Personal injury terms can be confusing at first. If you have recently been a victim in an accident or attack, then you may be considering taking legal action to make yourself whole financially. During this time, you may have mounting medical bills, time off of work due to your injuries, and will be faced with choosing legal representation to help you face insurance companies and the people or the organization that caused your injuries. In addition to all of the stress that this could cause, you may also hear legal terms that you may be unfamiliar with such as “contingency fees” and “tort”.

Let’s take a look at eight of the most common personal injury terms recent accident victims could benefit from learning as they consider taking legal action to be awarded compensation for their losses.

1. Contingency Fee

The phrase “contingency fee” refers to a legal fee type wherein a law firm does not charge a fee to a client unless and until the client’s case is won. It is common for law firms in Florida to advertise contingency fees as if they were special offers, however the vast majority of law firms charge in this way when they represent personal injury clients. It is important that personal injury victims assess their potential legal representative to ensure that the legal professional has personal injury experience, a good reputation, the required attention to detail, and the resources to support what could be a protracted legal battle.

“The phrase ‘contingency fee’ refers to a legal fee type wherein a law firm does not charge a fee to a client unless and until the client’s case is won.”

2. Hedonic Damages

Hedonic damages refer to loss of enjoyment of life, and is a distinct category of loss from human capital losses and loss of income when calculating damages from a personal injury due to accident or attack.

3. Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium describes the loss of benefits from a family relationship due to injuries. It often includes the loss or impairment of comfort and companionship that comes from losing a spouse.

4. Duty of Care

Duty of care is a person or organization’s legal responsibility to act as a reasonable person would under similar circumstances to not let others come to harm due to their actions or negligence. In personal injury, one example of duty of care involves cases related to negligent security in which an organization is determined by a court to have needed to provide a security guard, cameras and street lights to protect a victim of an attack at night.

5. Tort

A tort is an act or failure on the part of one entity that results in the injury of another entity. In personal injury, torts are actions that result in damages sustained by a person rather than a business or organization. Those damages, however, may be caused by any person or organization.

There are three main types of torts in personal injury cases:

Intentional torts encompass situations where an individual or entity purposefully takes actions to harm a victim. Typically, these intentional torts can lead to a criminal trial initiated by the Florida State prosecutor, pressing charges against the accused. Nevertheless, a distinct legal proceeding may be initiated in civil court, aiming to provide compensation for the losses incurred by the victim or their family in the tragic event of a tort resulting in death (refer to wrongful death below).

Negligent torts, on the other hand, involve scenarios such as causing an accident due to a failure to adhere to traffic rules.

In the case of strict liability torts, liability falls on those responsible for manufacturing and selling defective or unsafe products that result in personal injury.

6. Wrongful Death

A “wrongful death” is simply a death caused by another person’s wrongful act. It might result from a car accident, medical malpractice, a dangerous property, or an intentional act. According to Florida Statutes 768.16, the Wrongful Death Statute, a victim’s estate is permitted to sue on behalf of the surviving family members.

7. Sovereign Immunity

Florida Statutes section 768.28, modified the State of Florida’s sovereign immunity so that political subdivisions in the start can generally be sued for negligent or wrongful acts or omissions, but generally may not be sued for unfavorable policy decisions — even if such policy decisions can be shown to be objectively poor in judgment.

Florida Statutes section 768.28(9)(a) provides that officers, employees, and agents of the state may only be sued personally if they “acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.” If that happens, or if the employee acts “outside the course and scope of her or his employment,” then the state is not liable for damages resulting from that employee’s actions.

8. Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations refers to the amount of In most cases, Florida personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date of the accident or attack. The exception to this rule is that there is no deadline if the case involves a wrongful death that resulted from murder or manslaughter.

The Importance of Legal Counsel

Are you or a loved one a victim of an accident or attack? Due to the complexity of the personal injury practice area it is important to bring on legal expertise to assist you. An experienced personal injury attorney can determine if you have a case and if so, how to proceed. Attempting to proceed pro se, or representing yourself, is unwise in this scenario because there are typically no upfront costs to obtaining legal representation and much to gain in terms of strategy and experience. Multiple research has shown that those represented by lawyers in personal injury cases receive significantly more than those who “proceed pro se” or, in other words, represent themselves.

South Florida Law

In a complex legal landscape, personal injury cases involve experienced insurance companies and their legal teams. It’s proven that having an experienced personal injury lawyer greatly increases the likelihood of a larger payout and helps avoid pitfalls set by bad-faith insurance companies.

South Florida Law is a Florida law firm with a strong personal injury practice. If you or a loved one has been in an accident, experienced personal injury attorneys from South Florida Law first identify if you have a case for compensation. If you do, the firm can agree to bring you on for a contingency fee, which means you don’t pay a dime unless we win your case.

Injured in an accident? Contact South Florida Law today for a free consultation at (954) 900-8885 or through our contact form.