Legal Insights

Florida’s Personal Injury Claims Process – What Should You Know?

From car accidents to medical malpractice and slips and falls, making a personal injury claim can be a challenge. The process of making an injury claim must be properly followed to ensure that compensation can be received. In the state of Florida, the first step to file your injury claim involves hiring a suitably experienced Orlando injury attorney. Although it may appear daunting to seek help from a lawyer, you can be confident your case will be handled more efficiently and speedily with t...

A Checklist for Slip and Fall Accident Victims

Slip and fall accidents are no laughing matter. These accidents can cause significant personal injuries to unwitting accident victims. Frequently, these accidents do not arise in any serious bodily injury. However, there are many slip and fall accidents that do result in substantial personal injuries to innocent people. If you have been involved in one of these accidents, it is important to keep in mind some things to do following the accident. Here is a checklist of things to keep in mind f...

What is a Force Majeure Clause and What Does it Do?

In the past few months, many have been introduced to a whole new vocabulary – words like “coronavirus” and “social distancing” have suddenly become a part of our everyday vocabulary. If you are a business owner, you may have also been hearing a lot about “force majeure” clauses and their application to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Force Majeure Clause Defined In its simplest terms, a force majeure clause releases the parties to the contract from their obligations when their ...

COVID-19 Highlights the Importance of Having an Estate Plan

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to be prepared for the unexpected, and that includes having an estate plan in place to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event of an unforeseen illness or death. As many families struck by the coronavirus have found, not having these basic documents in place can add unnecessary costs and complications and put additional stress on both the ill person and their family. A basic estate plan should include the following elements: Financial...

Personal Injury Case Checklist

After you have suffered from a personal injury, you will need to go through a long and complicated process in order to get the compensation that you rightfully deserve. Many people believe that by filing a claim with the responsible party’s insurance company and going along with the insurance adjuster until they receive a payment that they have taken the necessary steps, but this is only what an insurance company wants you to believe. If you leave it up to the insurance company, they will ...

How To Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits

If you are physically or mentally disabled then you might be wondering how you’re going to pay your bills if you are unable to work. When most people think of Social Security benefits they think of individuals age 65 or older, but it can also help people who are disabled and unable to work. Eligibility In order to be eligible, you must have a disabling condition that your doctors believe will last at least a year or could result in your death. You must be unable to perform both the work...

How Do I Know if I Have a Personal Injury Case?

If you have been in an accident and suffered injuries, it’s very tempting to let your imagination run wild imagining the millions of dollars you will be able to recover if you file a lawsuit. Although you should not necessarily put the brakes on that train of thought, it’s always a good idea to do a reality check and understand what needs to happen even before a lawsuit can be filed. It’s also important for you to understand what elements need to be present to have a successful lawsuit...

Can Law Firms Survive in a Post-Pandemic Marketplace?

The legal landscape across the United States has changed drastically and suddenly in the past several weeks. While some of these changes will only be temporary, others may last for months, years, or may even become permanent. Now is the time for law firms to plan for the future. Even without knowing exactly what that future will look like, some very strong assumptions can be made. The effect of the pandemic on the legal market In some jurisdictions, certain kinds of work, such as litigati...

Divorce Mediation: A Virtual Alternative

In these weeks of “shelter at home” as a result of the coronavirus, marriages that were experiencing difficulties are being pushed to the breaking point. The stress of staying in close quarters with family, not being able to leave home other than for essentials, trying to work from home while home-schooling children, financial pressures brought on by employment changes, and anxiety about when the lockdowns will end, put powerful stresses on every married couple, especially those already ...

What Should You Do After a Car Accident? Checklist

A checklist after a car accident can serve you as a tool to organize and keep track of all the tasks you are going to have to face. By maintaining a comprehensive checklist, you will be able to stay more organized, making sure you don’t skip or miss any important tasks or deadlines and put an end to the accident nightmare in a more efficient manner. The question is, should you prepare a checklist now or wait until you are in an accident to create one? That’s up to you but you have to kno...

Overview of Personal Injury Law

You have seen the advertisements on television and on billboards featuring attorneys who espouse an ability to get you a lot of money for an accident. People are injured in traffic accidents every day and insurance companies do not always want to give accident victims their due, hence, there are law firms specifically dedicated to fighting on behalf of injured people. Each state has specific personal injury laws, so it is important to hire an attorney who is especially well versed in Califor...

Attorneys: Setting Boundaries When Working from Home

The number of people working from home has skyrocketed over the past few weeks in response to the public health crisis created by the coronavirus. While many lawyers in solo and small firm practices may be used to working from home or other remote locations for extended periods of time, large firm lawyers may not be. Although large firm lawyers may be used to performing discrete tasks from home, working from home for an extended period of time brings an entirely different set of challenges. ...

What Kinds of Damages Can I Get in My Personal Injury Case?

In a personal injury lawsuit, the injured party (the plaintiff) may be permitted to recover several different types of damages from the person responsible for the injury (the defendant). Although each state’s rules may be slightly different, there are general categories of damages that plaintiffs may be able to recover.  Most damages in a personal injury case are divided between what is known as general damages and special damages. General damages, also known as non-economic damages, ...

Can I apply for a Green Card by myself?

As an immigrant, a Green Card is an extremely desired document to own. It means that you are not only a legal resident of the United States but are allowed to stay here permanently and get a job. There is also a straight line from obtaining a Green Card to becoming a United States citizen. Before deciding whether you can apply for a Green Card, it is vital for you to determine whether you are eligible to receive this immigration status. What are the eligibility requirements to obtain a Gre...

How Long Will My Injury Claim Take?

After you suffer any type of injury that is covered by an insurance policy, one of the most important steps for you to take is to submit a claim to the insurance company, whether your own or the responsible party’s insurance company, in order to be compensated for the damages that you incur. The wait can be excruciating between when you initiate your claim and when you finally receive compensation, but even this initial claims investigation may not be the entire time that you will need to ...

Who is Liable in a Truck Accident

If you have been injured in a truck accident you are undoubtedly dealing with a lot of pain, multiple doctor’s appointments and time missed away from work. You are probably wondering how you are going to pay for everything. If the truck driver was at fault, the trucking company’s insurance should pay the accident-related bills.There are two different insurance rules in the United States: fault and no-fault. In a no-fault state, a driver’s own insurance company will pay their bills no m...

What Makes up a Fair Personal Injury Settlement?

If you have been injured in an accident, you have probably spent a lot of time at the doctor’s office and your car has spent some time in the shop. You may have missed hours from work and important social events. You are probably wondering if auto insurance will pay for everything. In order to get a fair deal from an insurance company, you will need to document everything well, and know a bit about the law. A fair settlement will include money for injuries, property damage, and expenses. N...

Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death?

No matter how many books or movies deal with the subject of death, nothing can really prepare you for the passing of a loved one. No matter how important someone may have been to you, you can only sue for wrongful death if you are an immediate family member of the decedent or if you were financially dependent upon them.Spouses, children, and parents may sue for wrongful death and so may dependent blood relatives and dependent adoptive siblings. Life partners, close friends, and other relativ...

Are All Felonies Federal Crimes?

A felony can be either committed at the federal level or state level, and it is possible to commit a crime that is considered both. A felony is one of the most serious crimes a person can commit to another person or property. If convicted of a felony, you will face jail time, heavy fines, and a few permanent restrictions of freedom. Federal felonies are defined by the government as having punishments that last at least a year. Almost all over “lesser” crimes, which include temporary puni...

What Is Considered Personal Use of Drugs?

Federal and state laws prohibit the possession and sale of illegal controlled substances such as cocaine, “club” drugs, heroin, LSD, marijuana, and methamphetamine. You can also be charged if you are in possession of accessories used for making or consuming drugs, such as pipes or rolling papers.  The Controlled Substances Act  Signed in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, this federal statute regulates the manufacturing and distribution of controlled substances such as narcoti...