testimony; photographs, videos, phone records, etc. Prior to filing the lawsuit, proving up the claim relies heavily on the documented evidence, whereas after a lawsuit is filed is where more testimonial evidence is presented. However, in a case like a medical malpractice case, for example, experts must be retained at the beginning of the claim to properly put the other party on notice of the claim under Florida law. Being well-versed in the rules of evidence to assure that the proper foundation is laid to allow the evidence to be admissible is critical. What should I do in the first 48 hours for a Florida Personal injury claim? In a Florida Personal Injury claim, your health is of the utmost importance. Seeking medical attention as early as possible is important. If you are able, it will be very helpful to your claim to gather information at the scene of the incident like names of witnesses, insurance and contact information from the other party, photographs and/or videos, taking notes on statements that are made and who made them, making a list of providers that you are seeking medical treatment with, and calling police to the location of the car accident, and while it is not required to retain an attorney in a personal injury claim, having their experience on your side, fighting on your behalf, especially with no upfront fees or costs, may give you some peace of mind and ensure you are exhausting all avenues to maximize the value of your claim. What is the comparative negligence rule in Florida? The comparative negligence rule in Florida has undergone some major changes under Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, that went into effect on March 24, 2023. Regardless of the date of loss, if the lawsuit for a claim was filed after March 24, 2023, it could be subject to the new law depending on what type of claim it is. The comparative negligence rule means that the Plaintiff’s damages could be decreased if they are found to have contributed to their damages by their own negligence. Prior to Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, Florida followed the pure comparative fault doctrine. That is, even if a Plaintiff was mostly at-fault for their injuries, the damages awarded to them would be reduced proportionally based on the percentage of fault assigned to the Plaintiff. Since Florida’s New Tort Reform Law, Florida now follows a “modified comparative negligence” system. This means that if the Plaintiff is found to be more than 50% at fault for the car accident, for example, then they will not be able to recover any damages against the Defendant. Have there been any recent personal injury law changes in Florida? On March 24, 2023, Florida’s New Tort Reform Law went into effect and made significant changes to the existing laws that applied to many different types of personal injury claims. We will not discuss each and every change in this article, but just highlight a few of the most significant changes. Some of these changes have been explained in greater detail in some of the other areas of this article, but here are some of the more significant changes under Florida’s New Tort Reform Law: First is the change from pure comparative negligence to modified comparative negligence standard. That means prior to this new law going into effect, Plaintiffs were able to recover for damages against the other party, even if they contributed to their injuries with their own negligence, under the old law, for example, if damages were found to be $100,000.00, but the Plaintiff was found to be 60% at-fault, they would recover $40,000.00 (the total damages reduced proportionately by Plaintiff’s assigned fault percentage). Under the new law, if the Plaintiff in that same example was found to be 60% at WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM 7
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