Personal injury is an area of law where a claim or lawsuit is brought on behalf of someone who sustains an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury or damage to a person’s property. A personal injury lawsuit is type of civil matter called a tort. This means that there is no jail time is at stake, but rather the lawsuit is about money. A personal injury can happen many different ways. Most commonly a personal injury claim occurs when someone is hurt because of someone else’s negligence. But sometimes the personal injury can happen as a result of an intentional act, such as a physical assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress or defamation. A person or a company can be found to be liable for a personal injury, thus requiring them to pay compensatory damages, and in some cases punitive damages. Punitive damages are additional penalties for especially dangerous conduct that shows a conscious disregard for the someone’s life or safety.
The most common types of personal injury cases are car accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, pedestrians being hit by vehicles, slip and falls, trip and falls, and injuries caused by defective products like bad pharmaceutical drugs, dangerous machinery, recalled vehicles, and faulty medical devices. The term personal injury also includes wrongful death, medical malpractice by doctors and hospitals and cruise ship, boat and airplane injuries. Just about any type of an injury or death caused by someone else’s fault is a potential personal injury lawsuit. In Florida most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within four years if based in negligence. But cases involving medical malpractice and wrongful death have a two year statute of limitations. Florida’s stautes of limitations are codified in FLA. STAT. 95.11.
Attorney Alex Perkins has been a Miami personal injury lawyer for 15 years and has handled just about every type of personal injury case. If you or a loved one was injured as a result of someone else’s negligent or intentional acts, call Attorney Alex Perkins at 305-741-LAWS(5297)
