Personal Injury Attorney in Spring Hill, FL

Being involved in an accident that causes you to sustain injuries is an almost inevitable event, regardless of where you live or work in the state of Florida. For example, according to the Office of the Florida State Court Administrator, there were 30,769 auto negligence cases that reached a disposition, which simply means a conclusion, in circuit courts statewide during the 2017-18 fiscal year. Moreover, there were 893 product liability cases, 8,611 premises liability cases, and 766 nursing home neglect cases that reached a disposition during the same time period, and while all of these cases have unique fact patterns, they all fall under the same body of law that is most commonly referred to as personal injury law.

What is Personal Injury Law?

As attorneys that practice personal injury law in Spring Hill, Brooksville, and throughout Hernando County, we often speak with clients that have some misconceptions about which types of cases fall under the umbrella of personal injury law. Personal injury law is a category of legal cases involving a plaintiff that has sustained injuries due to the negligent actions of one or more individuals or entities. 

What is Negligence in Florida? 

The definition of what constitutes negligence or a negligent act often varies from state-to-state. In Florida, the Florida Supreme Court has defined general negligence as the failure to use reasonable care, which is the care that a reasonably careful person would use under like circumstances. Generally, most personal injury cases, such as car accidents, premises liability, and product liability claims, are centered around a negligent act, but not every case of negligence rises to a level that warrants a lawsuit. Your personal injury attorney needs to be able to prove four essential elements in order to prevail when bringing a negligence claim in a court of law. 

• The defendant owed you a duty of care to act in a reasonably careful manner. 
• The defendant breached their duty of care
• Their breach was the proximate cause of the injuries you sustained
• You sustained legally recognized damages

Types of Personal Injury Claims Handled by Peck Law

The personal injury attorneys at Peck Law Firm handle a large range of personal injury cases, and our attorney except cases all throughout Hernando County including Spring Hill, Brooksville, and Withlacoochee, FL. Our practice areas include:

Car Accidents 

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), there were 402,385 car crashes in the state of Florida in 2017. 2,312 of these accidents occurred here in Hernando County, and they were responsible for 2,178 cases of one or more people involved in the accident sustaining some type of injury. As these statistics demonstrate, if you are involved in a car accident in Spring Hill or Hernando County, you will more than likely sustain some type of injury. As such, it’s important for you to not only contact a personal injury attorney who can explain your legal rights and options but to also take certain steps to gather evidence at the scene of the accident that can later be used by your lawyer to strengthen your claim such as:

1. Contact the police and ask them to complete an accident report
2. Obtain the other driver’s insurance information  
3. Take photos of the accident scene, both vehicles, and the other driver’s license plate
4. Get the name and phone number for anyone who witnessed the accident occur
5. Check your surroundings for any cameras that may have captured footage of the accident. 

Moreover, you should always contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after being involved in any type of car accident. The evidence you have gathered will allow your personal injury attorney to build the strongest case possible against the other driver and their insurance company, but any delay in the initiation of your claim can have a negative impact on the strength of your case. 

Truck Accidents

Car accidents involving a commercial or semi truck can often leave both passengers and drivers in other vehicles with serious, if not catastrophic or fatal, injuries. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 4,761 people killed in car accidents involving large trucks in 2017, and 72% of these fatalities were occupants of other vehicles. In Hernando County specifically, the FLHSMV has indicated that there were 200 car crashes involving commercial vehicles, and roughly 50% accidents resulted in one or more people sustaining injuries. 

The reason this type of car accident can cause you to sustain life-altering injuries is due to the sheer size of the truck involved. Moreover, there are a certain percentage of these accidents that are caused by the mental state of the truck driver involved. According to the NHTSA, roughly 3% of the fatal accidents involving a large truck in the U.S. involved a truck driver with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit of .08%, and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has indicated that commercial truck drivers are more likely to drive in a drowsy or fatigued state than normal drivers. However, despite these statistics, trucking companies can often be some of the most adversarial litigants involved a car accident claim due to the substantial insurance policies these companies must carry on their vehicles by law, which is why you should immediately contact a personal injury attorney after being involved in any type of car accident involving large truck or commercial vehicle.  

Pedestrian Accidents

Whether you realize it or not, the population in Hernando County is on the rise. According to the Census Bureau, Hernando County had a population of 172,777 people at the end of 2010. As of 2018, the population of Hernando County had grown to an estimated 190,865, but as the number of people in Spring Hill, Brooksville, and Weeki Wachee continues to grow, the number of car accidents involving pedestrians can only be expected to rise. In fact, according to the FLHSMV, there were 73 car crashes involving pedestrians in Hernando County in 2016 representing 46% increase from the 50 pedestrian accidents that occured in 2015. 

Comparative Fault Laws in Florida

Similar to truck accidents, this type of car accident typically results in the pedestrian sustaining catastrophic or fatal injuries, but what is somewhat shocking to most people is that you, as a pedestrian, can be deemed to be partially or completely at-fault for causing the accident you were involved in. This is due to Florida’s comparative fault law. F.S.§768.81(2) states that in any negligence action, a finding of contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and non-economic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory fault, but does not bar recovery. 

Meaning, if you are found to have been partially responsible for having caused an accident, the amount of compensation you receive for your injuries will be reduced by the percentage of fault you are assigned by a judge or jury in a car accident case. For example, if you are awarded $100,000 in damages for your injuries but you are found to have been 75% responsible for having caused the pedestrian accident, your award will be reduced to $25,000, regardless of the severity of your injuries. 

Effects of Comparative Fault Laws on Pedestrian Accident Claims in Florida

Although Florida’s comparative fault statute applies to all cases involving an accusation of negligence, they are notoriously raised in car accidents involving bicyclists or pedestrians in an effort to diminish the accident victim’s recovery. Due to this, it is critically important for you to employ the services of a personal injury attorney who specializes in cases centered around  these types of accidents, because the driver of the vehicle’s insurance company will begin building a defense as soon as possible following the accident. 

Bicycle Accidents

Bicyclists are a common site on the roads of Hernando County. From cyclists riding on nature trails to bicyclists who use their bikes as a means of transportation in areas like downtown Brooksville or Kass Circle in Spring Hill, it is no secret that a number of Hernando County residents use bicycles for both pleasure and transportation. Unfortunately, most cyclists are very aware that drivers frequently don’t use caution when bicyclists are on the road, but even more importantly, many bicyclists are unaware of their legal rights and obligations when they are riding their bikes on the road. 

F.S.§316.2065(1) states that anyone who is operating a bicycle has all of the same rights and obligations as any other driver on the road except as otherwise provided by law. So, while many of the same rules that apply to motor vehicle operators also apply to you when you are riding a bicycle, there are a few notable exceptions to this rule such as every bicycle used by a bicyclist must have a normal seat, breaks that can bring a bike to a complete stop within 25 feet while your bike is at a speed of ten miles per hour, and certain lamps if the bicycle is being used between sunset and dawn. 

Why Should I Contact a Personal Injury Attorney after a Bicycle Accident?

If you are breaking one or more of these rules at the time of your accident, the at-fault driver or their insurance carrier will often try to use this fact as a basis for claiming that you were partially responsible for your injuries. Due to this possibility, you should always employ the services of a personal injury attorney who can explain your legal rights, evaluate and strengthen your claim, and negotiate with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. 

Uber & Lyft Accidents 

The advent of ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Uber have completely changed the way people travel in Hernando County, and indeed, there are certain benefits that Uber and Lyft drivers offer their passengers by providing them with a method of travel that is both convenient and affordable. However, despite these benefits, ride-sharing companies have an obligation to ensure that their drivers are transporting passengers in a safe manner. The Florida legislature realized the importance of this obligation and passed the “Uber/Lyft Bill” that was signed into law in 2017. 

This law imposed certain requirements that ride-sharing companies must meet in order to operate their service in the state of Florida. While this bill was extensive, some of the most important provisions of Florida’s ride-sharing statute, F.S.§627.748, require companies such as Uber or Lyft to carry special insurance on their drivers, run background checks, and enforce a zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy for their drivers. While these requirements were enacted to protect passengers who use ride-sharing services, they have also made accidents involving an Uber or Lyft driver extremely complex mainly due to the fact that the ride-sharing company’s insurance only covers certain people and types of accidents. Moreover, Uber and Lyft drivers are still considered independent contractors which can add an additional layer of complexity to accidents where these drivers have been deemed to be at-fault. 

Consequently, you should always employ the services of a personal injury attorney that focuses specifically on car accidents involving Uber or Lyft drivers. This type of personal injury attorney can explain and evaluate the specific provisions of Florida’s ride-sharing statute that apply in your unique scenario, and help you reach the best possible resolution to any claim you may have against the ride-sharing company's insurance carrier. 

Drunk Driving Accidents

According to the Center for Disease Control, 10,497 people were killed in drunk driving accidents in the U.S. in 2016, and there were more than a million people arrested for DUI nationwide during the same time period. Despite harsh DUI laws and national campaigns raising awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, impaired drivers still cause a significant amount of car accidents every year. This class of car accidents is viewed differently in the eyes of the law, because the drunk driver is breaking the law at the time of the accident and those criminal actions are normally the root cause of why the accident occurred. 

In these instances, the chances of you being able to bring a successful claim of gross negligence against the drunk driver are substantially higher than normal car accident, because the driver knew or should have known that their actions would more than likely cause your car accident to occur. F.S.§768.72 defines gross negligence as a scenario where a defendant’s conduct was so reckless that it constituted a conscious disregard or indifference to the life, safety, or rights of persons exposed to their behavior. The reason a finding of gross negligence is significant is it allows you to seek punitive damages which can increase the overall value of your claim. However, in order to be successful, you need to employ a personal injury attorney who will initiate and pursue your claim aggressively, because drunk driving accident cases often requires your personal injury lawyer to make several strategic decisions based on the interplay of your civil claim and the criminal cases that are often initiated against the drunk driver. Consequently, employing the services of personal injury attorney that dedicates a portion of their practice to drunk driving cases specifically is a critical aspect of successfully initiating and executing a claim against a drunk driver.   

Premises Liability Claims  

There are certain responsibilities placed on property owners in general in the state of Florida. They have a duty to ensure that their property is safe, free from hazards, and well mainted. When a land owner breaches this duty and causes a visitor to sustain injuries as a result, they can be held liable for damages. The area of personal injury law that deals specifically with this scenario is referred to as premises liability law, but unlike other areas personal injury law, the degree to which a property owner owes you, as a visitor to their premises, a duty of care is highly dependent on the legal category of visitors you fall under at the time of the accident. 

Generally, there are three broad categories of visitors in premises liability law, and the degree of the duty of care owed by a property varies for each category. The Florida Supreme Court defined each category of visitors specifically in the case of Post v. Lunney, 261 So. 2d 146, 147 (Fla.1972). 

• Invitee: Invitees are owed the highest duty of care by a property owner, and they can be divided into two subcategories, public or business invitees. Public invitees were defined in Post as a person who is invited to enter or remain on land as a member of the public for a purpose for which the land is held open to the public. In Contrast, a business invitee is defined as a person who is invited to enter or remain on land for a purpose directly or indirectly connected with business dealings of the property owner.

• Licensee: A licensee is owed the second highest duty of care by a property owner, and this category of visitors can be broadly defined as a person who enters a landowners premises for their own convenience, pleasure, or benefit. 
• Trespasser: Trespassers are owed the lowest duty of care by a property owner. In fact, F.S.§768.075 outlines certain scenarios where a property owner doesn’t owe a duty of care to a trespasser at all, unless the trespasser’s injuries were caused by the land owner’s gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Trespassers, as a category, were defined by the Florida Supreme Court in Post as people who enter a land owner’s premises without license, invitation, or other right, and intrude for some definite purpose of their own, or at their convenience, or merely as an idler with no apparent purpose, other than to satisfy their own curiosity. 

Dog Attacks

Premises liability claims can take many forms, but some premises liability claims are governed by specific provisions of Florida law such as dog bite cases. Similar to property owners in general, pet owners have an obligation to ensure that their dog does not injure a human or other animal. F.S.§767.01 specifically indicates that a dog owner is liable for damages caused by their dog to a human or to another domestic animal or livestock, as defined by F.S.§585.01. 

However, the liability of dog owners is not unlimited. For example, if you were bitten by a dog while you were on private property illegally, the pet owner could argue that you are not entitled to recover damages under the provisions of F.S.§767.04, which states that a pet owner is liable for damages caused by a dog bite or attack to an individual that is legally in a private place. Moreover, dog owners can minimize or eliminate their liability for damages you incurred due to a dog attack on the land owner’s property by hanging certain signs. Due to the specific rules that govern dog bites and premises liability claims in general, you should always contact a personal injury attorney who can gather evidence to strengthen your claim, explain your legal rights, and determine whether or not you have a viable claim given the circumstances surrounding the dog attack. 

Slip and Fall Claims 

Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common and well known types of events that cause a plaintiff to initiate a premises liability claim, but despite this fact, you might have a few misconceptions about the laws governing slip and fall accident claims in Florida. The most important thing to remember regarding slip and fall accidents is that the category of visitors you fall under at the time of the accident still matters. Moreover, Florida’s slip and fall statute, F.S.768.0755, outlines the standard for successfully proving a business should be held liable for damages you incurred due to a slip and fall accident. Specifically, your personal injury attorney will have to demonstrate that the business actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to remedy it.   

As such, you should always take steps to document the circumstances surrounding how the accident occurred such as taking photos of the substance that caused you to fall and the surrounding area, obtaining the contact information for anyone who witnessed the accident, and seeking medical attention to properly document your injuries. Remember, a slip and fall injury can be serious. According to the Center for Disease Control, one out of every five falls causes a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury, and falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the U.S. Due to this, you should always get evaluated by a physician after being involved in a slip and fall accident and contact a personal injury attorney that handles slip and fall accident claims, because any delay in the claims process could have a negative effect on the strength of your claim.  

Negligent Security  

When you enter a business, you are often doing so in the capacity of an invitee, and as a result, the business owner owes you a high duty of care that includes keeping you safe from criminals. Many business owners, however, neglect their duty to keep you safe by incorporating sub-par, if not non-existent, security on their premises. When this occurs, you may be able to hold the business owner liable for injuries you incurred as a result of their failure to keep and maintain adequate security for their business, but negligent security claims do not always involve a clear case of negligence on the part of the business owner. 

For example, F.S.§768.0705 states that the owner or operator of a convenience business that substantially implements the applicable security measures listed in F.S.§812.173 and F.S.§812.174 shall gain a presumption against liability in connection with criminal acts that occur on the premises and that are committed by third parties who are not employees or agents of the owner or operator of the convenience business. This provision of Florida law and others demonstrate that business owners can take steps to limit their liability in negligent security cases. As such, you should always contact a personal injury attorney who can evaluate your claim and protect your legal interests if you have been the victim of a crime at a business. This area of personal injury law can be particularly complex, which is why employing the services of a legal professional to assist you with your claim is an investment that can increase the likelihood that your claim will reach a positive resolution. 

Product Liability Claims

As a society, we place a certain amount of trust in the companies that design and manufacture the products we purchase on a day-to-day basis, but unfortunately, there are companies that create products that are unsafe and can cause you to sustain injuries even if the product is being used as intended. For example, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 251,700 toy-related injuries treated in emergency rooms nationwide in 2017, and there were 13 toy-related deaths during the same time period. While some of these injuries or deaths were more than likely caused factors unrelated to the design of the toy, others undoubtedly were. 

Consequently, when you are injured due to a defective product, Florida law allows you to seek compensation for your injuries from the manufacturer or assembler of the unsafe product. Generally, there are three categories of defective products:

• Design Defects- A defect or error in the design of the product 
• Manufacturing Defect- A defect or error in the manufacture or assembly of a product 
• Failure to Warn- A failure on the part of the manufacturer of a product to warn about the dangers associated with regular use of the product.

While the defect in a product may be easily ascertained, product liability cases can be extremely complicated and contentious due to the fact that the manufacturer or designer of a product has a financial incentive to prove that their product is not unsafe or defective. If a product is found to be unsafe or defective, the cost to a manufacturer or designer can extend beyond the funds paid to you as a result of a lawsuit. The product might have to be recalled, discontinued, or redesigned. Moreover, even if a manufacturer or designer doesn’t have to stop selling a product that was found to be defective, the company will often experience a sharp decline in sales as a result of a successful lawsuit. Consequently, you should always contact a personal injury that focuses specifically on product liability claims in order to determine the type of defect the product has and whether or not you can bring a viable claim against the product manufacturer. 

Nursing Home Abuse 

As of July 1, 2014, there were 46.2 million Americans age 65 or older living in the U.S. according to the Census Bureau. These Americans are our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and grandmothers, and as the incoming generation, you want to ensure that the last portion of your loved one’s life cycle is enjoyable and carefree, which is why many families place their loved ones in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. In fact according to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), there were 3.2  million Americans living in nursing homes as of 2008, and 900,000 senior citizens living in assisted living facilities during the same time period. 

However, despite the enormous amount of trust your family has placed in these facilities to care for your family member(s) and keep them safe, nursing home or elder abuse in the U.S. is a serious problem. According to a study of 2,000 nursing home residents referenced by the NCEA, 44% of the residents stated that they had been abused, and 95% of the residents stated that they had witnessed someone else being abused. Moreover, in a study conducted in 2009, 50% of nursing home staff admitted to mistreating older patients during the year prior to the study, and ⅔ of those incidents involved neglect. 

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse 

These statistics are truly appalling, and they demonstrate why you should always contact a personal injury attorney that handles nursing home abuse cases if you ever suspect your loved one has been abused in a nursing home or assisted living facility. Additionally, there are certain signs of elder abuse that you should always be watching for if you have a loved one in an assisted living facility such as:

• Trouble sleeping 
• Your loved one seems depressed or confused
• Sudden weight loss for no reason
• Exhibiting signs of trauma such as rocking back and forth 
• Your family member acts agitated or violent

Wrongful Death Claims

There is nothing more tragic than losing a family member due to an accident caused by another person’s negligence. Unfortunately, instances of wrongful deaths happen far to often in the U.S. According to the CDC, 161,374 people died nationwide due to unintentional injuries, and 40,327 of these fatalities were due to car accidents alone. When these fatal accidents occur, the law allows the family members of the deceased to bring a claim against the negligent party that caused their family member’s untimely passing. 

It’s important to understand that any personal injury claim can evolve into a wrongful death claim if the injured person passes away from the injuries they sustained in an accident or case of negligence, but there are very specific rules that dictate who can initiate a wrongful death claim and the types of damages you can seek from the negligent party. Family members such as spouses, children, and parents are permitted to initiate a wrongful death suit in certain scenarios, but in order to be successful, you will often need the assistance of a legal professional with a thorough understanding of Florida’s wrongful death laws. Moreover, it’s important for you to begin building your wrongful death case as soon as possible, because F.S.§95.11 imposes a two year statute of limitations on wrongful death actions that begins on the day that your family member passed away. 

Personal Injury Lawyer in Spring Hill, FL 

Getting injured in an accident, losing a loved one due to negligence, or finding out that a family member has been abused in a nursing home can be a life-changing event, but you don’t have to face this difficult time alone. At Peck Law Firm, our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to helping you seek the compensation you deserve for your injuries, and our practice is operated on a contingency fee basis, which means that if our attorneys don’t recover money for your injuries, you don’t have to pay any attorney’s fees or costs. 

Don’t let an accident ruin your future. Call the personal injury attorneys at Peck Law Firm today for a free confidential case evaluation and take the first step in seeking justice in your personal injury claim.