Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, and Wrongful Death - Miami, Florida Attorney John Hickey
Attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey represents victims of personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and more in Miami and across the state of Florida.
Personal Injury
Personal injury victims are those who are injured by another person’s negligent or wrongful act. Personal injury covers a wide range of incidents, including car accidents, premises liability, slip and falls, inadequate security, and defective products, and can result in serious injury to the victim.
If you have been the victim of personal injury, there are several steps you should take. First, call The Legal Team at Hickey Law Firm, P.A., as soon as possible. You can call toll free 1.866.523.5072. Second, take photographs. You should take photographs or have someone take photographs of the scene of the accident and of your injuries. Remember: "A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Third, write down specific details about the accident, including how it happened and how you were injured. Also note conversations with other people involved in the accident or claim. Write down the name, address, and all phone numbers of everyone who witnessed the accident. Fourth, preserve the evidence. If you were injured by a defective or negligently designed product or car or machinery, keep the product or car or machinery, and maintain it in a safe place. Tell us about this immediately when you contact us.
The value of any personal injury claim depends on the facts and circumstances of your case. First, you have to determine whether the "defendant” - that is, the party that is responsible for creating the dangerous condition that caused the accident - is liable; in other words, at fault. The next consideration is whether you were and fault and, if so, how much as compared to the "defendant.” Under Florida law and under Maritime law, the jury is allowed to compare the negligence of the defendant to your negligence, if any.
The value of your claim also depends on the severity of your injury and the "damages.” The following is a list of the "economic” and "non-economic” damages to which you may be entitled in any personal injury claim.
Economic Damages:
Medical expenses, past and future. The future medical expenses would include the cost of any surgery which your doctor says you will be required to have in the future.
Past lost wages. This would include loss of all compensation in the past as a result of this accident, including wages, bonuses, overtime, and raises. One way to determine the loss of past compensation is to look at the amount of compensation received on a yearly basis for a number of years before the accident, and compare that to how much you have made since the accident. This also includes what you had the potential or ability to make.
Loss of future ability to earn income. This includes what you would have made based on your history of earning before the accident and what you could have made based on your income potential that was damaged or destroyed as a result of the accident. This also includes what you had the potential or ability to make. Your spouse may also be entitled to the value of your services that have been lost as a result of the accident, both in the past and in the future.
Non-Economic Damages:
This includes compensation for the past (the day of the accident through now) and in the future (now through the end of your life expectancy). There is no formula that a jury or a judge is required to use in order to determine these damages. They are for the pain and suffering, disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, and loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life.
Your spouse may be considered also for loss of "consortium,” which means loss of comfort, society, and attentions. This is an evaluation of the loss that your spouse experiences in terms of your relationship because of your injuries.
If you have suffered personal injury in Florida, contact Hickey Law Firm, P.A. in Miami today.
Medical Malpractice
We trust our doctors and hospitals to provide appropriate treatment and care. In cases of medical malpractice, doctors or hospitals fail to offer adequate treatment, resulting in serious injury or even death. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor fails to treat a medical condition, makes an incorrect diagnosis, or fails to make a diagnosis, delays treatment, prescribes the wrong medication, or neglects to administer appropriate care after a diagnosis is made. In cases of medical malpractice, you and your family are usually inundated with medical expenses and other costs. You may be permanently disabled, preventing you from returning to work, and you may experience emotional pain and suffering.
In most medical malpractice cases, the victim must prove that the medical professional had a duty to provide appropriate care and failed to do so. Medical malpractice victims must also prove that they suffered an injury as a result of the health care provider’s negligence. In Florida, the statute of limitations - that is the time within which you have to file a lawsuit - for medical malpractice cases is two years from the date of the incident, or from the date when medical malpractice was or should have been discovered.
According to statistics posted on the Center for Justice and Democracy, up to 98,000 people are killed each year by medical errors in hospitals - far more than die from car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS - and eight times as many patients are injured by medical malpractice as ever file a claim. If you have a medical malpractice case, don’t wait to seek assistance from an experienced attorney. You deserve to be compensated if you have been injured by a medical professional’s negligence or wrongdoing. Contact us in Miami, Florida, today.
Wrongful Death
Losing a loved one can be confusing and traumatic. But pain and grief is often multiplied when the death was a result of someone’s negligent or improper conduct.
Wrongful death occurs when a person loses their life as a result of another person’s negligent or wrongful act. Examples of wrongful death are car accidents, medical malpractice, work related accidents, defective products, emergency room negligence, and failure to diagnose.
Most wrongful death cases consist of the same basic elements: the death was caused by the wrongful act of another person, the person was negligent and therefore liable for the victim’s death, there is a surviving spouse, parent, or child recognized by statute, and there is compensation available for the victim’s wrongful death.
While no amount of money can make up for the loss of a loved one, it can help with funeral and medical bills, as well as lost income. Survivors, such as a spouse, child, or parent, can collect compensation in cases of wrongful death. Compensation in wrongful death cases includes loss of love, support, and services of the deceased, losses experienced by each individual survivor, compensation for loss of the estate that would have been accumulated, and medical and funeral expenses. The statute of limitations - the time within which you have to file a lawsuit - for wrongful death cases in Florida is two years. It is imperative that you contact attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey in Miami right away if you believe you have a wrongful death case.
If you want to learn more about personal injury, medical malpractice, or wrongful death in Miami, Florida, contact Hickey Law Firm, P.A. today.
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