A serious injury or the death of a loved one changes everything. The legal system that follows is not designed to be easy to navigate, and the people you will be dealing with on the other side, the insurance adjusters, the defense lawyers, the carrier’s experts, do this for a living. They have resources, playbooks, and the institutional incentive to pay as little as possible. The injured client has none of that on their own. The job of a personal injury and wrongful death lawyer is to even the asymmetry: to bring the same level of preparation, investigation, and willingness to litigate that the defense side brings as a matter of course, and to make sure the case reaches the resolution it deserves rather than the one the insurance carrier finds convenient.
The Law Offices of C. W. Wickersham, Jr., P.A. handles serious personal injury and wrongful death matters throughout Florida. Mr. Wickersham personally evaluates each case, handles client communication directly, attends mediation, and tries the case if it does not settle. Since opening the firm in 2011, he has personally handled more than 5,000 civil litigation matters in Florida state and federal courts. He has tried cases to verdict in Florida courts and has obtained substantial recoveries for clients, including multi-million-dollar resolutions in serious injury and wrongful death matters. All personal injury and wrongful death cases are handled on contingency, with no fee unless we recover for you. The consultation is free. You pay nothing out of pocket, at any stage, unless and until the case produces a recovery.
Most personal injury firms in Florida settle every case they accept and have not tried a case in years. The defense bar knows this. Insurance carriers price their settlement offers accordingly. A firm that is genuinely prepared to try a case occupies a different position in the negotiation, because the carrier knows the case will not go away for a nominal offer.
We prepare every case for trial. The cases that ultimately settle on favorable terms are almost always the ones the defense knows it will lose if it does not settle on those terms. The cases that need to be tried get tried.
On March 24, 2023, Florida’s tort reform legislation fundamentally changed the landscape for personal injury cases. Before that date, Florida was a pure comparative negligence state: even if a jury found the injured person was 90% at fault, they still recovered 10% of their damages. Under that system, almost every case had some settlement value regardless of comparative fault, and the settlement-mill playbook of “demand letter, negotiate, settle quick” produced at least some recovery on almost everything. The defense bar knew the mill wouldn’t try the case, but it didn’t matter as much because the comparative fault fight only affected the size of the recovery, not whether recovery existed at all
That system is gone. Under the modified comparative negligence standard now in effect under section 768.81 of the Florida Statutes, a person found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. Not a reduced amount. Nothing. The comparative fault question is no longer a negotiation over percentages. It is a binary question: is the injured person over 50% at fault, or under? If over, the case is worth zero.
Insurance carriers and defense firms understand this perfectly. The standard defense playbook has always included aggressively attributing fault to the injured person. They were following too closely. They weren’t paying attention. They should have seen the hazard. Before the 2023 reform, that was a strategy to reduce the settlement number. Now it is a strategy to eliminate the case entirely. If the defense can credibly argue 51% fault on the injured person, the case is not worth less; it is worth nothing.
A defense firm negotiating with a settlement mill knows the mill will not try the case. The mill has no credible response when the defense pushes the comparative fault allocation. The mill cannot say “we’ll let a jury decide the fault question” because everyone in the room knows they will not. The defense prices accordingly: either the injured person accepts a lowball offer that prices in the risk of a 51% allocation, or the defense walks away entirely. The mill folds, takes the lowball, and moves on to the next file.
A trial-ready firm changes that equation entirely. When the defense knows the plaintiff’s lawyer will actually put the comparative fault question to a jury, and will fight the allocation aggressively with accident reconstruction, expert testimony, and the evidence developed through real litigation, the 51% threshold becomes a risk for the defense, not just for the plaintiff. The defense’s settlement leverage disappears when the other side is genuinely prepared to try the case.
In post-reform Florida, the firm you hire for a personal injury case is not just a preference. It is the single biggest factor in whether the case produces a meaningful recovery or gets settled for a fraction of its value because the defense knew your lawyer would never take it to trial.
The consultation is free. The call costs nothing. If you have been seriously injured, call the firm and let us evaluate the case. If we take the case, you pay no fee unless we win. If we do not think the case is viable, we will tell you directly, and that conversation costs you nothing either.
The threshold question for any prospective client is whether the case is realistically worth pursuing. The honest answer in Florida is that it depends on three things: liability (is someone else legally responsible for what happened to you), damages (how serious are the injuries and what is the long-term impact), and recovery (does the responsible party have insurance coverage or assets sufficient to actually pay a judgment).
Florida’s insurance market presents particular challenges. Many Florida drivers carry no bodily injury liability coverage at all, and many of those who do carry only the state-minimum 10/20 policy. Most Florida drivers do not carry uninsured motorist coverage, even though insurance agents in Florida frequently describe state-minimum policies as “full coverage” in a way that leads consumers to believe they have protection they do not actually have. The result is that some otherwise meritorious cases produce no realistic recovery, regardless of how serious the injuries are or how clearly the other party was at fault.
We are direct with prospective clients about this reality during the initial consultation. When the case is workable, we say so and pursue it aggressively. When it is not, we tell you clearly, and where possible we identify alternative recovery paths. The initial consultation for personal injury and wrongful death matters is complimentary, and the consultation itself is often valuable even when the case ultimately turns out not to be viable.
**Motor Vehicle Collisions.** Auto accident claims, including soft-tissue injury cases and claims involving disputed liability, contested damages, or uninsured and underinsured motorists. We pursue claims against the at-fault driver’s bodily injury coverage, the client’s own uninsured motorist coverage where it exists, and additional coverage layers through household policies, employer coverage where the at-fault driver was acting in the scope of employment, and similar recovery sources.
Commercial Premises Liability. Serious injury claims against commercial property owners, including retailers, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, apartment complexes, gas stations, and other commercial defendants. Negligent security cases (assaults, robberies, and other criminal acts on poorly secured commercial property), dangerous condition cases (failure to maintain, failure to warn), and other commercial premises claims where adequate insurance coverage supports meaningful recovery.
Wrongful Death. Wrongful death claims under Chapter 768 of the Florida Statutes, including motor vehicle fatalities, commercial premises fatalities, medical malpractice deaths, and wrongful death claims against government entities and law enforcement actors under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and related civil rights statutes. Florida wrongful death cases involve a distinct statutory framework, including the categories of survivors entitled to recover, the apportionment of damages between the estate and the survivors, and the limitation period for filing suit. We handle wrongful death claims at every stage from presuit investigation through trial.
Medical Malpractice. Medical malpractice claims in Florida are governed by Chapter 766, which requires presuit notice, corroborating expert affidavits, and substantive proof that a healthcare provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care. Not every bad outcome is malpractice; the law specifically requires that the provider’s conduct fell below the standard of care that a reasonably prudent similar provider would have followed under the circumstances. The firm accepts medical malpractice cases selectively, after thorough review of the medical records and consultation with appropriate experts, with a particular focus on cases involving serious injury or death.
Civil Rights Wrongful Death and Federal Personal Injury Claims. Wrongful death and serious injury cases arising from the use of force by law enforcement, jail and correctional facility deaths, and other constitutional violations actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. These cases require federal court litigation experience, familiarity with qualified immunity doctrine, and the ability to develop the evidentiary record under the standards specific to federal civil rights claims. Mr. Wickersham is admitted to practice in all three federal district courts in Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and currently represents clients in federal civil rights matters at both the trial and appellate levels.
Personal attention from the lawyer, not a case manager. Mr. Wickersham personally evaluates each case at intake. He communicates directly with clients throughout the representation. He attends mediation. He tries the case if it goes to trial. The volume firms operate on a different model, with intake by paralegals, case management by case managers, settlement negotiation by junior associates, and clients who rarely speak with the attorney whose name is on the firm. Some clients prefer that model. Many do not. This firm operates on the model where the lawyer handles the case.
Resources to investigate and build the case. Serious personal injury and wrongful death cases are not won by demand letters. They are won by professional investigation, accident reconstruction expertise, medical experts, life-care planners, vocational economists, and the willingness to spend the money required to develop the evidence the case needs. The firm advances these costs and engages the experts the case requires. The reimbursement of costs comes out of the recovery, and the client pays nothing out of pocket during the representation.
Direct conversations about realistic case value. We are candid with clients about the realistic value of their case at the outset of the representation, rather than waiting until months into the case to deliver bad news about coverage or damages. When the case is workable, we say so and pursue it aggressively. When it is not, we tell the client clearly and, where possible, identify alternative recovery paths.
Selective case acceptance. Personal injury work for a small firm is economically viable only when each case is given the time and preparation it deserves. We accept cases selectively, and we focus on matters involving serious injury or death, cases against defendants with adequate insurance coverage or other recovery sources, and cases where the underlying liability and damages picture supports the work required to litigate the case effectively.
Appellate work handled in-house. Personal injury and wrongful death cases that go to trial often produce post-trial motions, and adverse verdicts or rulings can require appellate review. We handle our own appellate work in the District Courts of Appeal of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court when accepted for review, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Continuity between trial counsel and appellate counsel produces better briefs, better issue preservation, and better outcomes than transferring the case to outside appellate counsel after the verdict.
The carrier’s initial offer on a represented personal injury case is rarely the carrier’s actual valuation of the case. The offers that come in early in the case are testing whether the lawyer will accept a nominal payment to close the file. Substantive case development (records, expert review, formal demand, and suit if necessary) moves the number to what the case is actually worth. The following examples illustrate the pattern across different case types:
Auto carrier negligence case. Initial offer following formal demand: $3,500. Settled one week before trial: $350,000, representing 87.5% of $400,000 total available policy limits.
Serious medical negligence resulting in death. Initial offer: $250,000. Settled at mediation: $1,500,000.
Commercial premises liability against industrial gas supplier. Initial offer: $15,000. Settled three weeks before trial: $250,000.
Auto negligence case against an individual defendant. Initial offer: $0. Settled one month before trial: $90,000, representing 90% of the $100,000 available policy limit.
Uninsured motorist claim against the client’s own carrier. Initial offer: $0. Settled three weeks before trial: $130,000, representing the full uninsured motorist policy limit.
Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The outcome of any case depends on the specific facts and applicable law. Each case is unique.
Traumatic brain injury. Including concussion, post-concussion syndrome, diffuse axonal injury, and severe TBI with permanent cognitive, behavioral, or physical impairment. TBI cases require specific medical expertise (neurology, neuropsychology, life-care planning) because the long-term consequences of brain injury are often invisible on initial evaluation and only become clear over time.
Spinal cord injury and back injury. Including cervical, thoracic, and lumbar disc injuries, fractures, paralysis, and chronic pain conditions requiring surgical intervention. Spinal injuries often involve disputed causation (was the injury caused by the collision or by a pre-existing condition) and require detailed development of the medical record.
Orthopedic injuries requiring surgery. Including fractures requiring open reduction and internal fixation, joint injuries requiring arthroscopic or replacement surgery, and complex orthopedic trauma. Surgical injuries typically produce documented damages that translate well to settlement and verdict.
Internal injuries. Including organ damage, internal bleeding, and other non-orthopedic trauma. Internal injuries can be life-threatening initially and often produce significant long-term medical needs.
*Burns. Including thermal burns, chemical burns, and electrical burns. Burn injuries are among the most painful and most disfiguring of all personal injury categories, often requiring extensive surgical reconstruction and producing permanent scarring and disability.
Soft tissue injuries with continuing impairment. Including cervical and lumbar strains, ligament and tendon injuries, and connective tissue injuries that produce continuing pain, limitation of motion, or functional impairment. Soft tissue cases are often dismissed by defense counsel as low-value, but cases involving documented continuing impairment can support significant recovery when properly developed.
Wrongful death. Wrongful death cases involve the loss of a family member and a distinct statutory framework under Chapter 768 of the Florida Statutes. The damages recoverable depend on the categories of survivors entitled to recover and the specific facts of the case.
Florida presents unique challenges and opportunities in personal injury litigation. The state’s highways carry heavy traffic year-round, and the combination of high speeds, distracted driving, tourists unfamiliar with local roads, and Florida’s year-round construction activity produces a consistently high volume of serious motor vehicle collisions. Jacksonville, the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, spans Duval County and includes major interstate corridors (I-95, I-10, I-295, and the Hart and Dames Point bridges), sprawling suburban road networks, and high-traffic commercial corridors where serious collisions occur regularly.
Commercial premises liability cases arise throughout Northeast Florida, including retail injuries at shopping centers and big-box stores, hotel and resort injuries, restaurant slip-and-fall cases, apartment complex negligent security claims, and gas station and convenience store incidents. Jacksonville’s extensive commercial development, combined with Florida’s year-round outdoor activity and tourism traffic, creates conditions that produce a steady volume of serious premises liability claims.
Florida’s insurance environment adds complexity. Many Florida drivers carry no bodily injury liability coverage at all, and many who do carry only the state-minimum 10/20 policy ($10,000 per person, $20,000 per accident). PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage pays up to $10,000 in initial medical expenses regardless of fault, but that coverage is often exhausted quickly in cases involving serious injury. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, when it exists, is often the most important recovery source in Florida auto cases, and developing that coverage through the client’s own policy requires its own strategic approach.
The firm is based in Jacksonville and handles personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. The firm is admitted in all three United States District Courts in Florida (Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts) and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and handles cases in both state and federal court.
A serious personal injury or wrongful death case is not resolved in weeks. It is resolved over months, and in some cases over a year or more. Many clients have never been through litigation before and find the unfamiliar process and pacing stressful on top of the injury that brought them to the firm in the first place. The roadmap below explains the typical phases of a serious injury or wrongful death case in Florida and what the firm is doing during each phase, so clients can understand what is happening and what to expect. Every case is different, and the specific timeline for any individual case depends on the facts, the defendants, the insurance coverage, and the court’s calendar.
Phase 1: Investigation and Treatment (typically 3 to 9 months after retention). After the client signs a contingency fee agreement, the firm begins gathering the documents and evidence needed to develop the case. We request medical records from every provider who treated the client, obtain the police report and any related law enforcement materials, collect the medical bills and insurance correspondence, gather employment records to document lost wages, and pursue the underlying liability evidence (witness statements, photographs, traffic camera footage where available, accident reconstruction documentation, and similar).
During this phase, the client’s most important job is to focus on getting better. Personal injury claims are generally not ready to resolve until the client has reached what doctors and lawyers call “maximum medical improvement” (MMI), meaning the point at which the client’s condition has stabilized and the long-term medical picture is reasonably clear. Trying to settle a case before MMI risks settling for less than the case is actually worth, because future medical needs and long-term impact are not yet visible. For minor injuries this can take weeks; for serious injuries, months; for catastrophic injuries, sometimes a year or more. Following your doctors’ treatment plan, attending appointments, and documenting how the injury is affecting your daily life are all things that help the case in addition to helping you recover.
This phase can sometimes feel quiet from the client’s perspective, because much of the work happening (records requests, file building, evidence gathering, medical care progressing) is not visible from the outside. Significant work is happening in the background even when there is no dramatic development to report.
Phase 2: Demand and Pre-Suit Negotiation (typically 2 to 4 months). Once the client reaches MMI (or close enough to it that the long-term picture is clear), the firm prepares a comprehensive demand package and submits it to the at-fault party’s insurance carrier. The demand package includes the medical records, the bills, a narrative of the liability and damages, the lost wage documentation, and a demand for settlement.
The carrier typically responds within 30 to 60 days, either with an offer, with a request for additional information, or with a denial. If the carrier makes an offer, there is usually a back-and-forth negotiation that takes another several weeks. Some cases resolve at this phase. Many do not, because the carrier’s initial valuation of the case is lower than the case is actually worth, and we will not recommend acceptance of an offer that does not adequately compensate the client. If the case does not resolve at this phase, the firm files suit.
Phase 3: Filing Suit and Discovery (typically 8 to 14 months). After suit is filed, the defendant has 20 days to respond. Once the defendant has answered, the case enters the discovery phase. Discovery is the period during which both sides formally exchange information: interrogatories (written questions answered under oath), requests for production (document demands), requests for admission, and depositions (sworn testimony taken in person or by video).
Discovery is typically the longest phase of litigation. Florida circuit court rules generally allow 8 to 12 months for discovery, and the period is sometimes extended by court order or by agreement. During discovery, the firm takes depositions of the defendant and any relevant witnesses, defends the client’s deposition (with extensive preparation beforehand), retains the experts needed to support the case (accident reconstruction, medical, life-care planning, vocational, and economic experts as appropriate), and develops the trial-ready evidence record.
Mediation typically occurs near the end of discovery. Florida courts require mediation before trial in nearly all civil cases, and most cases that are going to settle, settle at mediation. Mediation is a settlement conference with a neutral mediator who attempts to facilitate resolution; it is not binding, and either party can walk away if no agreement is reached. The client attends mediation in person along with the attorney.
Phase 4: Trial Preparation and Trial (typically 2 to 4 months from the close of discovery to trial). Cases that do not settle go to trial. Trial preparation involves finalizing the witness list, preparing exhibits, drafting trial briefs and motions in limine, conducting final witness preparation, and preparing for jury selection. Florida civil trials in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases typically last several days to two weeks, depending on complexity. The client attends trial, and clients are typically called as witnesses in their own case.
After trial, the jury renders a verdict, which is reduced to a judgment. Either party may file post-trial motions or appeal.
Phase 5: Resolution and Disbursement (typically 1 to 3 months after settlement or verdict). Once a case resolves (whether by settlement, verdict, or post-trial agreement), there are several steps before the client receives funds. The defendant or carrier pays the settlement or judgment into the firm’s trust account. Outstanding medical liens are then negotiated and resolved (health insurers, hospitals, Medicare, Medicaid, and similar lienholders typically have claims against the recovery that must be satisfied before the client takes their portion). The firm’s contingency fee and costs are calculated and itemized in a closing statement. The client receives a settlement statement detailing every component of the gross recovery, every deduction, and the net amount payable, and the client receives their funds by check or wire transfer.
This phase often takes longer than clients expect. Medicare and Medicaid lien resolution in particular can take several months, and the firm has fiduciary obligations to ensure all liens are properly resolved before disbursement. We work to expedite this phase, and we keep clients informed throughout.
Total typical timeline. For a typical serious personal injury or wrongful death case that does not settle pre-suit, the total time from retention to disbursement is 18 to 30 months. Cases that resolve pre-suit are faster (typically 6 to 12 months total). Cases that proceed to verdict and post-trial proceedings can take 24 to 36 months or more. Catastrophic injury cases, cases involving multiple defendants, and cases with complex damages may take longer still. Some cases resolve significantly faster than these ranges, and we do everything in our power to resolve every case as quickly as the facts and circumstances permit, consistent with the goal of obtaining the recovery the client deserves. The firm provides updates at meaningful milestones, and clients are always welcome to call or email with questions at any time.
Florida’s statute of limitations for most negligence-based personal injury claims is now two years from the date of the injury. The Florida Legislature reduced the limitation period from four years to two years effective March 24, 2023, and the shortened period applies to most personal injury and wrongful death claims accruing after that date. Other categories of claims have different deadlines: medical malpractice claims have their own complex statute of limitations and statute of repose under Chapter 766; claims against government entities have presuit notice requirements with their own time limits; and federal civil rights claims have their own limitation periods. The single most important thing an injured person can do is consult counsel promptly, both to preserve evidence and to avoid statutory time bars that can extinguish an otherwise meritorious case.
All personal injury and wrongful death matters are handled on a contingency fee basis. The firm advances the costs of investigation, experts, depositions, and litigation, and the client pays no attorney’s fee unless the firm recovers money on the client’s behalf. Standard Florida personal injury contingency rates apply (33⅓% of recovery before suit is filed; 40% after suit is filed, with adjustments at certain milestones), and the specific terms are set forth in the written contingency fee agreement signed at the outset of representation.
Medical treatment. If you have been injured and are worried about how to pay for medical treatment, you should know two things. First, Florida is a no-fault state, and your own automobile insurance policy includes Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage that pays up to $10,000 in initial medical expenses regardless of who was at fault. You are entitled to this coverage under your own policy, and you should use it. Second, the firm coordinates medical treatment with providers who will treat on a letter of protection, which means the provider agrees to defer payment until the case resolves. This allows you to get the medical treatment you need now, without paying out of pocket, while the case is pending. You do not have to choose between medical care and hiring a lawyer.
Personal injury and wrongful death consultations are complimentary. There is no consultation fee for cases handled on contingency.
Personal injury and wrongful death cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning the client pays no attorney's fee unless the firm recovers money on the client's behalf. The firm advances the costs of investigation, experts, depositions, and litigation, and those costs are reimbursed from the recovery at the conclusion of the case. The client pays nothing out of pocket during the representation. Standard Florida personal injury contingency rates apply: 33⅓% of recovery before suit is filed and 40% after suit is filed, with adjustments at certain milestones in particular case categories. There is no fee for the initial consultation on personal injury and wrongful death matters.
Florida's statute of limitations for most negligence-based personal injury claims is two years from the date of the injury, reduced from four years effective March 24, 2023. Wrongful death claims have their own two-year limitation period running from the date of death. Other categories of claims have different deadlines: medical malpractice has its own complex statute of limitations and statute of repose; claims against government entities have presuit notice requirements with their own time limits; and federal civil rights claims have their own periods. The single most important practical consideration is to consult counsel as soon as possible after the injury or death, both to preserve evidence and to avoid statutory time bars.
Most personal injury and wrongful death cases settle rather than go to trial, often at mediation or in the weeks before trial. The cases that settle on favorable terms are usually the ones where the defense recognizes it will lose if the case goes to trial, which is why preparing every case for trial is so important to the settlement value. We prepare every case as if it will go to trial, and we try the cases that need to be tried. Whether your specific case settles or proceeds to verdict depends on the strength of the liability and damages evidence, the defendant's posture, the insurance coverage, and the willingness of the parties to negotiate a reasonable resolution. We do not recommend acceptance of a settlement offer that does not adequately compensate the client, even when settlement would be easier than trial.
Florida personal injury law allows recovery of both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include past medical expenses, future medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and property damage. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and disability. In wrongful death cases, additional categories of damages apply under Chapter 768, including loss of support and services to surviving family members, loss of companionship and guidance, and mental and emotional pain and suffering for the survivors. Punitive damages are available in certain limited categories of cases involving particularly egregious conduct, but Florida law requires that punitive damages be sought by motion and granted by court order during the case, rather than pleaded at the outset.
Florida operates under a modified comparative negligence system under Section 768.81 of the Florida Statutes. Under the current rule (effective March 24, 2023), a plaintiff whose fault is found to be more than 50% is barred from recovery. A plaintiff whose fault is 50% or less recovers, with damages reduced by the percentage of plaintiff fault. For example, if a plaintiff is found 30% at fault and the defendant is found 70% at fault, the plaintiff recovers 70% of the damages award. Comparative fault disputes are common in personal injury litigation, and defense counsel routinely attempt to assign fault to the injured party even when the underlying conduct of the defendant was the primary cause of the injury. The shift from Florida's prior "pure" comparative negligence rule (under which any percentage of plaintiff fault, even 99%, still allowed proportional recovery) to the current "modified" rule was a significant change that makes the comparative-fault question more consequential in many cases.
This is one of the reasons it matters which lawyer you hire. The comparative-fault question is often the difference between a case that recovers fully and a case that recovers reduced damages, or even between a case that recovers and a case that is barred entirely under the new 50% rule. The firm's ability to develop the evidence, present the case persuasively, and convince a judge and jury that the client was not primarily at fault for their own injuries can be decisive. Defense counsel will work hard to assign fault to the injured party, and the firm representing the plaintiff has to work equally hard to counter that effort.
It depends on your situation. If you have health insurance, using it is generally the right approach. Health insurance provides immediate access to medical care, negotiates lower rates with providers than the providers charge uninsured patients, and is reimbursed at the end of the case through the lien resolution process rather than requiring the client to pay out of pocket during treatment. Without health insurance covering the immediate cost of care, the client would otherwise be facing collection actions from medical providers in the meantime.
If you do not have health insurance, you still have options. The firm can often arrange for you to receive medical treatment under letters of protection from qualified providers. A letter of protection is an agreement between the firm and the medical provider in which the provider agrees to treat the client and defer payment until the case resolves, with the bills paid out of the recovery at the conclusion of the case. This allows clients without health insurance to receive necessary medical care during the pendency of the case without paying out of pocket. We discuss both options with each client at the outset of the representation and determine which approach makes sense for your specific circumstances.
The factors any prospective client should consider when choosing a personal injury lawyer include the following:
Trial readiness. Some firms have not tried a case in years and settle every case they accept. The defense bar knows which firms try cases and which do not, and the settlement value of a case is partly a function of the firm's willingness to litigate. Ask the firm how many cases they have tried in the last several years and how recently.
Who actually handles the case. At many high-volume firms, the lawyer whose name is on the firm meets the client briefly at intake and then turns the case over to case managers, paralegals, and junior associates. Ask the firm who will be evaluating your case, who will be communicating with you, who will be negotiating with the carrier, and who will be appearing at mediation and trial. The answers should be the same person, or at most a small team in which the lead attorney is meaningfully involved.
Candor at intake. A firm that signs every case that calls is not screening for case quality; it is screening for retention conversion. A firm that tells you up front whether your case is likely to be worth pursuing, including when the answer is no, is operating differently. The honest answer about the case at intake is often more valuable than the optimistic answer, even though the honest answer is sometimes the harder one to hear.
Case selection. Firms that handle small numbers of cases at a time are able to devote more attention to each case than firms running thousands of cases through an industrial pipeline. The model that makes sense for a particular client depends on the case, but it is worth understanding which model the firm operates under.
Continuity through trial and appeal. Cases that go to trial may produce post-trial motions and appeals. Firms that handle their own appellate work, rather than transferring the case to outside appellate counsel after the verdict, generally produce better outcomes because the lawyer who knows the case continues to handle it.
These are the factors that distinguish firms from each other. The volume of advertising is not one of them. A firm that advertises heavily may or may not be the right firm for a particular case; the way to find out is to ask about the factors above.
Do not give a recorded statement. Do not sign anything. Do not accept any payment or settlement offer. The insurance adjuster is not working for you; they are working for the person or company that injured you, and their job is to minimize what the carrier pays. Anything you say in a recorded statement can and will be used against you later in the case, including to argue that you were more than 50% at fault, which under Florida's current law would eliminate your recovery entirely. Call us first. The consultation is free, and it protects you from making a mistake that cannot be undone.
You can change lawyers. You are not stuck with the firm you hired first, and you do not need your current lawyer's permission to make the switch. If you hired a firm weeks or months ago and no one can tell you the status of your case, no one has obtained your medical records, no one has investigated liability, and the only person you have spoken with is a case manager or paralegal you have never met, the case is not being handled the way a serious injury case needs to be handled.
The firm accepts personal injury cases transferred from other attorneys. When a case transfers in, we evaluate it from the ground up: we review the medical records, assess the liability and damages picture, identify any additional recovery sources the prior firm may have missed, and develop the case strategy as if it were a new intake. The earlier the transfer happens, the better, both because evidence preservation matters and because the two-year statute of limitations continues to run regardless of whether your prior firm was doing anything with the case. If you are not confident that your current firm is handling your case the way it should be handled, call us. The consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
Florida is a no-fault state, and your own automobile insurance policy includes Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage that pays up to $10,000 in initial medical expenses regardless of who was at fault for the accident. You are entitled to this coverage under your own policy. Beyond PIP, the firm coordinates medical treatment with providers who will treat on a letter of protection, meaning the provider agrees to wait for payment until the case resolves. This allows you to receive the medical care you need now, without paying out of pocket, while your case is pending. If you have health insurance, using it is also generally the right approach, as it provides immediate access to care and negotiated rates. We discuss all of these options with each client at the outset of the representation.
Trucking and commercial vehicle collisions are handled as a separate practice category. The federal regulatory framework, the multi-defendant liability analysis, the evidence preservation issues, and the substantial insurance coverage available in trucking cases all warrant dedicated handling. For more information about trucking and commercial vehicle litigation, see our Trucking and Commercial Vehicle Collisions page.
If you have been seriously injured or have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, please call. The consultation is free, and you will speak with the lawyer who will actually handle your case, not an intake screener or case manager. I personally evaluate every matter that comes through this firm, and there is no charge for the initial consultation on personal injury and wrongful death cases. These matters are too important to delegate.
Christopher W. Wickersham, Jr.
To discuss a serious personal injury or wrongful death matter, call the firm at (904) 389-6202 or contact us online. Personal injury and wrongful death consultations are complimentary, and serious cases should be evaluated as soon as possible after the injury or death.
