Many personal injuries occur because a person or company failed to exercise reasonable care. When carelessness or recklessness leads to an injury, the individuals responsible for the harm should be held legally accountable.
A Dunedin personal injury lawyer may be able to help you pinpoint the proper parties and the steps that you should take in pursuit of fair compensation. It could be in your best interests to get in touch with an attorney and begin building a case as soon as possible, though, as important deadlines apply to personal injury claims and delays could affect your ability to recover damages.
Shared Fault in Dunedin
In some accident-related civil cases, one party is solely at fault. In other cases, however, the individual who sustained the injury may be partially at fault. Various states handle arguments of comparative fault in different ways.
The argument that an accident victim contributed to their own injuries is not uncommon in personal injury cases, but being partially at fault will not automatically bar an accident victim’s recovery of damages. In Florida, an accident victim may still be able to recover damages even if they were partially at fault, but their damages would be reduced in proportion to their own share of the total fault.
If, for example, the accident victim is found to be 20 percent at fault in the accident, they may face a 20 percent reduction in the damages that they can recover. A Dunedin personal injury attorney could help an injured party prepare for the arguments and defenses they may face when they file a personal injury claim and seek compensation for medical costs, lost wages, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and more.
Deadline for Filing a Personal Injury Claim
Although there are a wide variety of personal injury claims, most rely on the concept of negligence. In Florida, claims based on negligence have a four-year statute of limitations. Accordingly, an individual who sustains an injury due to another person’s negligence has four years to file a personal injury lawsuit.
It is important to note that the four-year period is a general guideline—there are many factors which can shorten or extend the period of time an individual has to file a personal injury lawsuit. It could be important to speak with a personal injury lawyer in Dunedin about the filing deadline in a particular case, as the factual background could make a difference in the deadlines.
Regardless, if an individual fails to adhere to the deadline set by the statute of limitations, they may lose their right to recover damages. They could expect a defendant to raise the argument that their claim is time-barred, and the court would almost certainly respond with a dismissal of the claim.
Contact a Dunedin Personal Injury Attorney Today
You may not wish to rely on an insurance adjuster’s statements regarding the value of your claim. In many cases, they could discount important factors in your case and offer a settlement amount that does not fully compensate you for your injuries.
Rather than relying on an insurance adjuster’s assessment of the value of your claim, reach out to a seasoned Dunedin personal injury lawyer who could assess damages in your case on your behalf. Call today to get started on your case.