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Miami and Tampa catastrophic injury lawyer

The case is not what happened. It is what follows.

Amputation, severe burns, paralysis, brain injury, the loss of sight or hearing. What these have in common is not the mechanism but the arithmetic: the cost arrives over decades, while the insurance that might cover it is finite and has to be found early.

Free case review Miami (305) 662-4323 Tampa (813) 930-5422
Deadline to sue
2 yearsFla. Stat. § 95.11, for injuries on or after 24 March 2023
Fault limit
50%Over half at fault and the claim is barred entirely. § 768.81
Coverage
Every layerLiability, UM, umbrella, employer and premises policies
Valuation
ExpertsLife care planner, economist, vocational expert

01 The arithmetic

Why catastrophic injury claims exceed the available insurance

The limit on the at-fault policy is usually reached during the first hospitalisation. From that point the case is an exercise in identifying every other obligation — household uninsured and underinsured coverage, stacking, umbrella policies, commercial coverage where someone was working, a separate vehicle owner, a property owner, sometimes a manufacturer.

Since 2023 the fault question sits over all of it. Above 50% the claim is worth nothing regardless of how severe the injury is, which makes the liability investigation as urgent as the medical one.

02 What gets proved

How a Florida catastrophic injury claim is valued

A life care planner sets out what the injury requires across a lifetime. A vocational expert establishes what work is still possible, if any. An economist reduces both to present value and accounts for inflation and work-life expectancy.

Liens are the other half. Health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid all assert rights against a recovery, and negotiating them down is often worth as much to the client as the last increment of settlement.

03 Where these cases come from

Miami-Dade

Serious injuries across Miami-Dade go to one of the county’s two Level I trauma centers — Ryder Trauma at Jackson Memorial, or HCA Florida Kendall — and those records anchor the case.

The Miami office · Homestead

Hillsborough

Hillsborough injuries are routed to Tampa General, the regional Level I center, with the same consequence for the file.

The Tampa office

04 What damages a claim

  • Signing any release before the full insurance picture is known.
  • Valuing the claim on bills incurred rather than care required.
  • Giving a recorded statement while fault is still being investigated.
  • Leaving liens to the end, when there is no leverage left to negotiate them.

Frequently asked questions about Florida catastrophic injury

The insurer offered the policy limits in the first month. Should I take it?

Possibly, but not before anyone knows whether other policies exist. Accepting limits normally requires releasing that defendant, and a release given early can close off larger sources permanently.

A quick limits offer usually means the carrier has already worked out that the claim is worth far more than its limit.

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?

Yes, up to 50%. Your recovery is reduced by your share, and at more than half you recover nothing at all.

That cliff is why fault is investigated immediately in a catastrophic case rather than after the medical picture settles.

05 Related matters

The full list is on the personal injury page.

Tell Jose what happened

A free review of your catastrophic injury case, with no obligation, and no fee and no costs unless there is a recovery. English or Spanish, whichever you would rather use. You speak with Jose A. Dapena directly at every stage, not with an intake department — and if there is no claim worth bringing, he will tell you that.

Miami (305) 662-4323 Homestead (786) 900-0184 Tampa (813) 930-5422