Month: September 2021

18 wheelers are very dangerous. They can get into accidents easily and cause numerous injuries and deaths. If you are ever hurt or sustain property damage because of an accident with a truck, you need to know what you will need to do to win a personal injury case.

Well, one of the first things that you should do in this instance is to hire a good truck accident lawyer. He or she will tell you what you must do to hold the trucker responsible and get the settlement that you want, need, and deserve!

Florida is a No-Fault State

All drivers must carry personal injury protection insurance if they want to drive in Florida. This insurance will pay for up to $10,000 for property damage or bodily injuries that a person (not necessarily the person who carries the insurance) may sustain in an accident.

The insurance coverage has an 80% cap on all medical expenses and a 60% cap on all income lost. Truck drivers must carry extra insurance since they’re always on the road and drive larger and heavier vehicles. Therefore, they’re much more likely to get into accidents and cause more injuries and property damage when they do so.

There are two exceptions when you can bypass the no-fault system to bring a case against a truck driver. You either have to meet the $10,000 PIP limit, or you have to have what Florida personal injury law calls a serious injury.

How Does Florida Define a Serious Injury?

Your injury must fall into at least one of the categories that the 2019 Florida Insurance Statute defines as a serious injury to qualify for a serious injury in the state:

• Substantial and permanent loss of a major body function
• Permanent bodily injury that a doctor can say beyond a reasonable doubt was caused by the accident – this doesn’t include scarring or disfigurement
• Significant and permanent scarring and/or disfigurement
• Death

You should meet with a personal injury lawyer when trying to determine if your injuries meet these criteria since the language used to describe and define what is substantial is vague.

Your personal injury lawyer will consider the following when trying to prove that the truck driver was negligent.

Evidence of a breach of duty

All drivers must follow the rules of the road and exercise a certain duty of care about other drivers. You’ll have a much easier time winning your case if you can prove that the truck driver breached this duty of care. Some of the more common breaches of duty include:

• Driving while drunk or buzzed
• Using drugs when driving
• Driving while exhausted
• Driving a truck with faulty parts

Companies that don’t use due diligence when hiring truck drivers tend to hire drivers who breach their duty of care to other drivers.

Evidence of causation: You will need to prove that the breach of duty is what caused your accident. A good example would be if a trucker who was drunk hit a person in a parked car.

Evidence of damages: You have to prove that the truck driver caused your damages. These can include bodily injury, property damage, disability – temporary or permanent, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, among other aspects.

For more information about filing a claim and getting compensated, contact Graves Thomas Rotunda Injury Law Group. Call us today at (772) 569-8155.

Yes, since bicyclists follow the same rules and laws as other motorists. Bicyclists are usually not eager to see other motorists on the streets and highways, even in big cities and metros.

Bicyclists may be different, but…

Okay, so bicyclists may be different but they still follow the same motor laws and rules that people who drive cars do. Bicycles are smaller and more flexible. That said, they don’t have the strength as cars do. Maybe this is why they don’t do as much damage when they’re involved in motor accidents.

Bicyclists who violate any traffic rules and laws can be held to the same degree of liability as any other motorist. This means that they will have to pay for any property damage or bodily injuries that they may have caused.

Negligence and shared fault

The same concept of negligence that applies to those who drive cars applies to those who ride bikes! Bicyclists owe the same duty of care to other pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers as motorists do. Therefore, bicyclists who don’t ride with a duty of care are responsible for negligence if someone else is hurt or if another person’s property is damaged!

Thus, if a bicyclist causes a traffic accident by running a red light or making a left turn on red, he or she can be held 100% liable. Florida uses the concept of negligence to determine if the bicyclist shares any of the faults in accidents that involve bicycles. They also follow shared fault rules. These rules will tell the legal professionals in these states who was at fault for the accident and how personal injury damages should be assessed.

Contributory negligence

Contributory negligence states that any person who was even 1% at fault in a traffic accident can’t recover any damages for personal injury or property damage. This is a very harsh and extreme rule so few states follow it.

Comparative negligence

Most states follow some variation of comparative negligence. States that follow pure comparative negligence allow each party involved to recover the portion of damages that they were not at fault for. For example, a bicyclist who was 1% responsible can recover 99% of the damages. States using modified comparative negligence allow people to recover damages only if their share of the fault was less than 50%.

Preventing the accident

Bicyclists are riding smaller and lighter vehicles. Therefore, it’s important to follow all traffic rules and laws at all times. They should also be sober and wearing helmets when riding bikes.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident, contact Graves Thomas Rotunda Injury Law Group today. Our legal team will evaluate your case and help you get the right legal representation so call on (772) 569-8155.

You may be having protected rate benefits if you’ve served in the armed forces. Rest assured that your benefit rates are protected even if you are required to appear for a medical reexamination. This means that it will be very difficult for the VA to reduce or even end your disability benefits.

When Your Rates are Protected

Your rates are protected in the following circumstances:

You’ve had the same rates for at least five years

The only way that the VA can reduce your rates if you’ve had them for at least five consecutive years is if your medical condition has improved substantially. It would need to look at all of the medical evidence concerning your disability. A thorough examination of the medical report wouldn’t suffice. The medical evidence would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your improvement was permanent.

You’ve had the same rates for at least 20 years

If you’ve had the same rates for at least 20 years, the only way that the VA can reduce these is if it can prove that you committed fraud to get the benefits at your current rates. This is rare since the VA has to meet very high standards to prove that this has occurred.

100% ratings

The VA would have to prove that your mental and physical conditions have substantially improved if it wanted to eliminate your benefits entirely. Your medical exam and supporting evidence would have to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt. Slight improvements in your mental and physical conditions would not be enough.

You can help protect your rates if you can get a non-VA doctor to prove and document in a medical reexamination report that neither your physical nor your mental conditions have improved much, if at all.

You can still get your full benefits even if your physical and mental conditions have improved substantially. You just need to be unable to work either full or part-time. You’ll get your full benefits based on “individual employability’ in this instance.

Unprotected benefit rates

Note that the VA still can’t reduce your rates even if they’re not protected. There are some exceptions though:

• Your disability has materially improved
• The improvement allows you to function and work better
• The reexamination report is thorough
• The VA has reviewed your entire medical history.

The VA can temporarily reduce your benefits if you are ever incarcerated

The VA can end your disability benefits when…

The VA normally reduces benefits. It rarely stops them altogether. You can rest assured that your rates will be protected if you’ve been getting them for at least 10 years! The VA can end your benefits completely if it can prove that you either obtained them fraudulently or made a mistake when deciding to give you the benefits. A good example of this would be if the VA gave you benefits even after you had been dishonorably discharged. Termination of benefits is rare and can happen only after the VA gives you written notice of this.

If you have received such a notification, it helps to contact Graves Thomas Rotunda Injury Law Group today at (772) 569-8155.

Florida requires employers to keep their workers safe while working. Some employers may at times breach this requirement – workers are injured as a result. Workplace injuries can occur even when employers have taken every step necessary to keep their workplaces as safe as possible. These injuries often include (but are not limited to) broken bones, pre-existing conditions worsening, occupational illnesses, and psychological injuries. State lawmakers know this and this is why they devised a legal system that helps these workers seek redress.

How You Can Protect Your Rights After Sustaining A Workplace Injury

It’s easy to protect your rights after you are hurt on the job – formally report your injuries to your employer. You generally have a few days to a week after the injury occurs to formally report it.

Next, be sure to file a worker’s comp claim either in one of your state’s worker’s comp or industrial courts. Your employer, his or her worker’s comp insurance company, and the court will be formally notified about your injury when you do this. You’re automatically protected once you file a worker’s comp claim.

What Are Your Rights

The worker’s comp laws in Florida differ from those in other states. This is normal and expected. Your legal rights and the ways that you can exercise those rights after you have been injured while working. Most states have certain laws in common though:

• You have the right to file a worker’s comp claim in a worker’s comp or industrial court.
• You have the right to see a doctor – you have the right to seek medical treatment from that doctor
• You have the right to return to your job if your doctor clears you for work
• You are entitled to receive disability benefits if you are temporarily or permanently disabled and can’t perform your job to the extent that you could before your injuries.
• You have the right to appeal any decision your employer, his or her insurance company, or the court may make with regards to your worker’s comp claim.
• You have the right to have a lawyer represent you in court.

You also have the right to refuse certain requests or offers. One of these would be if your employer tells you to file a claim with your own insurance company to pay for your medical treatment. Note that you can say no if your employer tries to offer you some sort of an incentive to not file a worker’s comp claim because your employer is breaking the law by doing so.

Do I Have Rights With Regard To Other Parties?

You have rights against any third parties that may have caused your workplace injuries. For example, you can file a claim against these parties in any court – worker’s comp or other. You will be filing a third-party claim when and if you do this. These tend to be civil claims. You can file civil claims in state or federal courts.

You can seek personal damages if you are hurt at work and file a civil claim. You don’t have this right if you file a worker’s comp claim. This is because worker’s comp benefits are intended to pay for your medical expenses and lost wages. You generally don’t have the right to seek any other kinds of damages. Third-party claims allow you to seek damages for pain in suffering though. To know more about worker’s compensation benefits in Florida, contact Graves Thomas Rotunda Injury Law Group at (772) 569-8155.