Practice Areas

Personal Injury Attorney

Orlando and Winter Park, Florida

Do I Have a Personal Injury Case?

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury due to someone else's negligence or reckless behavior, you may have a valid personal injury claim on your hands. The Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. offers each prospective client a confidential consultation at no cost to you. During the consultation, we will discuss with you whether or not we feel you do have a valid personal injury claim.

There are certain factors we will look for when making our determination on the validity of your claim. First and foremost, there must be some type of personal injury. You may also have a personal injury claim if you lost a loved one through negligence or wrongdoing. We have represented numerous Orlando residents in wrongful death cases, and we can help you, too.

Elements to Prove Negligence

There are four elements that must exist in order to prove a personal injury claim. The first is duty. The law assumes that a duty of care exists for all people in relation to any other person. In the instance of a car accident, Driver A owes a duty to all the other drivers on the road not to break traffic laws and increase the risk of danger. Driver A, for example, should not drive while using his cell phone or after drinking.

Once a duty is established, there can be no breach of that duty. If there is a breach of duty, then the second element of negligence exists. Assuming that the plaintiff proves that a duty was present, Driver B must next prove that driver A breached that duty.

Proving breach of duty is accomplished by comparing Driver A's conduct to that of a reasonable person, which is the typical standard used. Driver B, the plaintiff, must prove that a reasonable person would not have run the red light at the intersection, and if Driver B is successful in doing so, he has proven that Driver A breached the duty of care.

Third, there must be some personal injury to the plaintiff and that the injury will result in damages. If damages are not present in a personal injury case, then the case will not hold up in court. The following are some of the most common damages in personal injury claims:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement
• Physical impairment
• Loss of consortium
• Wrongful death damages
• Punitive damages

The final piece needed for a strong personal injury case is collectability, which the defendant in a case must makes good on their judgment. Sometimes, a plaintiff will not be able to collect on his/her judgment because the defendant in the case does not have enough money to pay the judgment or does not have the insurance that would normally cover a judgment. This will be considered before going to court.

If you live in the Orlando, Florida area and feel you may have a personal injury claim, please contact the experienced Florida personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. today to schedule a confidential, no-cost consultation.

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