the conclusion of your treatment, we will often request a final narrative that includes your MMI. This means that the patient has reached a point where they are as healthy as they can be; they may not be in the condition that they were prior to the accident, but their health has stabilized. If that is the case, a doctor may assign the patient a permanent impairment rating according to American Medical Association guidelines. Automobile insurance companies may want access to the permanent impairment rating as part of their case evaluation.

What does it mean to "file suit," and why do we do it?
“Filing suit” is the act of filing legal papers at the courthouse. The client gives the authorization to file suit after all other options have been exhausted during pre-suit. When a case is filed with the court, it does not necessarily mean you will be going to trial and most cases are resolved before a trial begins.

What is the process?
Your primary goal is to get healthy and recover from your accident. We will collect information about your case; we collect documents to include the full police report, insurance information, medical records and bills. When possible, we collect photographic evidence of the scene of the injury, the property damage and bodily injuries. If necessary, we may interview witnesses and hire expert witnesses. We then submit a demand for settlement to the insurance company and negotiate with them. If we don’t reach a settlement at this point, then we discuss filing a lawsuit. While in a lawsuit, we engage in discovery, which is the exchange of paperwork and information with the insurance company’s attorneys. Next come depositions, where they question our client and we question theirs. Other witnesses might also be deposed. Then the insurance company might have our client examined by their doctor. Last is trial. A lawsuit might settle at any point along the way if the parties can come to an agreement or if the discovery process reveals information that causes one party to change its position.