Common Types of Personal Injury Claims in Tampa:
The most Common Types of Personal Injury Claims in Tampa are road traffic accidents involving large trucks or 18-wheelers, car accidents and motorcycle crashes. Boating accidents are also common in Florida as well as accidents at work, slip, trip and fall accidents, assault claims, accidents in the home, product defect accidents (product liability) and holiday accidents. Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff’s injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation torts.
Worker’s Compensation / Accidents in the Workplace:
Accidents involving personal injury at the workplace are very common in the United States, just as they are right here in the State of Florida. Statistics for Florida Worker’s Compensation Claims involving personal injury for the year 2015 showed 48,130 total cases. Out of those, there were 31,523 cases with indemnity, medical and/or other settlements for a total of $499,499,357 in benefits were awarded. For 2020, there were 61,476 total cases, of which 32,906 were with indemnity, medical and/or other settlements for a total of $538,159,353 in benefits.
The Agency for Workforce Innovation sets the maximum weekly compensation rate for injuries. Those injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2015 had a maximum compensation rate set at $862.51. For 2021, the maximum rate is now $1011. This figure is based on the statewide average weekly wage paid by employers subject to the Florida Unemployment Compensation Law.
According to Jury Verdict Research, the average personal injury settlement in Florida is around $1,800,000. A Plaintiff in a personal injury case in Florida typically wins about 61 percent of the time, and this average is a little higher than nationally as Florida tends to have larger settlements more often than most other states.
Medical and Dental Accidents / Health Care Negligence:
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error.
Medical and dental accidents lead to numerous medical negligence claims every year and include conditions that are often classified as industrial disease cases, such as asbestosis and peritoneal mesothelioma, chest diseases, vibration white finger, occupational deafness, occupational stress, contact dermatitis, and repetitive strain injury cases.
Florida Law states that prior to issuing notification of intent to initiate medical negligence litigation pursuant to s. 766.106, the claimant shall conduct an investigation to ascertain that there are reasonable grounds to believe that:
(a) Any named defendant in the litigation was negligent in the care or treatment of the claimant; and
(b) Such negligence resulted in injury to the claimant.
Corroboration of reasonable grounds to initiate medical negligence litigation shall be provided by the claimant’s submission of a verified written medical expert opinion from a medical expert as defined in s. 766.202(6), at the time the notice of intent to initiate litigation is mailed, which statement shall corroborate reasonable grounds to support the claim of medical negligence.
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Choosing the right Personal Injury Attorney:
If you don’t have an experienced Tampa personal injury attorney on your side, you are going to have a difficult time making a claim and getting a proper settlement to fully compensate you for your injuries and losses. At Fernandez Law Group, our Tampa personal injury attorneys only accept only serious, legitimate cases. Clients can have confidence in our experience and commitment to go far as necessary in working towards making a substantial and meaningful difference in the lives of injured citizens.