Nolo's Lawyer Directory: Find a Personal Injury Lawyer

Information you will find at this website includes:

1.    Florida personal injury attorneys, injury lawyers and wrongful death attorneys.
2.    Florida Workers Compensation Lawyers (for on the job injuries)
3.    Medical Malpractice Attorneys and Lawyers (for lawsuits against doctors and hospitals)
4.    Pharmaceutical Attorneys and Lawyers (for lawsuits arising out of harmful or dangerous drugs)
5.    Products Liability Attorneys and Lawyers (for lawsuits from damages caused by faulty or dangerous products)

Legal Forms - a multitude of legal forms available for download.

Florida Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation

A personal injury is described as any harm caused to a person, such as a broken bone, a cut, a bruise or slander. Any type of bodily injury as a result of an attack, negligence, or accident can also be categorized as the same, and you can file a lawsuit in Florida to recover damages from whoever is responsible for your personal injuries. A Florida personal injury lawyer or accident attorney can assist you in evaluating the dollar value and potential recovery from such a Florida personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Some of the most common types of legal claims for a personal injury or wrongful death handled by Florida Personal Injury and General Negligence lawyers and attorneys and other Florida accident attorneys and lawyers include traffic accidents and motorized vehicle collisions of all kinds, including auto accidents, truck accidents, bus accidents, motorcycle accidents, car accidents, plane crashes, airline and aviation accidents. This type of legal action includes premises liability claims including pedestrian accidents, slip and fall and trip and fall injuries in stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores, dog bites and animal attacks, and other dangerous conditions of premises  liability cases, medical malpractice and dental malpractice and all medical negligence claims against doctors, hospitals, and other medical personnel, including those against negligent Florida doctors, Florida hospitals, chiropractors, surgeons, dentists, pharmacies, pharmacists and other Florida medical care providers.

Also included in the lawsuits for personal injuries and wrongful death that can result in your recovering damages for your personal injury or the wrongful death of your loved one are construction accidents, construction site injuries and work related injuries, whether under Florida personal injury law, Florida workers compensation law, or both. Such work injuries and industrial accidents and traffic accidents may include back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck injuries, spinal cord injuries, knee injuries, brain injuries, and all other orthopedic injuries. Florida personal injury lawyers and attorneys handle workers compensation claims for continuous trauma injuries, also known as repetitive stress or repetitive strain injuries, Florida products liability cases including defective products, defectively designed or dangerous consumer products as well as defective drugs and defective pharmaceutical products and other Florida products liability law suits, and other very serious personal injury matters including wrongful death, spinal cord injury cases, brain injuries and birth trauma injuries and cerebral palsy lawsuits.

Nolo's Lawyer Directory: Find a Personal Injury Lawyer

When an auto insurance company or other liability insurance company wrongfully fails to pay you money owed for your personal injury or pays you too little for the personal injuries you have suffered, you may have a case against the auto insurance company or liability insurance company for bad faith refusal to settle your claim for personal injury. This can include most any type of insurance issued in Florida, including auto insurance, medical insurance, health insurance, life insurance, double and triple indemnity policies, injury insurance, liability policies, homeowner policies and many other types of policies. 

Some Florida personal injury attorneys and lawyers also specialize in insurance bad faith lawsuits.  If you feel that you have not been treated properly by the auto insurance company or liability insurance company for your personal injury, you should contact a Florida personal injury lawyer who handles insurance bad faith claims against auto and liabiltiy insurance companies.

Florida Aviation Accident Attorneys

F.E.L.A. Federal Employers' Liability Act Florida Serious Injury Lawyers

FELA Overview

Maritime Law & Jones Act - Florida Injury Attorneys and Lawyers

Maritime law is a wide-ranging area of law covering all navigable waterways, and even though federal courts have primary jurisdiction, maritime law also can be tried in the Florida courts. It can include environmental issues, shipping collisions, negligent production, design and construction of water craft, injuries to seamen aboard vessels, such as slip and fall, or injuries from equipment aboard the vessel, and numerous other problems, including wrongful death on the high seas in the waters surrounding Florida or navigable waters within Florida. Because of being a penisula with water on three sides, and many navigable rivers in the state, maritime law and the Jones Act are very important areas of legal practice in the State of Florida.

Jones Act litigation is basically workers compensation law for seamen, and people who suffer a personal injury as a result of an accident while on a sea going vessel, or for the wrongful death of someone on a ocean vessel, yet it does not contain the limitations of Florida workers compensation law. The Jones Act covers anyone working on a vessel on "navigable waterways", which has been broadly interpreted by the federal and Florida courts to include just about any body of water, including lakes, rivers and oceans.  Florida personal injury lawyers and attorneys with special legal expertise in the Jones Act and other maritime laws should be consulted if you suffer a personal injury, or a loved one experiences a wrongful death, while on a boat, ship or other waterborne vessel, regardless of whether you are on a lake, river or in the ocean.  An experienced Florida lawyer with legal expertise with the Jones Act can help you determine if you have a legitimate claim that will result in a recovery of money for your personal injury or the wrongful death of your loved one.

• Did (a Florida public entity) own or control the real property where the personal injury or wrongful death causing accident occurred?
• Was the Florida real property in a dangerous condition at the time of the accident that caused the personal injury or wrongful death? 
• Did the dangerous condition create a reasonably foreseeable risk that this kind of accident causing the personal injury or wrongful death would occur? 
• Did the negligent or wrongful conduct of (name of defendants) employee acting within the scope of his or her employment create the dangerous condition or did (the Florida public entity) have notice of the dangerous condition for a long enough time for (the Florida public entity) to help protect it against it before it caused the personal injury or wrongful death suffered?
• Was the dangerous condition a substantial factor in causing the harm to the person injured, or the wrongful death?

In bringing a lawsuit against a Florida public entity, a number of immunities and defenses apply against the legal claim for personal injury or wrongful death. Any highway design lawsuit for personal injuries or wrongful death against a Florida public entity must be carefully researched to determine whether it could be maintained on the facts and proper interpretation of the Florida highway design law.

If you have suffered serious personal injuries, or the wrongful death of a loved one, as a result of faulty design or faulty maintenance of a Florida highway, intersection, or road, you should contact an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer or attorney to evaluate your legal claim and whether you can recover money for your personal injury or wrongful death.  Most Florida personal injury attorneys and lawyers will provide you a free, no-cost, no-obligation evaluation of your personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Nolo's Lawyer Directory: Find a Personal Injury Lawyer

Construction Site Injury & Wrongful Death Florida Lawyers and Attorneys

Working at a construction site is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. In 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1226 fatal incidents in the construction industry. General unskilled laborers are the group most at risk of suffering a personal injury, accounting for 27% of construction site wrongful deaths. Ironworkers and roofers also experienced high rates of personal injury and wrongful death.

Another 415,000 workers were personally injured or contracted illnesses on construction sites, many of them incurring serious disability and career-ending injuries. Among the skilled construction trades, framers, foundation workers, and those involved in exterior construction suffered the highest rates of personal injury.

Back injuries are the most frequently occurring personal injuries on construction sites. Arms, legs, and hands are the next most frequent kinds of personal injuries. Falls are the greatest cause of wrongful deaths on construction sites.

The chief causes of construction site personal injuries and wrongful death are unsafe work practices and unsafe work site conditions. These most often are caused by employers’ failure to comply with federal and Florida mandated safety practices, failure to provide adequate safety equipment such as scaffolding, safety harnesses and fall protection devices, failure to provide safe and properly functioning tools and machinery, use of worn and failing cables, and trenches that have not been properly graded and shored. Excessive work schedules without adequate rest breaks and work in inclement weather and poor visibility also increase the risks workers face for personal injuries.

If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury or wrongful death on a construction site, you should consult with an experienced Florida construction accident attorney or lawyer to determine what are your rights and whether you may be entitled to recover money damages under Florida law for your personal injury or the wronful death of your loved one. 

The information contained in this web site, TheFloridaPersonalInjuryLawyer.net, is provided as a service to the Internet community, and does not constitute legal advice. We try to provide quality information, but we make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to this web site. As legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and laws are constantly changing, nothing provided herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel. Advertising paid for by participating attorneys.

TheFloridaPersonalInjuryLawyer.net is not a Florida attorney, lawyers, law firm or lawyer referral service.

TheFloridaPersonInjuryLawyer.net does not receive any portion of any Florida lawyer's or law firm's fees and any arrangements subsequently made by you and any Florida personal injury lawyer or accident attorney, lawyer or law firm are strictly between you and such party and do not involve TheFloridaPersonalInjuryLawyer.net in any way.

• Before buying or selling real estate
• Before signing a contract with major financial provisions
• Before making a will, or trust, or planning your estate, or need medicaid planning 
• Before organizing a business
• Whenever you are arrested or charged with a crime
• When you are involved in an auto or other accident in which there is significant personal injury or damage to persons or property
• When there are changes in your family status marriage, adoption, divorce
• When you have tax problems or questions
• When a lawsuit is brought against you, or you want to bring a lawsuit against someone

HOW DO I FIND A FLORIDA LAWYER?

Florida has more than 88,000 licensed lawyers and attorneys practicing in the state. The phone book lists page after page of Florida lawyers' and attorneys' names. How do you know which one is right for you?

Make a careful search for your Florida lawyer or attorney, it's an important decision. Your goal should be to find a Florida attorney or lawyer you are comfortable with as a person and as a professional. Many legal matters involve personal considerations and your Florida attorney or lawyer often will need to know confidential information about you, your family and your finances to be truly effective in serving you.

In your preliminary research, you should focus on compiling a list of the names of Florida lawyers and attorneys who may be qualified to handle your case. Your "follow-up" research will include making phone calls to those Florida attorneys' or lawyers' offices then visiting one or a few to find the Florida attorney or lawyer you want to handle your case or other legal matter.

To begin, consider a Florida lawyer's or attorney's reputation. Have you heard people speak highly of a particular Florida attorney's or lawyer's talents or work? Think about your acquaintances who are, or may know, Florida lawyers and attorneys. Ask those who work with Florida attorneys and lawyers in their profession, or someone whose opinion you respect such as an employer, an attorney or lawyer at your workplace, banker, teacher, minister, doctor or other professional, relative, neighbor or other friend.

The best recommendations often come from people who hired a Florida lawyer or attorney to successfully resolve a problem similar to yours.

A new and growing development in Florida and other states are prepaid legal services plans. Through a prepaid legal program an individual or group pays a premium something like health insurance to receive such services as free consultations and advice, with prescribed fees for follow-up services. Before hiring a Florida attorney or before you even think you might need one you should check to see if your employer, union or other organization of which you are a member offers a prepaid legal service plan as a benefit.

Many local bar groups in Florida sponsor lawyer referral services, listed under "attorney" or "attorney referral services" in the yellow pages of the telephone book. These services can set up an initial appointment for you with a Florida lawyer or attorney for a nominal fee (local Bar-sponsored program charges between $25 to $50).

If there is no Florida lawyer or attorney referral service in your city, The Florida Bar's statewide service can locate a Florida attorney or lawyer for you. You can call this service toll-free at 1-800-342-8011. The statewide service, which operates only in cities where there is no local program, will refer you to a Florida attorney or lawyer for an initial half-hour consultation for $25.

Relatively new methods for helping people find Florida attorneys and laywers are commercial lawyer and attorney referral services, which usually pool lawyers' marketing resources to advertise a central toll-free number. When potential clients call, they are referred to one of the Florida attorneys who has signed up for the service.

Most areas in Florida also have legal aid and public defender offices which provide legal help without cost, or at a nominal fee to persons who cannot afford to pay a Florida lawyer. Legal aid offices provide advice in some non-criminal cases such as those relating to small money claims for wages; disputes between borrowers and lenders; landlord-tenant problems; and domestic relations matters. Public defender offices handle criminal cases for indigent persons.

A potential client can also use regional, state or national directories of Florida lawyers, attorneys and law firms, some containing detailed biographical information and client listings. These volumes some specially produced for consumer education, and others used by lawyers to identify attorneys and lawyers in other localities can often be found in public libraries.

Lists of recommended Florida attorneys and lawyers are also circulated within special interest groups. If you are a member of such a group, ask if they have such a roster.

Aside from this information, some Florida lawyers and attorneys are now using consumer advertising on radio and television, and in newspapers, magazines and other media to inform the public of their services and charges for certain routine legal matters.

TYPES OF LAWYERS

All attorneys who practice law in Florida have undergone extensive character and fitness checks, a rigorous examination and are required to meet certain requirements for continuing legal education. Each member attorney shall complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of approved continuing legal education activity every 3 years. Five of the hours must be in the area of legal ethics or professionalism, including approved substance abuse and mental illness awareness programs.

Some Florida lawyers and attorneys operate this law business by themselves, while others are in Florida law firms with various numbers of Florida attorneys and lawyers. They may have a general practice, handling a variety of legal problems, or concentrate their knowledge and skills in one or more specific areas of the law, such as Florida personal injury, real estate, estate planning, wills and trusts, commercial or tax law.

Some Florida lawyers operate legal clinics many conveniently located in shopping areas or within national chain stores where you can get help with relatively simple matters such as an uncontested divorce or a routine will. They often can charge less by working on a volume basis using simple forms and focusing on routine but important services.

BOARD CERTIFIED LAWYERS

While many qualified Florida lawyers are not board certified, board certification is one way to decide if a Florida lawyer or attorney is right for you.

In 1982, the Florida Supreme Court adopted a certification program through which Florida lawyers and attorneys can qualify by examination in many different fields. A Florida lawyer or attorney certified in one of these fields is a recognized practitioner, considered to have advanced knowledge and skills in that particular field of law.

To become a certified specialist, a Florida lawyer must: be an active member in good standing of The Florida Bar; have practiced law for a minimum of 5 years; pass a written examination in the specialty area; be favorably evaluated as to ability and experience in the specialty field by Florida judges and other Florida lawyers; and exhibit outstanding character, ethics, and a reputation for professionalism.

A Florida attorney's certification remains valid for 5 years. To renew certification, the Florida attorney must generally meet the same requirements as for initial certification.


I HAVE ATTORNEYS' NAMES, NOW WHAT?

• Once you have a list of one or more attorneys or lawyers, call their offices. Briefly explain your situation and ask:
• If the Florida lawyer or attorney has experience with your kind of problem
• If the Florida attorney or lawyer charges for an initial interview and, if so, how much?
• If your problem is routine, does the Florida attorney have a standard fee? What does it cover?
• If your problem appears more complicated, ask about hourly fees.
• Does the Florida lawyer have a written agreement describing fees and services provided for the fees?
• Write down the information and compare the answers you receive. Then, call back for an appointment to interview the Florida attorney or attorneys whose answers satisfied you the most. Most of these "initial consultations" are free or provided at a nominal cost.
• Go to the first interview with an open mind. You don't have to decide to employ the Florida lawyer you are interviewing until you have had time to think about it.

Be organized when you first meet with the Florida lawyer. It is important to have with you a written summary or detailed notes outlining your problem; the names, addresses and phone numbers of all parties and witnesses and their Florida lawyers and insurance companies if you know them; and all documents which may relate to your case such as receipts, contracts, medical bills, repair estimates, checks, etc. Some lawyers may ask you to deliver photocopies of written materials in advance of your first interview so the lawyer can review them in advance.

Ask questions. Write them down before you visit the Florida lawyer's office. Here are a few that may be helpful:

• Have you had experience with this type of problem before? How recently? How often? What was involved?
• What percentage of your practice is devoted to this kind of problem?
• Will you actually be working on my case? In what way? Will any other persons be doing work on my case? What will they do? How will it affect my fee or relations with you?
• Will you talk to me in plain English when I do not understand "legalese"?
• Will you provide me copies of all documents and letters received or written in my case? Will you treat this as an out-of-pocket expense or will you want me to pay for it in advance? Will you allow me access to my case file at your office?
• Will you keep me informed about all developments in my case? For important things, will you allow me to make the final decision?
• Will you send monthly billing statements?
• Are you willing to submit any fee disputes to binding arbitration?
• One way to judge a Florida lawyer's competence is by the amount of time he or she devotes to keeping up with changes in the law through continuing legal education. Ask questions to see if the Florida lawyer you're thinking of hiring keeps up with changing laws.

Remember: When you hire a Florida lawyer, the lawyer will be working for you. He or she should be genuinely interested in your problem and in giving you the best possible advice. The Florida lawyer or attorney may not be able to accomplish everything you wish because of the facts or the law that apply in your case. Many times a good Florida attorney or lawyer will advise you to avoid court action. A Florida lawyer should be able to explain, in terms you can understand, what he or she hopes to accomplish for you and how he or she plans to do it.

Think about how the Florida lawyer responded to your questions, his or her experience and whether you will be able to work with the lawyer.

If you are satisfied with the interview so far, tell the Florida lawyer everything about your problem, including facts which may be unfavorable or embarrassing to you. Unless you are completely candid, the lawyer will be unable to advise you properly.

Strict rules prohibit the Florida lawyer from repeating to anyone what you say, unless you admit any ongoing or planned criminal activity.

Next, you may want to ask the Florida lawyer questions such as:

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of my case?
• What would you advise me to do about my situation?
• Can a timetable be set for my case?
• If I hire you, what will you be doing for me, and when and how will we get back in touch with each other?
• Is there a statute of limitations, or legal deadline in my case that we must be careful not to miss?

WHAT ABOUT THE FEE?

Discuss fees frankly with the Florida attorney or lawyer, preferably at your first meeting.

Often, a Florida lawyer or attorney cannot tell you exactly what the charge will be because it is difficult to estimate how much work is going to be involved. But Florida lawyers can usually estimate the minimum and maximum limits of the fee for that particular work, or give you some idea of the problems involved and the time that will be required.

The timetable for paying legal fees depends on arrangements between the lawyer and client. Usually, Florida attorneys and lawyers require an advance payment, often called a retainer, to cover the initial work and court costs to be paid on your behalf. In other matters, you will be billed at the end of the month, or at the completion of the service, for services and disbursements. Be sure to discuss your plans for payment with the Florida attorney when you discuss the fee.

A Florida lawyer usually makes only a nominal charge, if any, for your first office visit. Only when actual time is spent working on a matter do Florida lawyers charge a fee. Then charges are usually influenced by the time and work involved, the difficulty of the problem, the dollar amount involved, the result, and the Florida lawyer's experience.

In some cases, your Florida lawyer or attorney may take the case on a contingent fee basis. This is especially true for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. This means that if your suit is successful, the lawyer receives a percentage of the amount recovered for you, plus out-of-pocket expenses for filing fees, reports and the like. If it is not successful, he or she receives only these expenses.

As with any other business relationship, fees and costs are important matters that can breed future problems if there are misunderstandings. Provisions for binding arbitration may be included in your Fee Agreement. A WRITTEN FEE AGREEMENT IS ALWAYS ADVISABLE.

WHAT IF I AM NOT PLEASED WITH MY LAWYER?

If you aren't happy with the way the Florida attorney you've hired is handling your case, you have the right to dismiss him or her and find another. You will probably be responsible for paying for time and costs associated with your case to that point, so it's not a step to be taken lightly. That's also why it's important to read and understand any contract for services you may have signed with a Florida attorney to understand what your financial responsibilities are if you decide to take your case elsewhere.

Once your case has progressed to the point where the Florida attorney has appeared on your behalf, a Florida judge usually must approve a decision to take an attorney off a case.

Many times, a client's problem with a Florida attorney is a communications problem. If this is so, you should certainly let your Florida attorney know of your displeasure and see if a solution can be reached before firing the Florida attorney or making any formal complaint.

If you feel a Florida attorney has not acted properly or ethically in your case, you have the right to file a complaint against that attorney with The Florida Bar. The Bar, under the direction of the Supreme Court of Florida, is charged with prosecuting unethical Florida attorneys.

If you feel that a Florida attorney has billed you improperly for services performed or has failed to refund an unearned portion of an advance payment, you may request that the dispute be submitted to arbitration. The Florida Bar maintains a statewide Fee Arbitration Program to assist in resolving fee disputes without the necessity of litigation.

For more information about the complaint process, call the Bar's Attorney Consumer Assistance Program at (866) 352-0707 or (850) 561-5673.

This information represents general legal information. Since the Florida personal injury law is continually changing, some provisions in this information may be out of date. It is always best to consult a Florida personal injury attorney or accident lawyer about your legal rights and responsibilities regarding your particular legal case.