Florida personal injury lawyer

For most negligence claims that happened on or after March 24, 2023, two years. Before that date it was four. The deadline was cut in half and almost everything written online before 2023 still says four years.

Some claims run shorter. A cruise ship ticket usually gives one year and requires suit in Miami federal court. A claim against a city or county has its own notice requirements. The date your claim expires is the first thing worth checking.

Your Personal Injury Protection benefits are gone. Florida Statute 627.736 requires initial medical attention within 14 days of the crash. Miss that window and PIP pays nothing at all — not reduced, nothing.

People often feel no significant pain for hours or days because of the shock of the accident. That is the single most common way a good claim is damaged before a lawyer ever sees it.

Up to $10,000 total, and only if a doctor finds an emergency medical condition. Without that finding it drops to $2,500.

Within that limit PIP pays 80% of medical bills after fee schedule reductions, co-payment and deductible; 80% of prescriptions; 100% of replacement services such as childcare, housekeeping and yard work; and up to $5,000 in death benefits.

Florida is a no-fault state for PIP. It does not matter who caused the crash — each person looks to their own policy first.

If you do not own a car, you may be covered by a live-in family member’s PIP, or by the PIP of the car you were riding in, or — if you were a pedestrian — by the PIP of the car that hit you. But if you owned an operable car in Florida and did not insure it, you cannot use anyone’s PIP.

Probably not by PIP. Florida does not require motorcycle owners and riders to carry it, and auto PIP generally does not follow you onto a bike.

That makes the first hospital bill the immediate problem, and it makes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage far more important than most riders realize.

Florida changed this in 2023 as well. Your recovery is still reduced by your share of the blame, but if you are found more than 50% at fault you now recover nothing at all.

That turns the fault argument from a negotiation into the whole case, and it is exactly where an insurer will spend its effort — which is why a recorded statement given in the first week can end a claim before anyone has read a medical record.

The fee is a percentage of the settlement or judgment, and it is due only if there is one. The fee is payable only if there is a recovery; case expenses are governed by the written agreement, which sets out who is responsible for them if there is not. It is set out in the retainer agreement, which is explained to you before you sign anything.

Case costs — medical records, expert reports, investigation, certified mail — are advanced by the firm during the case. They are separate from the percentage fee, repaid out of a recovery, and who is responsible for them if there is no recovery is set out in the written agreement.

PIP pays first, up to its limit. Health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid may cover more, and they generally have a right to be reimbursed out of a settlement.

Whatever is left is negotiated. There is no guarantee, but the firm’s practice is to work those balances and liens down so that more of the recovery reaches you rather than the providers.

Anyone who gives you a number before seeing the file is guessing, and you should be wary of a guarantee.

What actually drives it: the type and severity of the injury, the extent of treatment, past and future medical expenses, the at-fault party’s policy limits, what uninsured, underinsured or umbrella coverage exists, your share of the fault, and whether the at-fault party has assets worth pursuing.

Jose A. Dapena and the firm’s staff. DAPENALAW works from three Florida offices, and whichever one you call, you deal with your attorney directly rather than through an intake department.

Most personal injury cases settle without a lawsuit. If filing is the right move, the options are explained to you first, with a recommendation. The decision to settle or to file is always yours.