Panama City Personal Injury Lawyers

Committed to Your Complete Recovery 

Being involved in an accident or suffering a serious injury can completely change your life. Even a seemingly minor incident can have far-reaching effects, impacting everything from your ability to return to work to your future financial security. When someone else was responsible for causing your injury, you have the right to take legal action. By filing a personal injury claim, you can seek fair financial compensation for the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of your injury. 

At the Law Office of J.J. Talbott, our Panama City personal injury lawyers have decades of experience helping victims of serious accidents and life-altering injuries fight for the justice they were owed. To date, we have recovered more than $100 million in total compensation for our clients. Our founding attorney, J.J. Talbott is among just 1% of practicing attorneys to earn membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a distinction reserved for those who have secured multimillion-dollar results for their clients. 

No matter how challenging your case may be, you can rely on the Law Office of J.J. Talbott to fight for every penny you deserve. Get in touch with us today to learn more during a no-obligation consultation and case review.

Call (850) 695-8331 or contact us online to get started.

Your Rights Under Florida’s Personal Injury Laws

Florida’s personal injury laws grant you the right to seek financial compensation when you have been injured due to the negligent or wrongful conduct of another. If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, you will have to prove that your injury meets the state’s “serious injury” threshold in order to go outside the no-fault auto insurance system and bring a claim directly against a negligent driver or their insurance company. 

Additionally, you must prove each of the following elements: 

• The defendant owed you a duty of care 
• The defendant breached the duty of care (usually by acting negligently or wrongfully) 
• You were injured because of the defendant’s negligent or wrongful conduct 
• You suffered measurable damages for which you can be compensated

The point of filing a personal injury claim is to recover compensation for the various losses, or damages, you sustained as a result of the incident. This can include things like medical bills, medication costs, lost wages, lost earning ability, and pain and suffering. A successful claim also allows you to hold the liable party accountable for the harm they have caused you and your family. 

How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida? 

Like all other states, Florida has what is known as a “statute of limitations” on nearly all personal injury lawsuits. A statute of limitations is a deadline by which you must file your claim in court and, in Florida, it is four years from the date of injury. This means that you have just four years from the date on which you were injured or learned about your injury to sue the liable party for damages. If you wait too long, you could lose your right to seek compensation. 

In some cases, the statute of limitations may be deferred. Most often, this occurs when an injury or medical condition is not immediately discovered. When this happens, the individual may have four years from the date of discovery—or the date on which the injury was discovered or reasonably could have been discovered—to file a lawsuit.

Can You File a Personal Injury Claim If You Were Partly at Fault? 

Under Florida’s pure comparative negligence rule, you can still file a personal injury claim if you were partly at fault for the incident that caused your injuries. Additionally, if you were involved in a motor vehicle accident, you could be entitled to compensation for certain accident-related damages regardless of who was at fault under the state’s no-fault insurance system. 

However, if you are found to be partly at fault, the amount you can recover in compensation will be reduced by your at-fault percentage. For example, if you were injured and suffered $10,000 in damages, but you were found to be 20% at fault for the incident, you could only recover up to 80% of the amount you are seeking in damages, or $8,000.