Suffering an injury can completely turn your life upside down. It can leave you in physical pain, emotional distress, and so much financial burden that you have no idea where to turn for help. When this happens, a Hillsborough County injury attorney can step in to provide the guidance and advocacy you need to seek compensation and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. Having the right legal support can help you heal and pursue justice.
At Paul Figueroa Law, we understand how profound the impact of an injury can be on your life. That’s why we are committed to helping you navigate the legal process with confidence and pride. Our team will work tirelessly to investigate every detail of your case, gather compelling evidence, and build strong arguments tailored to your needs. Whether we need to negotiate with an insurance company or represent you in court, we can help you move forward efficiently.
Personal injuries can happen in many different ways. Some are more common than others due to their frequency and severity. Understanding some common personal injury claims can help you identify your rights and determine what course of action is most appropriate. Some of the most common include:
Accidents involving motor vehicles are one of the leading causes of personal injury claims in Florida. These can happen because of car crashes, motorcycle accidents, truck collisions, and even incidents involving pedestrians.
Victims can suffer from many different types of injuries in these cases, like whiplash and broken bones, to more life-altering conditions like a traumatic brain injury. You have the potential to be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages, and more.
Slip and fall injuries are a subset of premises liability cases. They happen when someone becomes injured due to an unsafe condition that caused the incident to happen on someone else’s personal property. Common causes of these cases include wet floors, uneven surfaces, poor lighting, and even a lack of proper signage to warn of a hazard. These cases require proof that the property owner either knew or should have known about the hazardous condition.
Instances of medical malpractice happen when a healthcare professional’s negligence leads to harming one of their patients. Some common examples of this include a misdiagnosis, surgical errors, medication mistakes, and injuries at birth. These are complicated cases that often benefit from having professional testimony to prove that the healthcare provider deviated from the accepted standard of care in the medical community.
Industries like construction, manufacturing, and healthcare are common sectors where workplace injuries are more prevalent than others. While many are handled through the workers’ compensation claims process, some cases may escalate to personal injury claims when negligence from a third-party is involved, like an equipment manufacturer.
A claim for workplace injuries may seek damages beyond what works’ compensation covers, like for pain and suffering.
Defective or dangerous products can cause significant injuries that lead to product liability claims. These cases can involve faulty machinery injuring someone who was using it correctly, unsafe pharmaceuticals harming someone’s health, or a defective consumer good like an electronic device. The key in these cases is to prove that the product was inherently dangerous due to its design, manufacturing, or the lack of warnings on the risks it posed.
Unlike many personal injury cases stemming from negligence, assault cases involve an intentional act to harm someone. Victims of assault or battery have the right to file a civil claim against their alleged attacker. They can also press any other relevant criminal charges. Compensation for these cases often includes recouping damages for physical injuries, emotional distress, and possibly punitive damages to deter the behavior from happening again.
When you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to fight for compensation. Some of the common categories of compensation that could be available in your case include:
Medical expenses are one of the most common forms of compensation recouped in personal injury cases. This includes the cost of emergency room visits, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, or any other treatment that can be linked directly to the injury. Even future medical expenses can be included if there is proof that the injuries will require long-term care, like rehabilitation services or assisted living.
If your injuries prevent you from working, you have the right to ask for any missed wages to be included in your compensation package. This can include any lost income during your recovery period and any future earnings you might lose. In some cases, testimony can be used to calculate the potential earnings over your lifetime you could miss out on from long-term injuries to ensure fair compensation for career disruptions.
Pain and suffering compensation addresses the physical pain and emotional distress experienced from your injury. This differs from medical expenses or lost wages, as this type of compensation is less tangible. It makes it more difficult to accurately calculate. Factors like how severe your injuries are, how long you will be in recovery, and what impact the injuries have had on the quality of your life are all considered when determining this amount.
The legal concept “loss of consortium” refers to compensation for the impact an injury has had on your personal relationships. In most cases, this refers to your spouse or other immediate family members. It essentially refers to any scenario where severe injuries have resulted in reduced companionship or support. While this is less common, it still can be a significant factor in cases that involve a catastrophic injury or wrongful death.
While navigating a Hillsborough County personal injury case can feel very overwhelming, you never have to go through it alone. At Paul Figueroa Law, we are here to help secure the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Contact us today to begin the process and see what makes our legal services different from the rest.