injury attorney West Palm Beach

South Florida Injury Lawyer Insights: What is a Demand Letter?

October 30, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s carelessness or wrongdoing, the first step in pursuing civil damages is a demand letter. Palm Beach injury lawyer

Demand letters are the initial correspondence made by the plaintiff (person who was hurt) to the insurance company that provides coverage on behalf of at-fault or negligent parties. South Florida injury attorneys draft demand letters for cases involving car accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, product liability, and other claims.

A well-drafted demand letter can potentially help you obtain fair compensation for your injuries while avoiding a personal injury lawsuit altogether. This is why it’s imperative that you work with an experienced Palm Beach injury attorney. It is inadvisable for personal injury plaintiffs to write their own demand letters because often these cases are more complicated than they appear at first blush. A poorly-written demand letter can significantly damage your case potential.

An injury attorney will help you apply the law to your case, determine the full extent of your damages, identify all potential defendants/at-fault parties, ascertain causes of action for your claim, advise you of your case value and viability and draft the demand letter to insurers. Continue reading

Understanding Open & Obvious Dangers in Florida Premises Liability Cases

July 11, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In Florida premises liability law, the “open and obvious doctrine” is one that states business owners can’t be held liable for open and obvious dangers – unless the owner should have anticipated harm despite the open and obvious condition. Florida premises liability attorney

An “open and obvious danger” is one that creates a visible, well-known risk of harm that would be discernible by casual inspection to someone of typical intelligence.

Property owners in general have a duty to maintain a reasonable degree of safety on their properties and to warn others of dangers that aren’t obvious. But patrons, guests and tenants also have a responsibility to recognize and appreciate danger when it’s open and obvious – and take prudent measures to protect themselves from that harm. Continue reading

Filing a Florida Negligent Security Lawsuit

April 28, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Violent crime has the potential to affect anyone. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports more than 33,000 arrests in 2019 for violent crimes, including battery, sexual assault, robbery and homicide. If you are injured as a result of a violent crime on another’s property, you may have grounds for filing a Florida negligent security lawsuit.

Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim in civil law that allows for monetary compensation if a property owner or manager failed to put adequate security measures in place that left a person on site vulnerable to a criminal attack.

A property that is poorly secured can result in someone being attacked, shot, carjacked, sexually assaulted or robbed. Although courts do not expect property owners to be fortune tellers and anticipate every random criminal occurrence, it is expected they will undertake reasonable security measures to keep invited persons safe. Continue reading

How are Pain and Suffering Damages Calculated?

March 12, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

When someone is injured as a result of another’s negligence – slip-and-fall, medical malpractice, car accident – often you can request a type of damages known as “pain and suffering.” This is a legal term, spelled out in the Florida Standard Jury Instruction, 501.2, that basically refers to what you had to endure. South Florida injury lawyer

As specifically stated in the jury instruction, these non-economic damages are “any that result from bodily injury sustained by you resulting in pain and suffering disability or physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience or loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life experienced in the past or to be experienced in the future.”

Unlike economic damages, which are things like medical bills, lost wages or expenses incurred as a result of your injuries, pain and suffering damages aren’t easily tallied with bills, records or receipts. These are damages you must demonstrate with your own personal testimony, testimony from your loved ones, photographs, vidoes and details about your life both before and after the injury. Jurors are more likely to award economic damages, but establishing non-economic damages can be trickier.