After an accident, you may be dealing with expensive medical bills and lost wages. If you suffered a severe injury, you could also be struggling with a permanent disability.

If someone else caused your injuries, you may be eligible for compensation. A Pembroke Pines personal injury lawyer with Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers can help. We can handle the legal process while you rest and recuperate.

What Kinds of Damages Could You Receive?

You may be surprised about what you can receive compensation for. Your injuries may not only lead to hospital bills, but they could also affect you financially and emotionally for years to come.

When we take on a case, we make sure we account for both current and future losses, as well as non-economic damages. These are just a few of the costs that our Pembroke Pines personal injury lawyers can seek compensation for:

• Medical care (hospital bills, prescription costs, physician copays, medical deductibles, physical therapy, and more)
• Lost wages
• Diminished earning capacity
• Property damage
• Daily household costs (childcare, transportation, and rehabilitative renovations to the house)
• Pain and suffering

If your injuries lead to ongoing medical conditions, your settlement should account for this hardship. If you cannot earn your pre-injury income, you will also want to seek awards to meet the difference. We can talk to your doctors and look at your wage statements to determine fair compensation.

Wrongful Death Damages

If you lost a loved one due to a preventable accident, you can file a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.

Along with recovering the medical bills your family incurred, you can also seek awards for lost wages, loss of future income, funeral costs, and your loved one’s pain and suffering. Other damages may also apply, such as loss of consortium.

Make Sure You See a Doctor

Your health is a priority, and seeing a doctor can also help us calculate your damages. To pursue what you deserve, you need to understand how your injuries will affect you in the long run.

Even after emergency medical treatment, you may require subsequent surgeries or physical therapy. You will want your settlement to reflect these accident-related losses.

Insurance Companies May Not Offer You a Fair Settlement

Facing an insurance company alone may put you at a disadvantage. Insurers operate for profit, so they want to pay out as little as they can. They may offer you a quick settlement without knowing how much your case is really worth.

Once you accept an offer, you cannot seek additional compensation, even in court. When you work with a personal injury attorney from our firm, we can safeguard you from unfair practices.

Your Free Consultation Will Shed Light on Your Legal Options

Our complimentary consultation is an important part of the process. It gives our team the chance to get to know you and the details of your case, as well as you the opportunity to ask any questions about the legal process.

The best approach depends on the details of your personal injury case. Every case is different, and we must examine the evidence. The more details you disclose during the consultation, the better we can assess your legal options and how much compensation you could receive.

Your Time to File a Lawsuit is Limited

According to Florida Statutes § 95.11, you must file a personal injury lawsuit within two years of your accident. You only have two years if you want to file a wrongful death lawsuit. 

It is important to take action within these strict time limits. Some rare circumstances can shorten or extend the statute of limitations, such as:

• Legal incapacitation
• The defendant fled to avoid a lawsuit
• The injury occurred on state or federal property

Failing to follow Florida’s statute of limitations can lead to your case’s dismissal. The sooner you start the process, the better. We can begin working on your case immediately after your consultation.

We Can Advise You on Your Best Legal Options

You may receive compensation through an insurance settlement or a court-awarded offer. Settlements keep both parties out of court, reducing legal fees and accelerating the process for everyone. Regardless, we aim for fair compensation. 

If a settlement amount does not appropriately cover your costs, our attorneys in Pembroke Pines are prepared to take your case to court. In some cases, we may suggest legal action from the beginning. 

We can argue the facts before a judge and let them decide the matter. Sometimes, the liable party settles before a case ever goes to trial.

We Can Help You Prove Negligence Played a Role in Your Accident

If you’ve been hurt in a car accident, slip and fall, or another type of personal injury case, negligence may have caused or contributed to your injuries. To hold a liable party accountable, you must prove the following four elements of negligence:

Duty of Care

We must prove that the liable party had an established duty of care to keep you reasonably safe. For example, a property owner must address any hazards on their premises so that guests and invitees do not get hurt. Likewise, motorists must follow traffic laws to prevent an accident.

Breach of Duty

We must then demonstrate that the liable party breached their legal obligation. A breach does not have to be intentional. We must simply prove that a reasonable person would have behaved differently to avoid hurting you.

For example, if a property owner knew about a leak for months and failed to fix it, they would bear liability when someone slips on the puddle below the leak.

Causation

It may seem obvious that your accident caused your injuries, but a liable party may try to claim that you suffered a pre-existing condition, for example. Without connecting your accident to your injuries, we cannot secure compensation.

This is why it is so important to see a doctor after your accident. Their documentation can provide the link to prove causation.

Damages

Finally, we must prove that your injuries caused you losses. Medical bills and lost wages are obvious kinds of damages, but there are others that may warrant compensation. A Pembroke Pines attorney with our firm can determine what you’re eligible for.

Florida’s Pure Comparative Negligence Laws

Florida is a pure comparative negligence state, so the court can reduce your award by the percentage of fault you shared for the accident.

For example, if you suffered $50,000 in damages but were found 15 percent at fault for the accident, you would only be able to recover 85 percent of your losses. In this example, you would be able to recover $42,500.

If an insurance company tries to shift more blame onto you, we can conduct our own investigation to counter their determination of fault. Your settlement should reflect what you deserve, no less.

We Can Gather Evidence to Advocate for Fair Compensation

Evidence that can help your case for fair compensation includes:

• The police or accident report
• Medical records
• Photos of your injury and the accident scene
• Eyewitness statements
• Income statements
• A record of how your injury affects your daily activities

We know what to look for when building a case. We may obtain information you would never consider relevant to proving the other party liable.

Ways You Can Support Your Personal Injury Case

There are a few things you can do to support your case while your lawyer handles the legal legwork. 

Follow through with your doctor’s orders so that an insurer does not claim you worsened your injuries. Also, refrain from posting anything about your accident on social media. Insurers can use anything you say to undermine the value of your case. 

Work with Our Personal Injury Lawyers in Pembroke Pines, FL

Insurers and defense attorneys may be the last things you want to deal with when recovering from an injury. Our legal team is ready to fight for the compensation you deserve. Whether you got hurt in a car crash, slip and fall, or workplace accident, you can count on us to handle your case from start to finish. 

When you choose Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers, you work directly with our partners. You can reach out to us anytime, day or night, and we can come to you if you’re seriously injured. Contact us at (954) 681-4276 for your free case review.