Personal Injury Lawyers in Titusville, FL

The consultation costs nothing. Injury cases run on a contingency fee set in a written fee agreement under Florida Bar rules, and you owe no attorney fee unless we recover for you. Three things come out of any settlement before money reaches you: the attorney fee, case costs, and repayment of medical bills or liens, like hospital or health-insurance liens. At Douglas R. Beam, P.A. there is no attorney fee if no recovery. Clients can be responsible for costs if there is no recovery. The number that matters is your net, which is why lien reduction is real legal work; negotiating medical liens down often changes your net more than any other single step. Ask any lawyer you interview to walk through that math.

Mostly no. Titusville is the county seat and its Historic Courthouse at 506 S. Palm Ave is still a working courthouse, but today it handles county civil matters plus probate and guardianship. Serious injury claims over $50,000 are filed as circuit civil cases, and in Brevard County that means the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Justice Center in Viera, no matter where in the county your accident happened. The Melbourne branch courthouse handles juvenile cases. If your injury case goes to court, Viera is where it will be heard. The drive is our problem, not yours.

For most Florida crash and injury claims caused by someone else's carelessness, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. Florida shortened that deadline from four years to two, and the change applies to crashes after March 24, 2023. If your crash happened on or before that date, the older four-year deadline may still apply, which means some 2022 and early 2023 crashes are still within the window today. Deadlines also work differently for claims against a city, county, or state agency, which require written notice to the agency before any lawsuit, and for wrongful death and defective product claims. Do not assume a child's claim gets extra time, because in most Florida injury cases it does not. Don't assume you're too late either. Call us and we'll check your date for free. Two years sounds long; building a case worth filing takes months of records and evidence, so early beats late every time.

A second clock runs on your own insurance. Florida's no-fault law requires your first medical visit occur within 14 days of the crash to use your PIP benefits. Miss that window and your own insurance can deny the coverage you already pay for. PIP pays 80 percent of covered bills, up to $10,000 in combined medical and disability benefits when a qualified provider finds you had an emergency medical condition, and only up to $2,500 when no one makes that finding. An ER visit at Parrish, a walk-in clinic, or your own doctor all satisfy the requirement. Go get checked, even if you feel okay.

These timelines cover car crash and other injury claims based on someone's carelessness. Medical malpractice, wrongful death, claims against government agencies, and claims involving a defective product follow their own separate rules and deadlines. If your situation is one of those, call us and we'll tell you which deadline applies.

Fair question. Melbourne is forty miles from Titusville, but that distance is less important than how experienced your lawyers are. Here's what matters legally: Brevard has one circuit court system, centered in Viera, and your lawyer's job is to know those courtrooms and come to you, not the reverse. Our firm has tried cases across Brevard for nearly four decades, Titusville included. Distance is a solved problem; courtroom experience isn't.

For newer car accident claims, Florida uses a modified comparative negligence rule. If you're found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. If your share is 50 percent or less, you still recover, but your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. Whether the new rule or Florida's older rule applies to your case depends on timing questions courts are still sorting out, and different rules apply to medical malpractice claims and claims involving intentional conduct, so ask us about your situation. That's why fault evidence on US-1's left turns and the I-95 interchanges gets fought early, and why the first weeks of evidence work matter.