Stuart Personal Injury Lawyer

Max Compensation For Your Injuries & Damages

One of the best cities to reside in Florida is Stuart, which is located in Martin County. Stuart’s residents enjoy an urban/suburban mix with high home ownership. Stuart has a high percentage of retirees and is famous for sailfishing, as well as all other kinds of sport fishing.

But while it’s a peaceful community, accidents and injuries are still inevitable in Stuart. Be it car accidents or slip and fall accidents, these incidents result in great suffering for victims. What’s worse is claiming full and fair compensation from insurance often proves difficult.

Fortunately, residents of Stuart, FL can trust Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney to provide legal help in their claims. Mr. DeBerard was recently honored as the Treasure Coast’s Best Personal Injury Attorney by TCPalm because of his service and track record. The DeBerard firm has obtained full settlements for thousands of Floridians over the last three decades.

If you have been injured in Stuart through no fault of your own, contact Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney. We’ll provide you a 100% FREE consultation, and you won’t pay any fees until we win a settlement on your behalf.

Compensation You May Get In Your Personal Injury Case

An accident injury isn’t just about your physical hurt. It also means piling medical expenses, missed work, emotional distress, and an unwelcome disruption in your life. Florida law accounts for these different losses and grants injured persons the ability to claim compensation (legally called “damages”).

However, many of those who are injured don’t obtain the settlement they are entitled to, and some don’t even realize the true worth of their losses. As they try to deal with the insurance company, they typically experience insurance adjuster tactics that downplay their injuries, hinder their compensation, or completely deny their claim.

It’s important to discuss your case as soon as possible with a personal injury attorney to learn what you really deserve. Below are common forms of damages you may claim:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Rehabilitation costs
• Loss of income
• Reduced capacity to work
• Pain and suffering, including psychological distress, PTSD, etc.
• Accessibility devices such as walkers and home remodeling for disability.

Receiving maximum compensation is vital for claimants as their expenses quickly rise. If you’re in similar circumstances, ask Attorney DeBerard about the best strategy to get full and fair financial compensation for your injuries.

We at the DeBerard law firm carefully evaluate the full impact of your injuries, be it medical, physical, emotional, or financial. We help you determine your best legal strategy to secure compensation, such as in pursuing a personal injury liability claim against the culpable party. We then use our 40 years of experience to fight hard for the settlement you deserve,or take your case to trial if need be.

Personal Injury Statistics: Stuart, Florida

In Martin County thousands of injuries occur each year. For example, in 2020, the county saw a total of 1,160 unintentional non-fatal injuries, as documented by the Florida Department of Health. The injury types that led to hospitalizations in Martin County that in 2020 were:

• Falls – 826 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic accidents – 85 injuries
• Motor vehicle, non-traffic – 30 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic – motorcyclist – 12
• Motor vehicle traffic – pedalcyclist – 15 injuries
• Motor vehicle traffic – pedestrian – 6 injuries
• Pedacyclist, other – 14 injuries
• Pedestrian, other – <5 injuries
• Poisoning or Drug overdose – 87 injuries
• Struck by or against an object – 17 injuries
• Fires – <5 injuries
• Machinery accidents – <5 injuries.
• Drownings / submersions – <5 injuries
• Hot object / substance <5 injuries

These numbers represents a huge burden for the injured persons and their families. For instance, according to the National Safety Council, a non-fatal car collision injury can rack up from $29,200 to upwards of $100,000 per injured individual on average. Yet the minimum personal injury protection coverage required in Florida is only $10,000. Accident victims often need to look for other legal measures to get reimbursed.

Laws You Need To Know For Your Stuart Personal Injury Claim

Florida law entitles persons to compensation if their injuries resulted from another person’s negligence. However, compensation claims are subject to certain laws that can affect the conclusion of your case.

Florida Has a “Serious Injury Threshold”

In terms of accidents, Florida is a “no-fault state,” which means you’ll claim from your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance first, irrespective of who’s at fault in your accident. If your expenses are higher than what your PIP can cover and you hope to claim from the at-fault person, you’ll have to prove that your injury is serious enough to be eligible for a third-party claim.

What counts as a “serious injury” in the state? According to Florida Statutes section 627.737, these are the kinds of injuries that can qualify:

• Permanent and significant loss of an important bodily function
• The person has sustained a permanent and significant disfigurement or scarring
• The person has a permanent injury other than scarring or disfigurement
• Death (if victim’s family is pursuing the claim).

If you can’t sufficiently establish that your injuries meet the threshold, you may have lower chances to recover financially. A competent attorney will be essential in establishing your injury severity.

Proving the Other Party’s Negligence and Causation

To hold the person accountable for your losses, you also have to show that they behaved negligently and that their negligence caused your injuries. In legal terms, “negligence” means that the person should have exercised “ordinary care” but didn’t. Below are some examples of negligence that may warrant an injury claim:

• Car crash liability – When careless driving behavior causes a car accident (for example intoxicated 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 neglects to warn guests about risky conditions at the site, resulting in a slip-and-fall accident
• Product liability – When a product manufacturer or distributor sells defective items or fails to warn about their product’s risks, resulting in consumer injuries
• Watersports accident liability – When an accident occurs in the water involving inexperienced 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 in many other cases, it can be difficult to establish fault, and anyone involved in the accident will dispute their negligence. You’ll especially experience 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 strong case for you and sufficiently demonstrate the other party’s fault.

Florida’s Comparative Negligence Principle

In personal injury claims, “comparative negligence” is the principle that if several persons were negligent in the accident, every one of them will have a percentage of fault. If the person who was injured was also negligent in their own accident, their compensation would be deducted according to their share of fault.

For example, if the claimant was awarded $100,000 for their damages but was proven to be 10 percent negligent in the accident, 10 percent ($10,000) would be deducted from the $100,000 recovery.

In several other states, you couldn’t get compensation at all if more than 50 percent of the accident was your fault. However, Florida’s version of this rule is called “pure comparative negligence” which means regardless of how much you contributed to your own injuries, you may still recover some due payment. Even if, for instance, you had 90 percent fault, you may still obtain the remaining 10 percent.

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers can assert the comparative negligence principle if they can find a way to blame you. In some cases, even saying “I’m sorry” is taken as an admission of fault in the incident. Because of this, it’s critical to have a personal injury lawyer counsel you as early as possible in the case. A competent injury attorney should guide you on how to deal with insurance adjusters and steer you clear of costly mistakes.

How Attorney Philip DeBerard Can Help You

Given the hurdles above, it’s daunting to pursue a successful injury compensation claim in Florida, including in Stuart. Though it’s not mandatory to get a lawyer for such a claim, many individuals find that they need one anyway. Whether it’s navigating the law or negotiating with insurance companies, a trusted personal injury attorney creates an important difference in your claim.

Attorney Philip DeBerard and his team are immensely experienced in this area of law. Our legal advice and representation have led to numerous successful claims on behalf of South Florida residents. Some of our triumphs are:

• $4.6 million compensation after a motorcycle accident
• $2.6 million compensation after a medical malpractice injury
• A $2 million recovery in a truck accident case
• Recent client settlement reaching $850% the insurance limit.

For the DeBerard injury team, it’s more than just winning large amounts. Each person we work with is not just a client but our family, so we do our very best to help them rebuild their life. Our service goes beyond discussing with insurers. It also encompasses:

• Working with our network of doctors and specialists to establish your injuries
• Collecting evidence to prove fault in your accident
• Crafting a personalized strategy with you that can produce the best possible outcome in your case
• Building strong arguments against the other camp’s possible defense tactics
• Completing the paperwork and legal procedures
• Ensuring you’re being given proper medical care
• Constantly updating you so you don’t feel anxious about your case progress.

With our family-like service, the DeBerard firm is recognized in Stuart, FL for sincere client care. When you entrust your case to our team, you can be at ease and focus on your health, knowing your pursuit for compensation is in trustworthy hands.

Call Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney in Stuart Today

For over three decades now, the Treasure Coast community has trusted Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney to handle personal injury cases on their behalf. They’ve seen our team’s successful track record and true dedication to Floridians. Learn how we can help you, too. Get a free consultation with us. We don’t charge any fees unless and until we win your case and obtain compensation. Give us a call today at 1-800-299-8878.