Riviera Beach Personal Injury Lawyers

An unexpected injury or illness can threaten the financial security of even a fairly well-off family. In addition to the direct costs associated with diagnosis and treatment, which might include hospitalization, prescription medication, and physical therapy, injured parties often incur indirect expenses like lost wages due to missed work.

Fortunately, those who can prove someone else was responsible for their injuries may not have to cover these costs out of pocket. By filing a claim against the liable party, you might be able to recover compensation for all applicable damages.

If you were hurt in a preventable accident and want to hold the liable party financially accountable, you can rely on the personal injury attorneys at Donaldson & Weston for expert guidance during every stage of the proceedings. After evaluating your case, our accident lawyers will identify all responsible parties and compile the evidence needed to strengthen your claim.

We have won several multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts for clients throughout Florida. Call 561-299-3999 to schedule a free case evaluation with a Riviera Beach injury lawyer.

Excluding scenarios that involve strict liability, the foundation of any successful personal injury claim is negligence. You can prove negligence by demonstrating that the liable party owed you a duty of care and then breached this duty in some way.

For example, all motorists owe a duty to those around them to drive in a safe, law-abiding, and predictable manner. Those who breach this duty of care by driving while drunk, drowsy, or distracted will be responsible for any damages that result.

Likewise, property owners must maintain their premises to a reasonably safe standard. If you trip over a clearly marked threshold because you have poor balance, you would not have grounds for a personal injury claim. But if your injury occurred because the opposing party was negligent in some way, your case may have merit.

In most personal injury claims, accident victims do not actually go up against those who were responsible for the damages they incurred. Instead, they face the liable party’s insurance provider.

Insurance adjusters are skilled negotiators who are likely to scrutinize every piece of evidence that claimants submit. Fortunately, you can level the playing field by turning to an injury lawyer who also happens to be a strategic negotiator and will protect your best interests from start to finish.

If you were hurt in an accident through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to compensation for the resulting damages. Our attorneys can make sure your claim accounts for all potentially recoverable losses—including those you may have overlooked.

In Florida, personal injury claimants can pursue compensatory and, in some cases, exemplary damages. Compensatory damages include direct financial losses such as healthcare bills and lost income, as well as pain and suffering and other non-economic damages. Examples of compensatory damages include:

• Medical expenses;


• Lost wages;


• Loss of earning capacity and lost benefits;


• Property damage;


• Home care;


• Child care and domestic help;


• Ongoing treatment like physical therapy;


• Necessary home and vehicle modifications;


• Pain and suffering;


• Emotional distress;


• Loss of consortium; and


• Loss of enjoyment in life.

A judge may also order a defendant to reimburse the plaintiff for attorney fees and prejudgment interest. If the defendant acted with intentional malice or gross negligence, exemplary damages may also be awarded.

The state of Florida typically caps exemplary damages at $500,000 or three times the total compensatory damages, whichever is greater. If the tort was motivated by financial gain, though, the exemplary damages cap is $2 million or four times the compensatory damages. There is no cap on exemplary damages in cases involving intentional torts.

There’s always a lot to do in the wake of a serious accident, but after taking care of your health, calling a lawyer should be your top priority. There are several reasons why you should seek legal counsel as soon as possible. Depending on the circumstances, for example, critical evidence may be time-sensitive, but if you call us right away, we’ll perform an immediate investigation and apply legal pressure where necessary to gather evidence while it’s still available.

Also, hiring an attorney means you won’t have to correspond with the opposing party at all. Instead of reaching out to you directly, the insurance adjuster will have to go through us. By letting one of our attorneys handle the logistics of your case, the insurance company won’t get the opportunity to coerce you into accepting an unfair settlement or making a statement that leads to a dispute.

We’ll also help you avoid costly mistakes early in the proceedings that would hurt your case down the road. For example, we’ll explain the importance of staying off social media or at least setting your profiles to “private” as this could prevent the insurance adjuster from using your posts to dispute your claim.

Your attorney will also help you understand how to mitigate your damages. All personal injury claimants are required to take reasonable steps to minimize their healthcare bills, lost wages, and other damages. Failure to do so may lead to the insurance company disputing your claim. We’ll explain how to avoid such a dispute and help you take the necessary steps to give your case the best possible chance of success.