Florida Personal Injury FAQ

As soon as you're able to. Evidence such as skid marks, surveillance footage, and witness memories fade fast, and insurance adjusters often start building their defense within days of a crash. An experienced personal injury attorney can preserve evidence, handle communication with insurers, and protect your claim from the earliest stages, before a recorded statement or quick settlement offer does lasting damage to your case.

Florida generally gives injury victims two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit, though wrongful death and certain government claims carry different deadlines. Missing this window typically bars you from recovering compensation altogether. Because exceptions and shorter notice periods can apply, it's worth a quick call to a personal injury trial lawyer to confirm the deadline that applies to your specific accident.

Our firm handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing out of pocket to get started. There's no charge for the initial consultation, and we only collect a fee if we recover compensation for you. This arrangement lets injury victims get experienced legal representation without adding financial stress to an already difficult recovery.

Depending on the facts of your case, a serious injury lawyer can pursue compensation for medical bills (past and future), lost wages, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, and property damage. Cases involving permanent injuries, such as a spinal cord injury, or the loss of a loved one may also support claims for long-term care costs and loss of companionship. Every case is valued individually based on the severity of the injury and its impact on your life.

Truck accidents are often more complex than passenger vehicle crashes because multiple parties can share liability. A truck accident attorney will typically investigate the driver, the trucking company, the cargo loader, the vehicle manufacturer, and sometimes a delivery service, along with each party's insurance coverage. A commercial truck accident lawyer who understands federal trucking regulations can identify every source of compensation available to you.

Florida follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which reduces your compensation by your percentage of fault but does not automatically bar recovery unless you are found more than 50 percent responsible. Insurance companies frequently try to shift blame onto the injured party to reduce a payout. An accident injury attorney can push back on unfair fault allegations and gather evidence that accurately reflects what happened.

Our injury law firm represents clients as a car accident lawyer, motorcycle accident lawyer, bicycle accident lawyer, pedestrian accident lawyer, and e-bike accident lawyer throughout Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. We also serve as a truck accident lawyer, delivery truck accident lawyer, construction accident lawyer, boating accident lawyer, and dog bite lawyer, and as a product liability lawyer and slip and fall lawyer for clients hurt by defective products or dangerous conditions. As a premises liability lawyer, wrongful death lawyer, and spinal cord injury lawyer, John Mathias also represents families facing life changing losses after a fatal accident.