Miami Accident Lawyer Fighting for Individuals

Personal Injury

Accidents are common throughout the Miami area, and tourists and residents frequently suffer injuries due to someone else’s negligence. If you sustained an injury because of someone else’s careless or reckless acts, you may be owed compensation. In most cases, your Miami accident attorney must establish that the person who caused the accident owed you a duty to conform to a certain standard and that he or she breached the duty, which caused the accident to occur. The breach does not need to be the sole cause of the accident but must be a significant factor in leading to it. Additionally, your attorney must show that the accident caused you to suffer actual damages.

Car Accidents

Many drivers in South Florida fail to take the proper precautions behind the wheel. If you suffered harm due to a car accident that was caused by someone else’s failure to drive in a safe manner, you may be able to pursue compensation in a civil lawsuit. Generally, the recoverable compensation consists of economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages denote the actual financial harm caused by the accident, such as the cost of medical treatment, lost wages, and the cost of repairing property damage. Noneconomic damages refer to intangible harm, such as the pain and suffering and mental anguish caused by the accident.

Truck Accidents

Compared to accidents involving standard passenger vehicles, accidents involving commercial trucks are more likely to cause devastating injuries. Truck accidents are frequently caused by a failure of a truck driver to abide by the duties imposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, which dictate maximum drive times and truck weights and establish rules regarding pre-trip and post-trip inspections. If a driver’s failure to abide by safety regulations leads to a collision, the driver likely will be deemed liable for any injuries caused by the collision. An accident attorney in the Miami area can investigate whether any violations may have occurred. Additionally, if the driver was working for a trucking company at the time of the accident, the company may be held accountable for the harm caused by the accident.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycles are a convenient and enjoyable alternative to traveling by car, but there are hazards associated with traveling by motorcycle. For example, motorcycles often go unnoticed by other drivers, which can lead to rear-end collisions and accidents caused by drivers turning left in front of motorcyclists without adequate clearance. Additionally, since motorcycles lack any external protection, people injured while riding a motorcycle often suffer catastrophic injuries. In many cases, a driver who caused a motorcycle collision will attempt to evade liability by alleging that the motorcyclist caused the accident. Under Florida law, however, even if a person injured in an accident was partially at fault for the accident, he or she can still recover compensation.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians should be able to walk without fearing for their safety, but pedestrian accidents are unfortunately increasingly common. A pedestrian accident is often caused by a driver failing to yield the right of way to a person crossing at an intersection or in a crosswalk. If a driver who collided with a pedestrian violated a law, an accident lawyer in Miami may be able to introduce evidence of the violation as proof that the driver was negligent, and therefore should be held responsible for any harm caused by the accident.

Premises Liability

People frequently enter property owned by another person or entity for social or business purposes, without considering that the property may be unsafe. Accidents caused by dangerous conditions on property are one of the most common causes of injuries, however, and property owners may be held liable for injuries sustained on their property. Generally, whether a person injured on someone else’s property can recover compensation from the owner in a premises liability claim depends on both the person’s status and the nature of the condition that caused the injury. A property owner owes people who are legally on the property a duty to warn of concealed dangers and to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition.

Medical Malpractice

Health care practitioners are expected to provide thorough and competent care, but some medical providers make egregious mistakes that cause rather than prevent harm. When a person suffers an injury or illness due to an error made by a doctor or other medical professional, the person may be able to pursue damages via a medical malpractice claim. Essentially, the plaintiff and their Miami accident lawyer must show that the defendant medical professional had a duty to provide treatment or care that complied with the standard accepted by reasonable practitioners in the same community and specialty, but the defendant deviated from the standard, which proximately caused the plaintiff’s harm.

Construction Accidents

Construction sites abound with unguarded heights, heavy machinery, and massive building materials, which present a risk of harm to even the most cautious worker. Construction accidents may cause devastating injuries that lead to physical, emotional, and economic harm. If you or a loved one was injured in a construction accident, you may be able to pursue a claim for damages in addition to a workers’ compensation claim. Your legal options will depend on whether you were an employee or an independent contractor at the time of the accident, and whether your injury was caused by someone other than your employer or a coworker.

Nursing Home Negligence

Many people rely on nursing homes to care for their older family members, and they expect that their loved ones will receive adequate and attentive care. Many nursing homes are overstaffed or staffed with insufficiently trained employees, however, and nursing home residents may suffer injuries and illnesses due to nursing home negligence. Common signs that a person in a nursing home is suffering from inadequate care include bruising, frequent falls, unexpected weight loss, bedsores, insufficient grooming, and diminished cognitive capabilities. People pursuing claims of nursing home negligence frequently need to retain medical experts to establish the source of the harm. An accident lawyer can assist Miami residents with this process.

Product Liability

Some consumer products can cause significant harm because they are inherently unsafe. A product may be unsafe due to a defect in the manner in which it was designed or manufactured, or because it lacks adequate warnings regarding potential risks of harm. If an unsafe product injured you, you may be able to pursue product liability claims against the companies that manufactured and sold the product. Generally, to recover compensation, you must show that the product was unreasonably dangerous and that you did not modify the condition of the product from its original condition.

Wrongful Death

When a person succumbs to injuries sustained in an accident, it can cause not only emotional anguish but also significant financial losses. If you suffered the loss of a loved one due to someone else’s negligence or wrongful acts, you may be able to recover damages via a wrongful death lawsuit with the assistance of a knowledgeable accident attorney in Miami. Under Florida law, wrongful death claims must be pursued within two years of the date of a person’s death. A claim must be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate on behalf of the deceased person’s survivors, who are defined as spouses, children, parents, and other individuals delineated by the law.

Workers’ Compensation

Under the Florida workers’ compensation system, people who suffer injuries at work may be able to recover benefits from their employer’s workers’ compensation provider. There are certain requirements that a person must meet to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. First, the person must be an employee rather than an independent contractor. Second, the injury must occur in the course and scope of the person’s employment. If a person meets these requirements, he or she may be eligible to recover benefits for lost wages and medical expenses.

Property Insurance Claims and Litigation

Most people who own homes or businesses purchase property insurance with the expectation that if the property is damaged, they will be able to obtain insurance benefits to cover the repairs or loss. It is not uncommon, though, for an insurance company to deny a valid claim for benefits. Alternatively, an insurance company may pay a claim but underestimate the value of the damages sustained or delay paying the claim to the detriment of the property owner. Insurance companies have a duty to honor the obligations of the policies that they issue. If they fail to act in good faith in assessing a claim, they may be liable for the benefits owed under the policy and for additional damages arising from their bad faith.

Admiralty and Maritime Law

Many people who work on boats in South Florida suffer serious injuries in the course of their employment. Admiralty law provides recourse for crew members who are injured on boats. Specifically, the Jones Act allows employees who suffer an injury or illness while working on a boat to seek maintenance and cure from their employer, regardless of whether the employer’s negligence caused their harm. Similarly, individuals who suffer harm due to a dangerous condition on a boat may be able to pursue an unseaworthiness claim against the boat’s owner with the assistance of an accident lawyer in Miami.

Overtime and FLSA Claims

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) entitles people who work for more than 40 hours in a week to overtime wages that must equal at least one and a half times their regular hourly rate. There are some exceptions to the FLSA, however, such as salaried employees and people in certain occupations. If you believe that your employer unjustly denied you overtime wages, it is important to consult a lawyer promptly. There are strict time limitations as to when a FLSA claim must be filed.

Consult a Dedicated Injury Attorney

At the Law Offices of Jeffrey P. Gale, we handle all of our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that our clients do not pay any attorney’s fees unless and until there is a recovery in the case. This enables us to seek justice for them without the payment of any up front legal costs.

Our offices are conveniently located in Miami Shores Village, just minutes from I–95 and Biscayne Boulevard. Parking is free. We also have offices in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. A member of the law firm will come to your home, a hospital, or a nursing home anywhere in the state to meet you, and someone is available 24/7 to discuss your legal matter. English, Spanish, and Creole spoken. Contact an accident attorney in the Miami area today.