Personal Injury Lawyers in Tampa
When preventable injuries occur due to the negligence of another party, you may have a personal injury claim.
If you think you might have reason to pursue a claim or simply want a legal opinion after a car crash, slip and fall, or other accident, reach out to the seasoned Tampa personal injury attorneys at Boohoff Law, P.A. We regularly represent Tampa clients and stand ready to assess and protect your rights.
Why Boohoff Law?
Even though we obtain millions each month in recovery for our injured clients, no one is just a number to us. Our Tampa personal injury attorneys know that recovery is personal, and every case is unique. Your injuries and damages are real, and you and your family members are the ones who must live with them. We keep this at the forefront of our minds as we fight for justice on your behalf.
Our attorneys have earned many national recognitions and accolades, including:
- National Trial Lawyers
- American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys 10 Best Law Firm for Client Satisfaction
- Excellent Avvo Rating- Top Rated Personal Injury
- Best of the Bar
When our attorneys and staff aren’t busy defending our clients’ rights, you’ll find us making a difference in the community.
We offer annual scholarships and are happy to take part in local charitable events, such as:
- Annual turkey giveaways
- Voices of Giving
- Sponsoring graduations
- Local fundraisers
How Our Tampa Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You
Personal injury claims are complex and difficult to prove, especially if you need to recover from severe injuries and are potentially worried about their financial impact on your life.
At Boohoff Law, every claim we handle starts with a free case consultation. During this consultation, our experienced Tampa personal injury lawyers will review the facts of your case—including how it happened, who might be to blame, and your injuries. If we believe we can help you obtain compensation, we’ll tell you. If not, we can help direct your next best steps.
If we mutually decide to proceed with your claim, our Tampa personal injury attorneys can:
- Gather all pertinent evidence, such as accident/incident reports, medical records, insurance policies, and eyewitness testimonies
- Perform a thorough investigation of your accident and injuries
- Determine all possible sources of compensation
- Determine the total amount of damages you should be entitled to receive
- Handle the insurance company and adjuster on your behalf
- Hire private investigators and expert witnesses if necessary for your case
- Meet all case and legal deadlines.
- Ensure you receive the medical care you need and deserve
- Set up medical liens with medical providers if necessary
- Attempt settlement negotiations
- Prepare you and your case for litigation.
- Litigate your case if necessary
While doing all of this, your attorney provides you with the time and space you need to heal from your injuries. They help shoulder much of the logistical stress of your injury.
The Elements of Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim
Most personal injury lawsuits cite negligence as the cause of action. Negligence is the failure to behave how another reasonably prudent individual should behave in the same or similar circumstance. A Tampa personal injury lawyer must establish these four elements of negligence to win a personal injury claim:
Duty
The first question you must answer is, did the other party owe the injured party a legal duty of care? Sometimes the nature of the relationship between the two parties creates a legal duty. Such as a doctor who owes a patient a legal duty to provide them with skilled medical care. Or the other party might owe the injured party a legal duty to act with reasonable care in a specific situation—for example, a driver should operate their motor vehicle safely using a certain level of due care.
Breach of Duty
If one party owed the injured party a duty of care, the next question is—did that party violate or breach their duty of care? Someone breaches a duty by doing (or not doing) something that a “reasonably prudent person” should do in a similar situation. The term “reasonably prudent person” means how the average person should responsibly act under certain circumstances. For instance, an average person should stop at a stop sign or keep their dog on a leash in public.
Causation
The next step is to prove that the other party’s negligence caused the injured party’s injury. Their negligence must connect to the injury somehow. Otherwise, the other party won’t be liable for their injuries.
Suppose a driver was negligently texting and driving. They faced blame for an unrelated fender bender that happened just across the street, all because they were negligent. In that case, it is not fair to blame the negligent driver for the damages arising from the other accident.
Another part of the causation element looks at whether the at-fault party should have reasonably foreseen that their actions or inactions might cause an injury. This rarely happens—almost always, someone can prevent an accident.
Damages
The final element of a negligence claim is “damages.” This element requires that the judge or jury compensate the injured party for their injury. Compensation is typically money for expenses such as medical care, property repair, and pain and suffering.
Depending on the case, other compensable damages might include:
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Humiliation
- Mental anguish, including depression and anxiety
If our Tampa personal injury attorneys believe they can prove all this in your claim, you could recover compensation without even going to court.
Tampa Motor Vehicle Accidents Give Rise to Personal Injury Claims
Florida is a risky state for drivers, passengers, and everyone who shares the road with them. According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department, Hillsborough County reported over 24,000 motor vehicle accidents in 2020. These crashes caused 16,450 injuries and 214 total fatalities. In 2021, there were nearly 30,000 crashes resulting in 18,685 injuries and 263 deaths.
Common types of accidents in tampa:
Car accidents can lead to personal injuries claims if a negligent party caused the accident.
You can hold drivers liable for their negligence if they drove:
- While distracted
- While drowsy
- While intoxicated
- Without a license
- Without the appropriate type of license or training (such as in CDL drivers)
- A vehicle in ill repair or requiring maintenance to be safe on the road
However, drivers aren’t the only parties whose negligence can lead to accidents. You can also hold employers such as trucking companies or delivery companies liable for causing accidents.
Liability isn’t always clear. If multiple parties caused your injuries, you can receive compensation from more than one source. These are two excellent reasons to reach out to an experienced Tampa personal injury lawyer for help if you suffered injuries in a car accident.
Other Types of Personal Injury Claims
Personal injury claims aren’t strictly limited to car crashes, motorcycle wrecks, bicycle or pedestrian accidents, or semi-truck or bus crashes. Anytime you sustain an injury that another party could reasonably have prevented, you might have a valid personal injury claim.
Other common personal injury claims include:
- Medical malpractice: A doctor or another medical professional fails to uphold a standard of care, causing injury to the patient.
- Wrongful death: The victim suffered fatal injuries, and someone on their behalf can file a claim for specific damages.
- Slip and fall: Slip and fall accidents are often preventable and can occur due to wet or slick flooring, torn carpet, broken stairs or handrails, or debris on the floor. You might slip and fall at the Tampa Museum of Art, Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), Glazer Children’s Museum, the S.S. American Victory World War II ship and museum. You might fall at Big Cat Rescue, Zoo Tampa, or the Florida Aquarium. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Adventure Island offer thrills and adventure, but also slip and fall hazards.
- Premises liability: Similar to slip and fall claims, property owners must keep their premises reasonably safe for those legally on their property. For instance, if a deck is falling apart and owners fail to repair it, they can be liable for any damages it causes. If a homeowner has a swimming pool, they must maintain it properly to prevent injuries and prevent kids from entering the area unsupervised under attractive nuisance laws.
- Workplace accidents: Employers are responsible for keeping their workplaces safe for employees. If they are negligent, they can owe the injured employee compensation. Employers where accidents might take place include:
- BayCare Health System
- HCA West Florida
- Publix Super Market
- Frontier Communications
- Walmart
- Tampa General Hospital
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Moffitt Cancer Center
- Citi
- Dog bites: Under Florida law, dog owners and handlers are strictly liable for any bites or damages their animal causes. Some states have a “one bite” rule that can allow a dog’s owner not to face certain liabilities if they didn’t know the dog was vicious. In Florida, it doesn’t matter if the dog has bitten or been vicious before or not; the owner is still liable.
- Product liability: A product’s designers, manufacturers, and distributors must only sell safe items. If a design flaw, manufacturing defect, or improper warning on a product leads to injuries, one or more of those parties can be liable for the ensuing damages.
- Child injuries: Children can sustain injuries at school, daycare, or on the playground. They can also suffer injuries from toys, clothing, baby items, and furniture. Their unique claims require a Tampa personal injury attorney who has experience managing them.
- Nursing home abuse: With a growing elderly population and extremely taxed care systems, nursing home abuse is unfortunately on the rise. There is no excuse for this type of abuse. We can hold the employees and facilities that abuse their residents liable for their actions.
Florida’s Personal Injury Statute of Limitations
Legal filing deadlines are generally known as a “statute of limitations.” Florida’s personal injury statute of limitations is four years from the date of the injury. As such, after suffering a personal injury, you have four years to file a legal claim. If you miss this crucial deadline, you can still file a claim. However, it’s almost certain that the other party will request that the court dismiss your case due to the expired statute of limitations.
In that case, the court will have no other option but to grant their request, leaving you with no further opportunities to pursue financial recovery for your personal injury damages. To avoid missing this deadline, contact Boohoff Law’s Tampa personal injury attorneys as soon as possible after you sustain an injury.
The law does allow some exceptions to the personal injury statute of limitations.
These include:
- When the underlying accident occurred, the injured individual was legally incapacitated (they have a diagnosed temporary or permanent mental illness). Even still, no more than seven years may pass between the date of the accident and the filing of a legal claim.
- The individual who allegedly caused the injury left the state of Florida after the injury-causing accident, but before the injured party can file a legal claim.
- The at-fault party intentionally concealed themselves in Florida or changed their name/identity to prevent “process” (the lawsuit and summons) from being served on them.
If you think one of these exceptions might apply to your claim, bring it to the attention of our Tampa personal injury lawyers right away.
Call Today for Your Free Consultation With a Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer from Boohoff Law
We charge no fees unless we recover money for you. We also offer complimentary, confidential case consultations. Call us at (813) 445-8161 today to receive yours. You can reach us by phone or online 24/7. If you are in the hospital or too injured to come to us, we are happy to come to you.
Client Testimonial
“Boohoff Law, Definitely stands behind Integrity the staff is extremely professional. Tatiana is not only a fantastic attorney in her expertise however she’s also down-to-earth, truly a people person. I believe in establishing relationships in any type of business that you do, they definitely bring that to the table. Thank you for all your help in my time of need. I would highly recommend this firm to represent you.”
-Elissa M.
Review: 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Boohoff Law P.A. Tampa, Florida Location
829 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Tampa, FL 33603
Phone: (813) 536-6221
