When a Serious Injury Changes Everything
A serious injury does more than hurt. It can end a career, drain savings, and change what a family’s future looks like. The Injury Advocates represents people with serious and catastrophic injuries across Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, from our office in Plantation. Our founder, Kweku Darfoor, is personally involved in every case we take on, and we have recovered millions of dollars for clients, including a $2 million truck accident settlement.
Florida’s injury laws changed significantly in 2023, and those changes make how a case is handled from the first days more important than ever. This page explains how a Florida personal injury claim works, the rules that control it, and what we do differently.
Cases We Handle
We concentrate on cases involving serious harm, where the stakes justify a full investigation and the insurer has every reason to fight.
Catastrophic injuries we regularly handle include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, amputations, severe burns, and injuries that require multiple surgeries or lifelong care.
How a Florida Personal Injury Claim Works
1. Medical care first. Your health comes first, and your records are the foundation of the case. In a car crash, Florida’s no-fault law requires you to get initial treatment within 14 days to use your PIP benefits (section 627.736, Florida Statutes). In every case, gaps in treatment give insurers an argument that you were not really hurt.
2. Investigation. We gather the crash report or incident report, photos and video, witness statements, and the records that show what happened. In truck, premises, and product cases we send preservation demands immediately so that logs, surveillance video, and physical evidence are not lost.
3. Identifying every responsible party and policy. Serious injuries often exceed one insurance policy. We look at the at-fault party’s coverage, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, employer and commercial policies, homeowners policies, and any other responsible party, such as a vehicle owner, a property manager, or a product manufacturer.
4. Building the damages case. Florida now limits what a jury can hear about medical bills (section 768.0427). Evidence of past bills is generally limited to what was actually paid, and future care is measured against specific benchmarks. That makes careful documentation of future medical needs, lost earning capacity, and life care costs essential in a serious injury case.
5. The demand and negotiation. Once your doctors can say what your long-term outlook is, we present a demand supported by the evidence. Florida’s 2023 reforms give insurers a 90-day window after a properly supported claim to pay policy limits and avoid a bad faith claim (section 624.155). A well-documented demand puts that pressure on the insurer.
6. Lawsuit and trial, if needed. Most cases settle, but insurers pay full value only when they believe you will go to trial. We prepare every case as if it will.
Florida Rules That Shape Your Case
Two-year deadline. For most negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, you have two years from the date of injury to file suit (section 95.11, Florida Statutes). Medical malpractice, wrongful death, and claims against government agencies follow their own rules and deadlines.
Modified comparative fault. Under section 768.81(6), if you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your own injury, you recover nothing. If you are 50 percent or less at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share. Insurers now work hard to shift blame to the injured person, which is why what you say in the first days, and whether you give a recorded statement, matters so much. Medical malpractice claims are not subject to the 50 percent bar.
No-fault and the injury threshold. In motor vehicle cases, your own PIP coverage pays first, up to $10,000. To recover pain and suffering from the at-fault driver, your injury must meet the threshold in section 627.737(2): a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring, significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, or death.
Government defendants. Claims against the State, counties, cities, public hospital systems such as Broward Health, Memorial Healthcare System, and Jackson Health System, and other public agencies follow section 768.28. They require written notice before suit and are generally limited to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident unless the Legislature approves more.
What You May Be Able to Recover
In catastrophic cases, future costs are often the largest part of the claim. We work with life care planners, economists, and treating physicians to document them.
What to Do After a Serious Injury
Free tools: Florida accident deadline checker · Which insurance applies to your crash?
The Injury Advocates team tries to go above & beyond for those interested in simply getting the facts straight about their potential case. This is why we’ve put together some of the most common frequently asked questions we come across.
Why Clients Choose The Injury Advocates
An attorney, not a case mill. You work with a lawyer, not only a paralegal. Kweku Darfoor evaluates every case personally and stays involved from the first call through resolution.
Serious cases are our focus. We concentrate on injuries that change lives, and we build each case for the long run rather than pushing for a quick, low settlement.
Every source of recovery. We look beyond the obvious policy to every responsible party and every coverage that may apply.
Insurers know us. We have handled claims against the major carriers and public hospital systems in South Florida, and we understand the 2023 reforms that insurers now use against injured people.
No fees or costs unless we win. Your consultation is free. We advance the costs of experts and investigation, and if we do not win, you owe nothing.
We represent clients throughout Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Miramar, as well as North Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County. See our Areas We Serve page.
For a free consultation, call 833-DARFOOR any time, day or night, or send us a message through our contact page. We will review your situation, explain the insurance that may apply, and tell you honestly what your options are.
A catastrophic injury is one that permanently changes a person’s life or ability to work. Common examples include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, amputations, severe burns, and injuries that require multiple surgeries or lifelong care.
Nothing up front. Your consultation is free, and we handle injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means our fee is a percentage of the money we recover for you. If we do not win your case, you owe no attorney’s fees and no case costs.
Depending on the case, damages can include past and future medical care, lost wages and lost earning capacity, home modifications and in-home care, and pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. In catastrophic cases, future costs are often the largest part of the claim, so they need to be documented with care.
For most negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, the deadline is two years from the date of injury. Medical malpractice, wrongful death, and claims against government agencies follow different rules and notice requirements.
Florida uses modified comparative negligence for most injury cases. If you are 50% or less at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover. Medical malpractice cases still follow the older pure comparative negligence rule.
It depends on the severity of your injuries, how clear liability is, and how the insurer responds. A claim that settles before a lawsuit is filed often resolves in a few months to about a year; one that goes into litigation typically takes longer, often a year or more, especially if you are still being treated or the case goes to trial. It is often wise not to settle until your doctors understand your long-term prognosis, because once you settle you generally cannot reopen the claim.
You tell us what happened, we review your situation and the insurance that may apply, and we explain your options. There is no charge for the evaluation. Call 833-DARFOOR any time, day or night.
Only for pain and suffering. Under section 627.737(2), Florida Statutes, non-economic damages against an at-fault driver require a permanent injury, significant permanent scarring, significant permanent loss of an important bodily function, or death. Medical bills and lost wages beyond your PIP coverage can be pursued without meeting the threshold.
Not before speaking with a lawyer. Under Florida’s modified comparative fault rule, an insurer that can assign you more than half the blame avoids paying anything, and recorded statements are often used to do exactly that. You can report the claim without giving a recorded account of how it happened.
