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Fernandina Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

FREE CONSULTATION – NO OBLIGATION

Our personal injury lawyers know how challenging the time after a serious accident can be. That’s why the experienced accident attorneys at Harrell & Harrell offer free consultations to people in and around Fernandina Beach who have been injured in:

We also help:

Who Can File a Nassau County Personal Injury Claim? 

Most injury claims are based in negligence. In simple terms, that means that an injured person may have a personal injury claim if: 

  • Another person or entity had a duty of care
  • That other person or entity breached, or failed to live up to, that obligation
  • The failure to exercise due care caused or contributed to the accident
  • The injured person sustained damages as a result

One of the most common and straightforward examples of this is a motor vehicle accident. Though we commonly use the word “accident” to describe a car crash, the truth is that most collisions could be avoided. For example, a driver has a duty to follow traffic safety laws, such as observing speed limits and obeying traffic signals. A driver who runs a red light or significantly exceeds the speed limit or is distracted by their phone will generally be found to have acted negligently. 

If that negligence results in a traffic crash, the negligent driver will typically be responsible for damages. 

The same concept applies in other types of personal injury cases. For instance, a retail store that negligently stacks merchandise in an unsafe manner will generally be liable if that merchandise falls and injures a customer.

Some injury-related cases have different standards. For example, product liability claims may be based on a theory of strict liability–the idea that a manufacturer who sends a defective product out into the market is responsible for harm it causes, even if the manufacturer was not negligent. And, medical malpractice claims are negligence claims, but the standard is based on the commonly accepted standard of care for a particular situation. Expert witnesses are required. 

An Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

The best way to find out what type of claim you may have and what will be required to pursue your claim is to talk to an experienced Fernandina Beach injury attorney. 

At Harrell & Harrell, we want to make it as easy as possible for injured people and those who have lost loved ones to get the information they need. It’s easy to schedule a free consultation with an accident attorney. Just call 904-251-1111, fill out the contact form on this site, or click in the lower right-hand corner to chat.

The Best Time to Talk to a Fernandina Beach Injury Attorney is Now

One common question injury victims ask is “How long do I have to file a personal injury case in Florida?” For most personal injury claims, the answer is four years from the date of the incident. But, some related case types have shorter statutes of limitations, and the date the clock starts ticking may be different. So, it’s best to get specific information from a local personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. 

There are many other reasons it’s best to consult an accident attorney right away. Some of the most important include: 

  • Insurance companies can be tricky: representatives may seem friendly and helpful, but their job is to protect the company’s profits. The best way to do that is to minimize how much money they pay out to injury victims like you. When you’re under financial stress, still recovering from injuries, and unfamiliar with the process, it’s easy to get misled. An experienced injury attorney can help protect you from those pitfalls. 
  • Gathering evidence gets harder over time: our personal injury attorneys investigate and assemble the best evidence possible to support your claim. That’s true no matter when we get started, but sometimes evidence is lost over time. For example, there may be security video that shows how you were injured. But, a year or two after the accident, that video will probably not be available. And, witnesses are more likely to have clear memory of important details shortly after the event.
  • You don’t need the stress: a serious injury is traumatic. After a car accident or other injury, many people are overwhelmed by the combination of pain and physical limitations, the need for ongoing medical treatment or physical therapy, the gap in income. There’s no reason to add responsibility for engaging with insurance companies and advancing your own personal injury claim. 
  • Innocent mistakes can hurt your case: one common example of how an injured person can accidentally harm their own claim is social media posting. You can expect that the responsible person’s insurance company or the attorney on the other side will scrutinize any information they can find about you. That often includes social media posts. Unfortunately, posts and photographs taken out of context can be used against you–in ways you may not even be able to imagine. Your personal injury lawyer can explain in detail how you can protect your claim while the case moves forward. 

First Steps after an Injury

Connecting with an attorney as soon as possible is a high priority after a motor vehicle accident or other injury. But, it’s not the first thing you’ll do. To protect both your health and your personal injury claim, here are some things you should do right away:

  • Get a medical assessment as soon as possible after the injury: often, injured people want to wait and see whether they improve naturally before seeking medical attention. That’s risky in two ways. First, injuries can be aggravated if you go about your business without treatment, meaning you could suffer more serious injuries, a longer recovery time, or even permanent injury. Second, if you wait to seek medical treatment, it may be more difficult to tie the injuries to the accident, making it harder to establish liability. 
  • Follow your doctor’s advice: just as delaying medical assessment can lead to more serious injury, failing to follow up, complete physical therapy, or respect limitations prescribed by your medical team can slow your recovery–or even result in more serious injury. And, just like delaying medical treatment, skipping out on therapy or going against medical advice may be used against you in your personal injury case. 
  • Keep records: obviously, you’ll want to track any expenses associated with your injury, including medical bills, equipment, assistance with daily activities, and more. But, it’s also important to keep a record of the limitations you face, the amount of pain you’re experiencing, and other ways the injury is impacting your life. 
  • Be careful what you say: your words may come back to haunt you, whether they’re passing comments you made to an insurance company rep, a social media post, or even a conversation with a friend. The inclination to talk about what you’ve been through may understandably be strong, but it’s best to limit what you say until you get legal advice.  

What is My Fernandina Beach Personal Injury Case Worth?

“How much is my case worth?” is one of the first questions many personal injury clients ask. The truth is, there’s no way an injury attorney can give you a categorical answer to that question. In fact, an attorney claiming they can guarantee a specific result should be a red flag. That said, an experienced accident attorney will be able to give you a general idea of how cases like yours usually play out, and to tell you what factors will impact the value of your claim.

Some of those variables include: 

  • How much income you’ve lost as a result of the injury
  • Whether the limitation on your income will be short-term, long-term, or permanent
  • The cost of your medical care
  • Any anticipated future medical costs
  • Other expenses attributable to the injury
  • Any impairment of your quality of life 

Schedule Your Free Consultation Now

Your free consultation with a Harrell & Harrell injury attorney will give you the opportunity to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of your case and a general idea of the possible value of your claim. But, you can and should use your consultation for much more. For instance:

  • Learn more about the process of pursuing a personal injury claim
  • Find out how to avoid pitfalls and protect your claim as your case moves forward
  • Gather information about our processes, what you can expect from us as the case proceeds, and how our contingency fee arrangements work 
  • Get a feel for our staff and attorneys to ensure that we’re the right fit for you

Ready to get started? 

Call 904-251-1111 right now, or click in the bottom right-hand corner of this page to chat.

DON’T SETTLE FOR LESS THAN YOU DESERVE.®

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