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St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorney

St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorney

After a serious accident, the last thing you should be stressed out about is dealing with an aggressive insurance company. At Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, our job is to take that pressure off you. We handle every detail of your personal injury claim from start to finish. We go the extra mile to ensure you have access to the right medical specialists and are getting the care you need. Our St. Petersburg personal injury lawyers do all the work to set you up for success in your recovery.

For more than 60 years, our firm has been fighting for the rights of accident victims in Florida. Our dedicated team has recovered more than $145 million for our deserving clients. Let us be your voice during this difficult time. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss what happened in your accident and to get advice on what to do next. Our consultations are always free of charge, so there is no risk to contact us.

Do You Have a Personal Injury Claim in St. Petersburg?

If you have been hurt in an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be able to file a personal injury claim. Even though a person or business may be at fault for your accident, the claim is made against the insurance company for that party. (Normally, the at-fault party does not pay anything out of pocket.)

As part of a personal injury claim, our attorneys will pursue compensation for all past, current, and future damages related to your accident. This includes payment to account for your medical bills, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and economic losses like lost wages.

Insurance companies look for specific evidence and detailed documentation when evaluating the claim. Because of this, you need an experienced St. Petersburg personal injury attorney to help you maximize the value of your claim.


Types Of Cases Our Personal Injury Attorneys Handle

Our St. Petersburg personal injury attorneys handle a wide variety of claims.
The most common are:

How Much Is Your Personal Injury Case Worth?

After a serious accident, an insurance adjuster may offer you a fast settlement right off the bat to cover your initial expenses. You should know that any settlement offered immediately after an injury is not intended to fully compensate you. It is intended to get you to sign away your rights.

To accurately assess the value of your personal injury case, you need to take the time to heal. You need to have a clear understanding of your injuries, what treatment is needed, and how your life will be affected. Some of the common types of compensation we pursue in a personal injury claim include payment for:

  • Medical expenses
  • Future treatment costs
  • Long-term care needs
  • Lost income due to time missed from work
  • Reduced earning capacity for the future
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of companionship or consortium

When you trust our personal injury law firm to handle your case, we will thoroughly document the full extent of your losses. We will consult with medical experts, life care planners, economists, and other professionals to determine what fair compensation should be. Our goal is to make sure you are not left with lingering financial hardships down the line due to your accident.

How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Florida?

In Florida, you have four years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a loved one was killed in an accident, you have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. These deadlines may seem far out in the immediate aftermath of an accident. However, the best time to speak with an attorney is right away.

Your personal injury lawyer will need to begin preserving evidence, tracking your treatment, and managing communication with the insurance companies immediately. The sooner you have a qualified advocate on your side, the better.

Personal Injury Claim FAQs

Personal Injury Claims

All personal injury cases are charged in the same way. It is called a contingency fee agreement. This means that the lawyer is paid a percentage of the money that is recovered for you. This percentage is one-third for most claims and 25 percent for claims against a state or government agency. You never have to put any money down and make payments. If no money is recovered, then you do not owe your lawyers anything. This makes the hiring of a lawyer no risk to you.

Very few cases end in a personal injury lawsuit. Lawsuits are expensive and take a long time. If your case can be settled reasonably without a lawsuit, that is generally the best tactic. But we cannot control the decision of the insurance companies. Some companies have begun to use a strategy where they make lowball offers in every case to weed out the people who are not willing to file suit. Sometimes, there is confusion within the insurance company and they don’t handle a claim properly. Sometimes, especially with high-value cases, they want to make sure the claim is worth paying before they settle.

Again, these situations are rare and out of our control. While we are aggressive and ready to take the claim to court, that is a decision that you, as the client, ultimately control. You will always have decision-making authority over anything that we do. All of our decisions are made together as a team.

No. Because you only pay your personal injury attorney if you recover money, there is no risk to starting a claim. If your claim involved an auto accident, you don’t have to worry about your rates going up if you were not at fault. Therefore, it is always in your best interest to hire a lawyer and set up a claim. Your medical expenses need to be paid by someone, right? If you do not want to pursue it later on down the road, you can always withdraw the claim at no penalty.

The first few days after an accident are the most important. You should see a doctor immediately to begin treatment for your injuries. Even if you do not go straight to the ER, go to an urgent care clinic or see your regular doctor as soon as possible. Any delay in treatment will indicate to an insurance company that you were not that seriously hurt.

Your next step should be to call Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas. If you need a referral to a doctor who is a specialist with these types of accidents, we know everyone in the area. We can send you to facilities that are close by and that will provide you with excellent medical treatment. But the bottom line is that treatment needs to start immediately, and you will need to follow your doctor’s advice. We, as your personal injury lawyers, will start the insurance claim and handle the insurance company while you get better.

Talk to an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
in St. Petersburg

mcquaid and douglas

We know how disruptive an unexpected accident can be to your life. Our dedicated legal team has helped countless people who are in the same situation as you. We believe that our results speak for themselves. The dozens of five-star reviews from past clients tell you how we treat people. We are the good guys with a good reputation. The insurance companies know us, respect us, and take us seriously.

If you want excellent legal help from lawyers you can trust, please call us for a free case review. We will work hard for you and treat you right.

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