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PALATKA PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

FREE CONSULTATION – NO OBLIGATION

When you’ve been injured in a car crash or other accident, insurance claims, documentation, paperwork and negotiations are likely the furthest thing from your mind. But, the reality is that you may need compensation to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other expenses while you recover from your injuries and rebuild. 

Fortunately, you can have it both ways. When you put your personal injury claim in the hands of an experienced Palatka accident attorney, you can ensure that your interests are protected while you focus on yourself and your family. 

The Palatka personal injury lawyers at Harrell & Harrell, P.A., know how deeply our clients’ lives and those of their families are affected by injuries sustained in accidents. If those injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to turn, we’re here to help. When you schedule a free consultation with an experienced injury attorney at Harrell & Harrell, we will: 

  • Assess your claim and advise you on possible responsible parties
  • Explain how the personal injury claim process works
  • Give you a general idea of how similar cases have played out
  • Explain how our contingency fee arrangement works, so you never pay fees unless and until we’ve won or settled your case

If we take your case, we’ll take responsibility for the daunting technical aspects, such as managing deadlines, ensuring that required pleadings and other documents are filed in the proper format at the proper time, and gathering information from the other side. 

We’ll also handle negotiations with the insurance company’s attorney, investigate and gather evidence on your behalf, work with expert witnesses where necessary to build your case, and keep you up to date on what to expect at every stage.

Talk to a Palatka Personal Injury Lawyer Now

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or otherwise been harmed by someone else’s negligence, help is just a phone call away. To learn more about how our injury attorneys can help, call 386-328-3999 right now. Or, fill out the contact form on this site and we’ll get in touch with you. 

Protecting Your Palatka Personal Injury Claim

Small mistakes can have a big impact on your car accident case or other Palatka injury claim. It’s important that you take steps to protect your case from the very beginning. For example: 

  • Don’t assume that you’ll remember the details of the accident–it may be months before you’re called upon to talk about the incident in a courtroom, and even traumatic memories fade. Write down everything you remember as soon as possible after the injury.
  • Make sure you seek medical attention and do exactly as you’re instructed. Skipping doctor appointments, not keeping up with physical therapy, and otherwise ignoring medical advice can harm your health and your case. 
  • If you’re navigating a long recovery, consider keeping a log or journal. Over time, the good days and bad will blur together and it may be difficult to recall how serious your pain was during a particular time and what limitations you faced. But, those details may be important when establishing damages. 
  • Be cautious when speaking with insurance company representatives. They’ll probably be friendly and helpful, but remember that their job is to save the company money by limiting the compensation you receive. 
  • Think twice before accepting a quick settlement. A check in the mail can be very tempting when you’re off work due to your injuries and facing financial stress. But, settling early could mean that you don’t receive full compensation, especially if you have ongoing medical needs.
  • Limit what you say about your accident, especially in social media. Innocent inconsistencies from one telling to another or even social media fluff like “Feeling great today!” can come back to haunt you. 

These general tips may help you protect your injury claim. But, there’s no substitute for personalized advice and guidance from an experienced lawyer. Your attorney can help you avoid the pitfalls above in many ways. For example, your lawyer will tell you what type of records you need to keep to support your specific claim. And, the attorney will take over discussions with the insurance company’s attorney. 

What is Negligence?

“Negligence” has a common meaning we’re all familiar with. But, negligence in Florida personal injury law has a more specific meaning. A person, business, or other entity is negligent if: 

  • They owe a duty of care, and
  • They breach or fail in that duty of care, and
  • Their breach or failure causes an event, such as a motor vehicle accident, and
  • Someone is injured and/or suffers other damages as a result of the negligence

For example, the owner of a retail store has a duty to maintain the premises in reasonably safe condition for customers and others who visit the store in the course of operating its business. If the business fails in that duty–for example, fails to repair or post a warning sign about a broken stair rail–they will likely be found to have breached the duty of care. If someone falls and is injured because they didn’t know the stair rail was broken and relied on it, the store owner’s breach of duty will likely be found to have caused the accident. The injured person’s pain and suffering, medical expenses related to the fall, and lost income during recovery will all be damages attributable to the business’s negligence.

The same analysis applies to a wide range of negligence claims, including motor vehicle accidents, negligent hiring and training in nursing homes, commercial trucking accidents, pedestrian injuries and more.

Damages in a Palatka Personal Injury Case

No two personal injury cases are exactly the same. The amount of compensation available varies based on factors specific to the accident, such as the degree of fault of each party and the extent of the injuries. Lost income and projected future income will vary depending on current earnings and future earning capacity. The strength of the evidence in your case will impact the likely outcome at trial, meaning that it will affect the type of settlement the insurance company’s attorney may offer. And, variables that have nothing to do with you or your case can also have an impact–variables such as who is handling the case for the insurance company and the county where your case is tried. 

No personal injury lawyer can tell you exactly what your claim is worth, or guarantee you a specific outcome. But, an experienced local injury lawyer will be able to give you a general idea of the type of damages that may be available in your case, and how local courts have decided similar cases in the past. 

Some common types of damages include: 

  • Medical expenses:  Medical expenses may include costs already incurred in the treatment of your injuries and projected ongoing medical expenses. You may also be entitled to compensation for medical-related costs such as physical therapy, medically necessary equipment, counseling, transportation to medical appointments, medication and more. 
  • Lost wages: You may be entitled to compensation for wages you lost during the time you were unable to work due to your injuries. If you worked part-time or had to take a lower-paying job during your recovery, you may be able to recover the difference between what you would have earned had the accident not happened and the amount you actually earned.
  • Lost earning capacity: If you face long-term or permanent limitations due to your injury you may be entitled to compensation for lost future earnings. Establishing lost future earnings typically requires working with an expert witness. 
  • Property damage: If your property was lost or damaged in the accident, such as your car being totaled in a motor vehicle collision, you may be entitled to compensation for the loss. 
  • Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering is one type of “non-economic” injury that may be compensated in a Florida personal injury case. These are damages you suffer that can’t be quantified like lost earnings, but still represent a significant loss. 

Our Palatka Personal Injury and Accident Practice Areas

Our personal injury lawyers represent people in and around Palatka in a wide variety of negligence-based injury cases, including: 

Get Help with Your Palatka Personal Injury Claim

If you or a loved one has been injured because someone else was careless, you may be entitled to compensation to help you rebuild. But, personal injury cases can be complicated, and it’s easy to make mistakes that could reduce the amount of compensation you receive. In some cases, a simple misstep could cost you your claim. 

The sooner you speak with an experienced Palatka injury lawyer, the better. The attorneys at Harrell & Harrell know you’re under a lot of stress and juggling a lot of obligations and priorities after a serious injury. We want to make it as simple and low-stress as possible for you to gather the information you need to protect your personal injury claim. 

That’s why we offer free, no-obligation consultations, and never charge a fee unless we recover compensation for you. 

Take the next step right now and sleep better tonight. Just call 386-328-3999 or fill out the contact form on this site to get started.

DON’T SETTLE FOR LESS THAN YOU DESERVE.®

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