When pursuing an injury claim in Florida, certain mistakes can significantly impact your ability to recover compensation. Understanding these potential pitfalls can help protect your rights and maximize your recovery. Here are seven common mistakes that can ruin your injury claim in Florida.
- Failing to Comply with Pre-Suit Requirements
Florida law requires claimants to follow specific pre-suit procedures before filing certain types of injury claims. For example, before filing a claim for a violation of a resident’s rights or a negligence claim involving a resident’s injury or death, you must provide notice to the prospective defendant. This notice requirement is a condition precedent to maintaining your action, meaning your case could be dismissed if you fail to comply.
Similarly, in medical malpractice cases, timely written notice of intent to initiate litigation is required. This notice triggers a 90-day pre-suit screening period during which the statute of limitations is tolled. Failing to provide proper notice can prevent you from pursuing your claim altogether.
- Missing the Statute of Limitations
Florida imposes strict time limits for filing injury claims. For many personal injury cases, including those involving resident rights violations or negligence, you have only two years from the date of injury to file your lawsuit. In medical malpractice cases, after providing the required pre-suit notice, you must file your lawsuit within 90 days after receipt of the notice plus either 60 days or the remainder of time left under the statute of limitations, whichever is greater.
Missing these deadlines typically means losing your right to pursue compensation, regardless of how strong your case might otherwise be.
- Not Understanding Comparative Negligence
Florida follows a “pure” comparative negligence system, which means your recovery can be reduced by your percentage of fault in causing the accident. Under this system, the jury apportions fault between the plaintiff, defendant, and any third parties who may have contributed to the injury.
If you’re found partially at fault, your compensation will be reduced proportionately. For example, if you’re awarded $100,000 but found to be 30% at fault, you would only receive $70,000. Understanding this principle is crucial when evaluating settlement offers and litigation strategies.
- Making Misrepresentations in Insurance Applications
Misrepresentations, omissions, or incorrect statements in insurance applications can prevent recovery under your policy. In Florida, an insurer may deny coverage if a misrepresentation is either:
- Fraudulent or material to the acceptance of risk or hazard assumed by the insurer, or
- If the true facts had been known, the insurer in good faith would not have issued the policy, would have issued it at a different premium rate, or would not have provided coverage for the hazard resulting in the loss.
A misrepresentation is considered material if it doesn’t enable a reasonable insurer to adequately estimate the nature of the risk. Even seemingly minor inaccuracies can give insurers grounds to deny your claim.
- Failing to Properly Document Injuries
In Florida, injuries must be established to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, based on objective medical findings. Delaying medical treatment after an accident can make it difficult to prove the causal relationship between the accident and your injuries.
For mental or nervous injuries, Florida law requires clear and convincing medical evidence from a licensed psychiatrist meeting criteria established in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Additionally, a compensable physical injury must be and remain the major contributing cause of the mental condition, being at least 50% responsible compared to all other contributing causes combined.
Without proper documentation and timely medical attention, your claim may be significantly weakened or denied.
- Not Properly Establishing Fault
In negligence actions, Florida law requires the allocation of fault among all parties involved, including nonparties. To allocate fault to a nonparty and include them on the verdict form for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant must prove the nonparty’s fault by a preponderance of the evidence.
Failing to present sufficient evidence regarding fault can limit your ability to recover damages. This is particularly important in products liability actions where injuries may have been enhanced by a defective product, as the jury must consider the fault of all persons who contributed to the accident.
- Ignoring Special Requirements for Certain Claims
Different types of injury claims have specific requirements under Florida law. For example:
- Mental or nervous injuries are only compensable when they occur as a manifestation of a compensable physical injury.
- A mental injury due to stress, fright, or excitement alone is not considered an injury by accident arising out of employment.
- Temporary benefits for compensable mental or nervous injuries cannot be paid for more than 6 months after the date of maximum medical improvement for physical injuries.
- For residential property insurance claims, if a policy has been in effect for more than 90 days, a claim cannot be denied based on credit information available in public records.
Failing to understand and meet these special requirements can result in claim denials or reduced compensation.
Conclusion
Navigating the complexities of Florida’s injury claim laws requires careful attention to detail and thorough understanding of legal requirements. By avoiding these seven common mistakes, you can strengthen your injury claim and improve your chances of receiving fair compensation for your injuries. When in doubt, consulting with a knowledgeable professional familiar with Florida’s injury laws can help ensure your claim proceeds smoothly.