West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

Fight for Full and Fair Compensation

South Florida’s West Palm Beach is a thriving seaside community that is separated from Palm Beach by the Lake Worth Lagoon. Living in West Palm Beach is pleasant. The nightlife, entertainment, cultural attractions, retail districts, and excellent fishing places in this city are its most well-known features. In addition to the economic benefits offered in the area, West Palm Beach also provides a more upscale and laid-back environment for living and working.

But despite the peacefulness of this town, accidents and injuries are still inevitable in West Palm Beach. From car crashes to slip and fall accidents, these incidents are costly for the victims, and what’s even worse, the very insurance companies that are supposed to help you in your time of need let you down.

Thankfully, residents of West Palm Beach  can trust Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney to provide legal assistance in their accident and injury claims. Mr. DeBerard has recently been voted the Treasure Coast’s Best Personal Injury Attorney by TCPalm readers with his excellent service and stellar track record. Together with his team, he has won over $150,000,000 in settlements & verdicts for Florida clients over the past 40 years.

If you have been injured in West Palm Beach because of someone else’s fault, reach out to Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney. We provide your consultation for free, and you won’t pay any fees until we get a recovery for your claim.

What Compensation You May Receive In A Personal Injury Claim?

An injury from an accident can be much more than your physical hurt. It also entails piling medical bills, lost days of work, emotional stress, and an unexpected disruption of your normal living. Florida law recognizes these different losses and grants injured persons the ability to claim compensation (also known as damages).

Unfortunately, many who try to claim for their injuries don’t obtain the settlement they should have, and some don’t even realize the true worth of their losses. When dealing with their insurance provider, they frequently run into insurance adjuster tactics that downplay their injuries, delay their compensation, or outright reject their claim.

It’s important to work with a personal injury lawyer to understand what you really deserve. Below are common kinds of damages in a personal injury claim:

• Medical costs, both past and future
• Therapy or rehabilitation expenses
• Lost earnings
• Reduced capacity to work
• Pain and suffering, such as mental anguish
• Accessibility devices such as walkers and home renovations for disability.

Obtaining full compensation is vital for injured individuals as their expenditure quickly accumulates. If you’re in a similar situation, ask Attorney DeBerard about how you may gain your maximum financial recovery.

We at the DeBerard law firm thoroughly examine the full aftermath of your accident, including the physical, financial, or emotional. We help you determine your best legal strategy to secure compensation, particularly in pursuing a bodily injury settlement claim against the at-fault party. We then apply our 40 years of experience to advocate for the settlement you deserve, or take your claim to litigation if need be.

Personal Injury Statistics: West Palm Beach, Florida

Accidents are an unfortunate part of our lives. In Palm Beach County in 2020 alone, the county saw a total of 9,938 unintentional non-fatal injuries, according to the Florida Department of Health. The leading injury types that led to hospitalizations in Palm Beach County in 2020 were:

• Falls – 6,123 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic accidents – 1,340 injuries
• Motor vehicle / non-traffic – 89 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic – motorcyclist – 210 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic – pedalcyclist – 94 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic – pedestrian – 137 injuries
• Pedalcyclist, other  – 158 injuries
• Pedestrian, other – 13
• Poisoning or Drug overdose – 1,011 injuries
• Struck by or against an object – 122 injuries
• Fires – 24 injuries
• Machinery accidents – 49 injuries 
• Drownings / Submersions – <5  injuries
• Hot object / substance – 64 injuries

Each accident mentioned above represents a big burden for the victims and their families. For instance, the National Safety Council reveals that a non-fatal auto accident injury can rack up from $29,200 to upwards of $100,000 per injured individual on average. Yet Florida’s minimum personal injury protection requirement is only $10,000. Accident victims often need to look for other legal measures to get compensated.

Laws You Need To Know For Your Florida Injury Claim

Florida entitles injured individuals to compensation if their losses resulted from someone else’s negligence. However, compensation claims are subject to certain laws that can affect the results of your case.

Florida’s “Serious Injury Threshold”

In terms of accidents, Florida follows the “no fault” rule, which means you’ll file against your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance first, irrespective of who’s responsible for your accident. If your losses are more than your PIP policy limit and you want to claim from the at-fault party, you must prove that you have a serious injury to warrant a third-party claim.

What counts as a “serious injury” in Florida? According to Florida Statutes section 627.737, below are the types of injuries that meet the threshold:

• The person has permanently and significantly lost an important bodily function
• The person has sustained a permanent and significant disfigurement or scarring
• There is a permanent injury that’s not disfigurement or scarring
• Death (if victim’s survivor is filing the claim).

If you can’t sufficiently establish that your injuries meet the threshold, you may have less chance to recover your losses. An experienced attorney will be vital in establishing the severity of your injuries.

Showing the Other Party was Negligent

To hold the other party responsible for your losses, you also have to show that they were negligent and that their negligence was the cause of your injuries. “Negligence” in legal terms means that the person should have exercised “ordinary care” but fell short of this common standard. Here are some kinds of negligence that could be grounds for a personal injury claim:

• Vehicle accident liability – When unsafe driving behavior results in an auto accident (e.g. drunk driving, speeding, or failing to stop at an intersection)
• Premises liability – When the owner of a property fails to keep their premises safe for guests, or fails to warn guests about dangerous conditions at the site, leading to a slip-and-fall mishap
• Product liability – When the manufacturer or distributor of a product sells defective items or does not warn about their product’s risks, leading to consumer injuries
• Boating accident liability – When an accident occurs in the water due to unqualified operators, badly maintained vessels, or unsafe driving.

Negligence may be immediately apparent in some situations, such as if an intoxicated driver crashed into you. But commonly, it can be difficult to establish fault, and people involved in the incident could dispute their responsibility. You will likely encounter this once you go up against an insurance company that’s well-resourced and experienced in minimizing liability. You should have a personal injury attorney to build a robust case for you and prove the other camp’s fault.

Comparative Negligence in Florida

In accident compensation claims, “comparative negligence” means that if multiple parties were negligent leading up to the accident, each of them will be assigned a portion of fault. If the injured claimant is found to be negligent in the incident, the compensation they’d receive would be reduced according to their percentage of fault.

To illustrate if the claimant got an award $100,000 for their losses but was shown to be 10 percent responsible for the accident, $10,000 (10 percent) would be taken out of the $100,000 compensation.

In other states, there wouldn’t be compensation at all if you had a share of fault that was more than 50 percent. However, Florida law adheres to “pure comparative negligence” because regardless of how much you were negligent in your own accident, you may still recover some due payment. Even if, for example, you had 90 percent fault, you may still receive the last 10 percent.

Insurers and defense lawyers may take advantage of the comparative negligence principle if they can find a way to blame you. There have been situations where even uttering “I’m sorry” could be taken as an admission of fault in the incident. Because of this, it’s all too important to have a personal injury lawyer counsel you from the start of the case. An experienced injury attorney will guide you when dealing with insurance adjusters and steer you clear of costly mistakes.

What the Attorney Philip DeBerard Can Do For You

As you can see, it’s complicated to pursue a productive injury case in Florida, including in West Palm Beach. While hiring an attorney isn’t legally required for such a claim, many individuals find that they need one anyway. From navigating the law to negotiating with insurers, a reliable personal injury attorney can make an important difference in the direction of the case.

Attorney Philip DeBerard and his team are immensely experienced in this area of law. Our legal counsel and representation have led to numerous successful claims on behalf of West Palm Beach residents. Among our many wins are:

• Motorcycle crash case: $4.6 million recovery
• $2.6 million compensation after a medical malpractice injury
• Truck accident case: $2 million recovery
• Recent client recovery maximized to 850% of policy limits.

For the DeBerard legal team, it’s more than just obtaining large amounts. Each client we work with becomes family to us, so we do our very best to help them rebuild their life. Our service is more extensive than just discussing with insurers. It also includes:

• Enlisting our network of physicians and specialists to corroborate your injuries
• Gathering evidence to establish fault in your accident
• Creating a case-specific strategy with you that can lead to the most ideal possible outcome for you
• Building solid arguments against the at-fault party’s possible defenses
• Handling the paperwork and process requirements
• Ensuring you’re being given proper medical care
• Communicating regularly with you so you don’t worry about the progress of your case.

With this comprehensive service, the DeBerard firm is noted in South Florida for heartfelt client care. When you entrust your case to our team, you can be at ease and focus on healing, knowing your pursuit for compensation is in capable hands.

Consult with Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney in West Palm Beach Today

For more than 40 years now, the Treasure Coast community trusts Attorney Philip DeBerard with their personal injury cases. They’ve known our firm’s excellent track record and authentic dedication to Floridians. See how we can help you, too. Book your free consultation with us. You won’t have to pay us any fees until we win compensation for you. Contact us today at 800-299-8878.

777 South Flagler Drive, #800, West Palm Beach, FL