Bradenton Personal Injury Attorney

Being involved in an accident can be a painful and devastating experience. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the incident, you can sustain very serious injuries, require extensive and expensive medical care, and spend weeks away from work. If someone else is responsible for your accident, however, you may be eligible for financial compensation.

In these situations, the Bradenton personal injury attorneys at Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner can help. Our firm has over 60 years of experience in personal injury law and will advocate aggressively to recover the compensation you deserve.

Why Choose Us

Our Bradenton accident attorneys have decades of combined experience representing injured Florida residents in their insurance claims and lawsuits. We have secured millions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts.
You will have a direct line of communication with your attorney throughout your case. Your lawyer will be available to answer any questions you may have and provide you with important updates about your claim.
Our firm understands how difficult it can be to recover from a serious injury. Our attorneys will handle all aspects of your claim on your behalf so you can focus on recovery and healing.

Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle

A personal injury occurs when you sustain damage to your body, mind, or emotions due to the negligence of another person, entity, or government agency. Through a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party, you can recover compensation for the losses you sustained due to these negligent actions.

At Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner, our Bradenton personal injury attorneys handle a wide range of personal injury claims for Florida residents. Examples of claims we represent include the following.

Car accidents
DUI accidents
Truck accidents
Motorcycle accidents
Pedestrian accidents
Bicycle accidents
Slip and falls
Premises liability
Medical malpractice
Construction accidents
Boat accidents
Wrongful death

How to Prove a Florida Personal Injury Lawsuit

To secure compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, you will need to show that the at-fault party’s actions caused your accident and resulting injuries. Specifically, you and your attorney will need to provide enough evidence establishing the four elements of a personal injury claim: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty: The at-fault party owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident. This will depend on the cause of your injury. For example, drivers have a duty to follow traffic laws and drive safely. Property owners have a duty to maintain safe premises, respond to hazards, and warn visitors of danger.
Breach of duty: The at-fault party breached his or her duty of care through a negligent act or omission. For example, a driver who runs a red light or makes an unsafe lane change breaks Florida traffic law and his or her duty of care. A property owner who fails to repair a set of broken stairs and warn visitors of the hazard also breaches his or her duty.
Causation: The at-fault party’s breach of duty caused your accident and your resulting injuries. For example, a property owner who fails to repair a set of stairs and warn visitors would be liable if someone fell through the stairs and broke his or her leg. A driver who runs a red light and collides into another vehicle would be liable for the driver’s injuries.
Damages: You sustained damages, such as medical expenses or lost wages, in the accident that you can collect in your lawsuit. You can use multiple pieces of evidence to establish your right to damages, including medical bills, expert witness testimony, repair invoices, journal entries, correspondence, and paystubs.

Your attorney from Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner can help you gather the evidence you need to establish each of these elements and prove your right to compensation. Our Bradenton, FL personal injury attorneys will work diligently to craft a compelling case in your favor.

Damages Available in Florida Personal Injury Claims

Through a Florida personal injury lawsuit, you can recover compensation for the economic and non-economic damages you sustained in your accident. Economic damages refer to your tangible financial losses. On the other hand, non-economic damages involve your physical and emotional pain and suffering.

Common types of damages available in personal injury lawsuits include the following.

Past and future medical expenses
Lost wages during your recovery period
Loss of future earnings and benefits
Property repairs and replacements
Disability accommodations
Rehabilitation and physical therapy
Emotional distress and mental anguish
Chronic pain
Permanent disability
Significant disfigurement or scarring
Depression and anxiety
Post-traumatic stress disorder

Florida’s Comparative Negligence Rules

Although you may be able to prove the elements of negligence and establish the at-fault party’s liability, your award could be at risk of reduction under Florida’s comparative negligence rules. If the court determines that you share any of the liability for the accident, it will reduce your settlement by the percentage of fault that you share. Unlike other states, which prevent recovery if you share a certain amount of liability, Florida allows you to recover compensation even if you are 99% at fault.

For example, say that you are injured when you trip and fall in a large hole on someone else’s property. You file a lawsuit against the property owner seeking $20,000 in damages. However, the property owner provides surveillance footage showing that you were distracted by your phone at the time of the accident.

The owner claims that if you had been paying attention, you would have been able to avoid the hole and your injury. The court accepts this claim and assigns you 40% of the liability. As a result, you will only recover $12,000 of your original award.

The Statute of Limitations in Florida

If you believe that you qualify for a personal injury claim, it is important to act quickly. In most injury cases, you have four years from the date of your accident to file your lawsuit in civil court. If you do not file within this time period, the court will dismiss your claim—preventing you from recovering compensation. However, this time limit may be significantly shorter depending on the details of your case. As a result, we recommend that you speak with an attorney as soon as you are able to after suffering an injury. Your attorney from Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner can initiate the first steps toward filing your claim, so you meet the appropriate deadline.

Schedule a Free Consultation Today

Are you recovering from an accident in Bradenton, Florida? The attorneys at Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner can represent your injury claim and help you secure the compensation you need to recover. Contact us today to schedule you free consultation and discuss your legal options with a Bradenton personal injury lawyer.

If your injury happened in St. Petersburg, please contact our St. Petersburg personal injury attorneys.