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Helping You Obtain The Compensation You Deserve After An Accident

If you suffered injuries due to someone else’s negligence, you need an experienced attorney to help guide you through the personal injury claims process. At The Barker Law Firm, our founding attorney Brian Barker, has over 35 years of experience representing injured clients in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida.

When you already face lengthy medical treatments and physical and emotional trauma, you do not need another stressor preventing you from healing. Our goal is to help you shoulder the legal burden so that you can focus on healing and moving forward.

Comprehensive Personal Injury Representation

Personal injury is a legal term used to describe an injury to the body, mind or emotions. Claims and lawsuits for personal injuries are brought by injured parties (referred to as “plaintiff” in an actual lawsuit) who have been injured due to the negligence of another individual or corporation. The basis for a personal injury includes negligence, reckless conduct, intentional misconduct and disregard for the safety of others, resulting in injury to another individual.

At The Barker Law Firm, we can help you with a wide range of personal injury claims, including those stemming from:

Serious injuries can occur when an individual or corporation breaches their obligation to act reasonably. These could include whiplash, discs of the spine that protrude, bulge or are herniated, causing pain, broken bones, severed limbs, brain injuries and sometimes death.

Holding Negligent Parties Accountable For Your Injuries

Another person, group of individuals or corporations can be held responsible for injuring someone based upon negligence if the following can be proven:

  • The party who caused your accident had an obligation to act reasonably under the circumstances
  • The party breached the duty to act reasonably under the circumstances
  • The party’s failure to act reasonably under the circumstances caused injury and
  • You suffered injury and/or monetary damage as a result of a party breaching their obligation to act reasonably under the circumstances.

Every case is unique, and your case may involve multiple parties or a corporation. At The Barker Law Firm, we will thoroughly examine your case to help determine who to file a claim against.

Understanding The Personal Injury Claims Process

As soon as an injury has occurred, and the at-fault party puts their insurance carrier on notice, the insurance carrier will begin an immediate investigation, trying to place some or all of the blame for your injury on you. They are trying to limit their insured (responsible party’s) liability for the accident, thereby significantly reducing their opinion of what your claim is worth. If you speak with them and give them information, it will be used against you later on. Even if you hire a lawyer after you have given a statement to the adverse party’s carrier or investigator, the statement you made on the record will be used against you in settlement negotiations and in a lawsuit if a lawsuit needs to be filed.

Even if you do not think you sustained serious injuries, you should still seek immediate medical attention after an accident. It can sometimes take a few days or even a week for the injuries you sustained to start hurting or restricting your activities of daily living. Getting additional medical treatment will help determine the extent of your injuries and get you treatment for your injuries.

When you meet with us, we will thoroughly examine your case, gather evidence, speak to witnesses and analyze your medical records to start building a strong claim on your behalf.

Explaining Insurance Coverage In Florida

PIP insurance, or Personal Injury Protection under Florida law, is required by every vehicle owner and driver on the road. The minimum coverage allowed is $10,000.00. PIP benefits are paid by your own insurance company on your behalf for injuries that you sustain in an accident, regardless of who is responsible for the accident.

Standard PIP coverage provides $10,000 of coverage. PIP will pay 80% of your medical bills and 60% of your lost wages due to your inability to work directly related to the accident. These benefits are available until the $10,000.00 coverage has been exhausted.

In the State of Florida, you only have fourteen (14) days from the date of the accident to obtain medical care for your injuries. If you do not seek medical care for your injuries within fourteen (14) days from the date of the accident, your PIP carrier can limit your PIP coverage benefits to $2,500.00, regardless of how much coverage you paid premiums for. It is, therefore, very important to seek medical care immediately after your accident for your injuries.

It is also entirely possible that the person who is at fault for your injuries in an automobile accident carries no insurance to compensate you for the injuries they caused you to sustain. Bodily injury coverage is not mandatory in the State of Florida. Licensed drivers are only required to carry PIP coverage to protect themselves and property damage to pay for the repairs to your vehicle up to whatever amount of coverage the other driver carries.

We have experience in presenting UM claims to insurance carriers on behalf of our clients. We represent our clients as vigorously as we would pursue a claim for bodily injury coverage from the at-fault driver if they carried BI insurance.

How We Can Help You

There is a lot of work and experience needed to pursue a personal injury claim against the responsible parties as the result of an accident. Most people have never had to navigate their way through the maze of work that needs to be done to ensure that they are protected, represented and receive the highest and fairest amount of compensation possible.

At The Barker Law Firm, we know how to navigate negotiations with insurance companies. When you work with an established and experienced attorney, you can trust that you will avoid lowball settlements. We know the tactics they use, and actively form legal strategies to help you maximize your settlement claim.

Let’s Discuss Your Case

In Florida, you only have two years from the date of an accident to file a personal injury claim. It is vital that you contact us as soon as possible to get started on your case. We do not charge a consultation fee to evaluate your case and advise you on how to proceed in your best interests. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing. To schedule your free consultation, call us at 727-564-9473 or fill out our online contact form to send us a message.