Lutz Personal Injury Attorney
A personal injury is costly in many ways. It is painful and debilitating. It can throw you out of work or keep you from running your household or caring for your family. In some instances, the consequences of an injury last for months, years, or even permanently. The negligent party that caused your injury is liable to you for all of the many ways their negligence has hurt you, but proving their negligence and the cost of your injury is not easy; it requires skilled legal help.
With over 30 years in personal injury, including over a dozen years representing defendants, attorney Eric Moore has the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to hold negligent parties accountable for the full extent of damage they have done. Whether you were injured in a motor vehicle accident in town or on Highway 41, in a slip and fall at a local store, a dog bite in the neighborhood, or if your child suffered a playground injury or was assaulted at school, Moore Law is the law firm you want on your side to help you get justice and compensation for your injuries. Contact our office to get started today with the help of an experienced and dedicated Lutz personal injury attorney.
What Is Personal Injury?
Personal injury law is the law of negligence. It says that people owe a duty of care to one another, and when they breach that duty by failing to exercise due care, they are liable for the damage they cause. A personal injury or negligence claim generally has four elements that must be proven to hold the negligent party liable. These elements are Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages.
- Duty: A duty of care can exist in many different circumstances. For example, drivers have a duty to drive competently and responsibly to prevent causing a crash or otherwise harming others on the road, be they other motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians, or the occupants of the vehicle they are operating. Store owners must keep their property free of dangers and promptly address any hazards that arise. Dog owners have a duty to restrain their pets, and schools have a duty to supervise students and provide a safe environment.
- Breach: Breach means that a duty of care was broken because someone did something they weren’t supposed to do or failed to do something they should have done. Often this error was unintentional, which is why we use terms like “negligence” and “accidents.” This doesn’t excuse the party from legal and moral responsibility to the person who got hurt, though.
- Causation: The injury victim (the “plaintiff”) must be able to prove that the other party (the “defendant”) caused the accident by their negligence or breach. The breach must be the actual cause of the accident, with no other action intervening or superseding to take away the defendant’s liability. Complex legal issues such as “foreseeability” may come into play, often making the causation element one of the more complicated pieces of a negligence claim to prove.
- Damages: “Damages” is the legal term for the financial compensation the other party owes you. Your damages in a personal injury claim can include past and future medical expenses, lost wages if you missed work or became disabled because of the injury, and your pain and suffering and emotional distress. Other damages may apply as well, depending on the nature and extent of your injury.
Why You Need an Attorney for a Personal Injury Claim
Whether you are negotiating a settlement with an insurance company or litigating a case in court, you have to be prepared to prove each of the elements mentioned above through the weight of the evidence you produce. The lawyers or insurance company representatives on the other side may dispute your claims and present evidence of their own, which is why you need an experienced attorney on your side who knows how to build and present a compelling case on your behalf.
Often the insurance company will argue over who is liable for the accident. They will claim their insured isn’t responsible, or they will say the accident victim was at least partially responsible. Any amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff will reduce the amount of compensation they recover proportionately. Plus, in Florida, if a plaintiff is considered to be more than 50% responsible for their injury, they cannot recover any compensation from the other negligent party.
When dispute liability, insurance companies will often downplay how serious the accident was. They might say your injuries aren’t serious or even that they don’t exist, or they’ll say your injuries were caused by some other incident that they aren’t responsible for. Having an attorney dealing with the insurance company is critical to proving your case and getting the right amount of compensation you need and deserve.
How Moore Law Can Help
Eric Moore has over 30 years of experience in personal injury, including a dozen years representing defendants before turning his practice to representing injured plaintiffs exclusively. He knows how the other side thinks and works. He knows how they value claims, when they settle and when they fight, and he has well over a decade of experience going up against them. Eric Moore and his team at Moore Law work aggressively to get the most for their clients, whom they maintain a personal and responsive relationship with. We always have the time to listen to you and make sure your needs are getting met while we work to get an excellent result.
Contact Moore Law Today
If you or a loved one has been hurt by the negligence of another in Lutz, contact Moore Law at 813-510-5400 for a free case evaluation. There is no fee unless and until we are successful in your case.
