Filing a Lawsuit After an Accident in Florida: What You Need to Know

Accidents often leave victims with serious injuries. The costs of these injuries can add up very quickly, and they can impact victims’ lives (and their family members’ lives) in other ways as well. As a result, if you are an accident victim, it is important to take legal action if warranted. This starts with hiring an experienced Miami civil litigation attorney to represent you.

While successful accident claims often end with insurance settlements, asserting your legal rights generally means going to court. In many cases, the insurance companies won’t take claims seriously unless they face the risk of going to trial. When you hire an experienced Miami civil litigation attorney to represent you, your attorney will file a lawsuit if warranted, and then your attorney will work to negotiate a favorable settlement while also preparing to fight for just compensation in court if necessary.

What To Expect When You Hire an Attorney to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Accidents involving serious traumatic injuries are generally governed by Florida’s personal injury laws. This means that seeking just compensation generally involves filing a personal injury lawsuit. While every case has unique aspects, here is an overview of the major steps in the litigation process:

1. Investigating the Accident

The first step is to conduct a thorough investigation. Depending on the nature of the accident (and where and when it happened), this may involve gathering forensic evidence at the accident scene and from a variety of other sources. For example, if you were injured in a vehicle collision, investigating the accident will involve examining each of the vehicles involved in the collision. Or, if you were injured in a premises-related accident, investigating may involve talking to potential witnesses and determining if surveillance camera footage is available.

2. Identifying Potential Defendants

The purposes of conducting an investigation are twofold: (i) preserving critical evidence before it disappears; and, (ii) identifying potential defendants. To file a personal injury lawsuit, you need to know who (or what company) to sue. In all cases, there are a variety of possibilities, and it is imperative that you identify the right parties to hold accountable.

3. Filing Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

Once you know who you need to sue, you can file your personal injury lawsuit. This will formally start the litigation process, and it will force the defendant (or defendants) to respond to your allegations. Typically, at this stage, the defendants will hand the litigation over to their insurance companies, and your Miami civil litigation attorney will be dealing with the insurance companies (and their defense lawyers) going forward.

4. Taking Discovery

Even conducting a thorough investigation won’t necessarily provide all of the evidence you need to pursue a successful lawsuit for your accident. As a result, the discovery phase of civil litigation plays a critical role in personal injury lawsuits as well. During the discovery phase, your attorney will be able to request records, take depositions and gather additional evidence through a variety of other means. As a general rule, defendants (and plaintiffs) are required to comply with reasonable discovery requests—and they can face sanctions if they fail to do so.

5. Going Through the Pre-Trial Process

While trials often make headlines, the majority of the work in a personal injury lawsuit takes place during the pre-trial phase. This is when the attorneys for both sides will file various motions, attend various hearings and work to secure a favorable result for their clients without the need for a trial. The discovery and pre-trial phases often overlap—and it is typically during the pre-trial phase that the bulk of the parties’ settlement negotiations take place as well.

6. Negotiating for a Fair Settlement

Personal injury lawsuits can settle at any time. Settlement negotiations take place in most cases, and if a settlement offer is on the table in your case, your Miami civil litigation attorney will help you make an informed decision about whether to accept. Typically, there will be a range of potential settlement values, and plaintiffs will need to decide where on this range they are willing to resolve their claims and move on.

7. Going to Trial if Necessary

If you don’t receive a settlement offer that you are willing to accept, you will need to rely on your Miami civil litigation attorney to take your case to trial. Your attorney will present your claims, the defendants’ attorneys will present their defenses, and then the judge or jury will render a decision. Of course, there is much more involved, and settlement negotiations may remain ongoing outside of trial as well.

Most (But Not All) Successful Personal Injury Lawsuits Settle Out of Court

As an accident victim in Florida, the best-case scenario is that you receive a fair settlement offer that covers the financial and non-financial costs of your injuries and allows you to move on with your life. While this is a possibility, it is important to keep in mind that there are no guarantees. It is also possible that you could go through the process and end up with nothing to show for it.

This is one reason—among many—why it is important to hire an experienced Miami civil litigation attorney. While hiring an experienced attorney does not guarantee success, it can significantly improve your chances of securing a favorable result. Hiring an attorney to file a lawsuit after an accident in Florida generally costs nothing out-of-pocket, so there is no reason not to put an experienced attorney on your side.

Discuss Your Lawsuit with a Miami Civil Litigation Attorney for Free

Do you need to know more about filing a lawsuit after an accident in Florida? If so, we invite you to get in touch. We can evaluate your case, explain everything you need to know and help you make an informed decision about whether to take legal action. To discuss your case with an experienced Miami civil litigation attorney in confidence as soon as possible, call us at 305-676-6677 or request a free consultation online today.