(This information
is not meant to be a substitute
for an in-depth legal opinion)
How long is the
Statute of Limitations in Florida for a personal injury claim...in
general situations?
- If the claim is
based on General Negligence causing injury without death...then a lawsuit
must be filed within flour (4) years of the date of the injury.
- If the claim is
based on the Wrongful Death of someone due to general negligence...a
lawsuit must be filed within two (2) years of the date of death.
- If the claim is
based on injury or death caused by Professional Negligence (which
includes Medical Malpractice and Legal Malpractice)...then a lawsuit
must be filed within two (2) years of the date you knew of or should
have known of the negligence, and in no event can a lawsuit be filed
more than four (4) years after the date the negligent event occurred
(unless fraud occurred preventing the discovery of the malpractice).
If I have a claim
based on Medical Malpractice, can we immediately file a lawsuit?
No. Florida
Statutes require that we first obtain all the relevant medical
records. We must hire medical providers, who are similar to the
type that we plan to sue, as experts, to review the medical records
and relevant information, and to make an independent determination as
to whether or not there was a breach in the appropriate standard of
medical care, and whether that breach caused injury. If the medical experts sign an Affidavit attesting to those facts, we
then put the medical professionals we plan to sue on notice of our
intent to initiate a lawsuit, by sending them the expert's Affidavits
and our own letter, which then stops the two (2) year Statute of
Limitations clock for ninety (90) days. These ninety (90) days
are called the "pre-suit period", within which the medical
providers we plan to sue are able to contact their own insurance
companies, who then contact their own experts to review the same
medical records and claim. If no offer is made to settle the
case at the end of the ninety (90) day period, and/or the defendants
deny the claim, then we are finally able to file a lawsuit.
If you do not win a
settlement or a trail verdict for me, will I owe you, my attorney, any
money?
No. We, the
attorneys, take the risk in investing time and money in developing the
case. We would not do so unless we believe that your case had
merit. However, not every case ends in a favorable
conclusion. If we were not to win any money for you, you would
not owe us any money, since we took the risk in representing you and
developing your case.
What kind of
Damages can I claim if there was an injury or death that led to a legal
claim?
- If the claim is
based on personal injuries: the damages that we would request
would be the past and future economic damages and the past and
future non-economic damages. The economic damages consist of
lost wages or loss of earning capacity, along with past and future
medical bills. The non-economic damages include pain,
suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and certain things such as
permanent disfigurement, inconvenience, etc.
In addition, the
Spouse of the injured person has their own claim for "loss of
consortium"...which means loss of the services that the injured
person used to perform and/or the loss of the intimacy of their
relationship.
- If the claim is
based on a death: then there are certain "survivors"
that are designated under the law who can make a claim for their own
damages. The survivors have a claim for their pain and
suffering in the loss of their relationship with the deceased.
In addition, the deceased person's Estate has its own claim for the
loss of net accumulations (net earnings that the person would have
earned but for their death), as well as for funeral and burial
expenses.
Do I have a right
to be kept informed about the progress of my case?
Yes, of
course. Our law firm is known for the close, personal
relationships that we attempt to develop with the clients that we
represent. Besides an attorney representing you, you will also
have a paralegal assigned full-time to your case. That paralegal
will know the status of everything that has happened and will be
happening, and they are available for your calls at any hour during
normal business operations. In addition, the attorney
representing you will make all reasonable efforts to keep you
personally informed as to what progress is occurring on your
case. The attorney representing you will be quick in returning
your telephone calls, and we are always available for in-person case
updates as needed for each client. In other words....you will
not be left wondering, "what is going on with my case?"
Are you willing and
able to invest sufficient money in the development of my case, if I hire
you to represent me?
Yes. The
philosophy of our law firm is that money well spent is a good
investment for the client. We believe that, to achieve maximum
compensation for each claim, that we have to spend the money that
it takes to maximize that recovery. Therefore, we are used to
employing experts who will help define and maximize the damages that
we can seek. We are used to employing medical artists who do
medical/legal drawings to illustrate the types of injuries and/or
negligence that occurred in the case. However, certain cases
will end up with a higher "net" return to our clients when
we do not spend much in regard to that case, since the costs that we
forward on each case are eventually paid back to us at the time of
recovery. Therefore, we work very hard to balance the amount of
money spent on each case with the anticipated settlement or trial
value that that case has, so that we can maximize the "net"
recovery to the client.
Will Peter J.
Brudny represent me/us if I/we specifically request that he represent
us, and no other attorney at the firm?
Yes. Any
client who specifically requests that Mr. Brudny represent them will
be accommodated. Furthermore, if another attorney at our law
firm is representing you, Mr. Brudny will be continually interacting
with that other attorney and providing his input into how the case
could reach its maximum compensation to you, our client.
Are insurance
companies our enemies?
No. First of
all, without insurance companies, life as we know it would not exist
since no one would be willing to take huge risks, personally, without
being able to afford the consequences. Nevertheless, however,
insurance companies are in the business of trying to maximize their
profit, which means (sometimes) trying to pay as little as possible
for each and every claim that they have. Fortunately, most
insurance adjusters are very ethical and hard-working people, who have
a very difficult job in trying to assess what are the "real"
damages in any given claim, as opposed to the "exaggerated"
damages that may exist in a small number of claims.
As a former
insurance adjuster for some years, prior to going to law school, Peter
J. Brudny is very aware of what the needs are of insurance adjusters,
and how to try to satisfy those needs while still fighting for the
fair value that each client deserves in their claim and/or case.
