Choosing the Right Lawyer is No ACCIDENT- A Personal Injury Guide - By Jeff Adelman (2025 Edition)

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Choosing the Right Lawyer is No AccidentSTATUTES OF LIMITATIONStatutes of limitation vary from state to state, but in Florida, Illinois andat least half of the country, if you don’t file your personal injury lawsuitgenerally within TWO years of the date of the occurrence, you are timebarredfrom ever bringing an action for that accident and your injuries.If you would like to see what the statute of limitations is for your injuryclaim, there is a helpful chart available on www.NOLO.com if yousearch “Civil Statutes of Limitation.” Be sure to ask your attorney abouthow the relevant Statute of Limitation affects your Florida personalinjury claim. If you are going to make a claim, don’t wait out thecalendar—file. Delay can hurt you and hurt your attorney’s ability togive you immediate guidance.Jeff Adelman, B.C.S., Esq. 17
Choosing the Right Lawyer is No Accident“HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?” &“HOW MUCH IS MY CASE WORTH?”When I first meet with a client, the usual questions I get are “How muchis my case worth?” and “How long will it take to settle my case?” Andthe answer to both questions is always, “I don’t know.”A truthful answer will depend on several different factors, the first being,how much insurance is available on the case compared to the injuries?Next, does the person have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage,in the event that they were hit by somebody who does not have coverageor limited coverage? If there’s no insurance, then unfortunately, inFlorida, generally lawyers cannot help the victim because attempting toretrieve money on a claim when somebody doesn’t have insurance is likepounding sand. It’s futile. There are more protections available to peoplein debt in Florida than any other state. Florida’s “Homestead” lawoutlined in Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution is a majorreason why.Assuming there’s some sort of insurance available, these questions andmore are what determine the value of a victim’s claim: How serious arethe injuries? Is the client finished with their treatment? Has the plaintiffrequired any injections or surgeries? Will they be in physical therapy formonths or years? Will they be able to return to work soon, or ever? Whatkind of impact will these injuries have on the victim’s activities in dailylife?What I generally tell clients when I first meet them is that it takes a good4-8 months to figure out whether a case can be resolved without havingto file a lawsuit, or if they need to take that next step of filing the lawsuit.Of course, there are exceptions to this: the biggest exception would be ifsomebody is going through surgery and we need to know how long untilthey can recover from that surgery. You wouldn’t want to settle a caseuntil all of the facts are known and a doctor can give an informed finalopinion as to what effect these injuries will have on the rest of your life.18Jeff Adelman, B.C.S., Esq.
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Choosing the Right Lawyer is No ACCIDENT- A Personal Injury Guide - By Jeff Adelman (2025 Edition)

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