Negligence occurs when someone acts carelessly or recklessly, and this causes someone else to sustain injuries. Negligence plays a key role in Florida personal injury cases. To recover compensation for the damages you suffered, we must prove negligence and liability.
Proving Negligence in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida
We must prove the accused party — or defendant — acted negligently, and this caused your injuries if we want to recover a payout in a liability insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. This requires us to prove four elements:
- The defendant had an obligation to follow certain rules or act in a certain way to prevent hurting others
- The defendant failed to act as they should, instead acting carelessly or recklessly
- Their careless or reckless actions led to someone else’s injuries
- The injured party suffered physical injuries as well as financial losses
Negligence is an important part of many types of civil suits. We will need to prove negligence or wrongdoing if we pursue compensation for you in a personal injury case. This might include:
We can help you understand the laws that apply to your case and what we need to do to prove negligence and liability. We will investigate your accident and build a strong case to show exactly what happened, who caused it, and what damages you suffered. Then, we will take legal action to hold the defendant liable for their negligent actions.
Evidence to Support a Negligence Claim in a Florida Personal Injury Case
To recover compensation for our clients through a personal injury case, we need to identify, collect, and analyze all available evidence to show the defendant acted negligently and is responsible for the client’s injuries. The types of evidence vary from case to case, and we may even need to call in accident reconstruction specialists and other experts to help us build a strong case.
Other types of evidence common in a negligence case include:
- Police reports
- Images of damages and injuries
- Relevant medical records
- Eyewitness testimony
- Surveillance or traffic cam video of the incident
We will also need to collect evidence of your expenses and losses related to the incident. This could include:
- Medical bills
- Receipts for out-of-pocket expenses
- Estimates for repairs
- Medical expert testimony about your ongoing and future care cost
- Other documentation of your damages
Proving Your Damages and Recovering Compensation in a Negligence Case
We will use the documentation of the damages you suffered to prove to the insurer or the court the full range of your expenses and losses. This is an integral part of negotiating a fair settlement agreement or winning a payout in court. Because your recoverable damages are based on your actual losses, there is no way to give you an accurate estimate of your case value until much later in the process. However, some of the recoverable damages in this type of case include:
- Medical care costs
- Ongoing and future care costs
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Property damages
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Pain and suffering
- Wrongful death damages
Talk to an Attorney About Your Florida Negligence Case Today
If you or a member of your family suffered injuries in a Florida accident, the personal injury team from Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers will review your case for free. We may be able to pursue an insurance claim or negligence lawsuit on your behalf.
Call us today at 855-529-0269 and let us go to work for you.