Will My Florida Personal Injury Lawsuit Be Hurt by an Earlier One?
Clients or potential clients come to us to pursue compensation through Florida’s courts for injuries they have suffered because of someone else’s negligence. However, some come to us concerned because they may have a lawsuit in their past that they are worried the other side may try to use against them in a current suit. The specific concern they often express to our experienced personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley is that the defendant or the defense attorney may argue that the fact the client has filed a Florida personal injury lawsuit before is an indication that the client’s existing lawsuit is worth less or the client and/or his or her claims should not be taken as seriously.
The first thing to know is that if someone else’s negligence caused your injuries or damages, you are entitled under Florida law to recover for compensation for those injuries and/or damages. It does not matter in the slightest whether you have been involved in one previous lawsuit, no previous lawsuits or ten previous lawsuits if you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. The incident in which you were injured, as well as the pending Florida personal injury lawsuit that you have filed, is all that matters and all that the jury will ultimately be called upon to make a decision. Sometimes defense lawyers, defendants or their insurers try to insinuate that the existence of previous lawsuits somehow lessens the value of your claims in your existing lawsuit. Nevertheless, this is an amateur move that often backfires on the defense attorney or defendant.
You Can Pursue a Claim if You Have Filed a Florida Personal Injury Lawsuit in the Past
Having been involved in an accident before is not a reason not to file a lawsuit or an indication that your suit or your claims are somehow worth less than if you have never been involved in a lawsuit before. The merits and value of your existing Florida personal injury lawsuit depend completely upon the circumstances under which you were injured, your injuries and suffered other damages, and not another incident. If someone else’s negligence was the cause of your suffering personal injuries or property damage, then you have the right to seek compensation to the maximum extent allowed under Florida law for those injuries. Period, end of story.
How Can You Minimize the Effect of a Previous Lawsuit on Your Pending Lawsuit?
At our firm, we take a proactive approach in dealing with any previous lawsuits our clients may have been a party to or may have filed. Rather than letting the defense raise the issue first, we often will raise the issue ourselves with our client on direct examination, so we can frame the issue for the jury. Instead of the story of a lawsuit-happy plaintiff that the defendant will try to use against our client, our experienced personal injury attorneys make sure the jury understands our client is not a money-hungry serial lawsuit filer. Rather, our client is simply trying to obtain compensation for the injuries and damages that were caused by the defendant’s negligence. Therefore, this takes the sting out of this type of attack before it has even been made.
Contact Schwed, Adams & McGinley
At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, our experienced personal injury attorneys have represented clients who have been seriously injured in a variety of different scenarios for decades. The experienced personal injury attorneys of our firm have over 150 years of combined legal experience representing accident victims throughout Florida. This includes clients who have filed more than one Florida personal injury lawsuit before. We know how to argue to a jury that the fact that our client has filed a lawsuit before is not indicative of anything other than the exercise of his or her right to seek compensation for injuries or damages caused by someone else’s negligence. And, further, that our client has had the misfortune of being injured as a result of someone else’s negligence more than once. If you or one of your loved ones has been injured by someone else’s negligence in Florida, then contact our firm today at contact@schwedlawfirm.com or by telephone at (877) 694-6079 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights.