No one expects a vacation to go wrong and end up in a terrible personal injury; however, it is common for vacation goers. While most deaths that occur abroad are due to natural causes, around 18% to 24% are caused by accidents. Most of these accidents are estimated to be road accidents. When you are on vacation in another state and become injured at no fault of your own, you need to treat your personal injury a bit differently from that of an accident that happens near home. Florida personal injury laws also may differ from the regulations in your state, which can be confusing. You can speak to a local law firm where the accident occurred regarding the injuries you sustained when visiting Florida and how you can pursue a settlement claim. Get help from a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer who can help you seek a settlement from the responsible party. Contact Fasig | Brooks for a free consultation.
What to do in Case of an Accident or Injury While on Vacation in Florida?
Florida is a popular state for tourists; however, it’s not uncommon that many experience tourist injuries and have to seek compensation for damages from resort owners. It is common to get injured at theme parks, cruise ships, shopping centers, boating, and other popular tourist destinations. When you get injured, you should immediately seek legal representation so you can learn how to recover compensation from the at-fault party. Here are some of the first steps you should take:
Take Pictures
Accident victims should always take pictures of how they were injured. If you were too injured to take pictures, try to have a friend or family member do it for you. Take photographs of where you were injured and snap pictures of your wounds. The photographic evidence can show how severe your injuries are and paint a picture of what occurred.
Keep Your Bills
If your accident was tied to a particular resort, cruise ship, theme park, or activity, you should keep your tickets and any bills you paid during your visit. This information will be used as supportive evidence that you were the property owner’s business when the accident happened.
Collect Contact Information From Responsible Parties
You should get the contact information from the premises owner in addition to any witnesses that may have observed you being injured. Your attorney will later contact them on your behalf.
Get Medical Care
It is important to get immediate medical attention and not delay any healthcare treatment for your wounds. This is crucial, especially if you plan to leave the State of Florida soon. Your injuries have to be treated as soon as possible so that you can connect your accident to your medical bills. Waiting too long can diminish your injuries’ importance and make it more unclear whether your accident is connected to your medical treatment.
Speak To A State of Florida Personal Injury Lawyer
Only professionals who practice law in Florida understand how to treat your personal injury claim after you were visiting Florida. Our law firm has experience in various types of personal injury incidents and can direct you on your next steps. This includes calculating your damages, investigating your claims, and pursuing compensation through negotiation with the other party.
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Causes of Vacation Accidents in Florida
Many common tourist injuries can occur due to the careless mistakes of the resort owners. Injured tourists can receive financial compensation if the other party was neglectful in some way.
Car Accidents
The most frequent way to get injured when traveling is through a motor vehicle accident. The at-fault party typically causes the accident by breaking a traffic law, through substance abuse, aggressive driving, and other reckless behavior.
Amusement Parks
You may have been injured due to a defective amusement park ride that didn’t function properly. For example, a seatbelt might not have worked correctly, or an animal on display got loose and attacked you. It could also have been the food you ate that caused you harm.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slippery and uneven surfaces are often why an injured person can seek compensation from the other party. This also applies to worn-down areas of premises, such as torn carpet, broken steps, unmopped floors, and other hazards.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Resort guests may suffer serious injuries at the local swimming pool, including slip and fall injuries, drowning, bacterial overgrowth, and other forms of neglected maintenance.
Boating Accidents
When you suffer injuries on a boat, such as a yacht, cruise ship, speed boat, or fishing boat, while traveling, it may have been due to a slippery surface, full or partial drowning, faulty railings, and other issues.
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Most Common Injuries Suffered On Vacation
Vacation accidents can result in a wide variety of injuries, which include the following:
Broken Bones
Getting hit with a hard blunt object or hitting a surface hard can result in broken bones. Fractures can occur in the fingers, wrists, arms, legs, ankles, and toes. Additionally, it is common for the elderly to fracture a hip when they fall and become injured. You may have to take time off from work and wear crutches, braces, casts, and other devices to help you recover.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
In high-impact accidents, you can get hit in the head so hard that it results in a concussion, hemorrhage, hematoma, or penetration injury. This can result in long-term damage that you may never recover from. Brain injuries cause cognitive disorders, memory loss, and mood swings and can even cause a reduction in motor skills.
Spinal Cord Injuries
When your back gets injured during a bad accident, this can put you at risk of a spinal cord injury. Based on where you were injured along the spinal column, it is also possible to become partially to permanently paralyzed. You may experience a slipped or ruptured disc, pinched nerves, and other painful injuries. If your spinal cord was damaged enough, you may also suffer from hemiplegia or paraplegia.
Drowning Injuries
You may have partially or fully drowned due to a pool or boating accident that resulted in you getting resuscitated. Drowning injuries can also result in brain damage and other difficult wounds that can require many months to fully recover from. They can also be traumatic in nature and cause pain and suffering damages.
Food Borne Illness
Some resorts aren’t as attentive to the food quality, which could have caused you to get seriously sick. You may have suffered a serious illness that forced you to take time off from work.
Wrongful Death
If you are a family member seeking compensation on behalf of a loved one who passed away while visiting Florida, you can claim additional damages such as funeral and burial costs. Wrongful death can happen in any type of personal injury incident that somehow caused the victim to pass away. This could even happen after they returned home, as their injuries may have led the victim to pass away days, weeks, or months later.
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Why You Need an Attorney in Florida
Our Florida vacation accident lawyers have your back and can provide you with the information you need to navigate this difficult circumstance. You can learn how the state laws differ from that of your home state and how your case will be treated. Your attorney can seek a settlement on your behalf even after returning home. It won’t be necessary for you to return because your case will most likely be settled out of state. For more information, call Fasig | Brooks for a free consultation.
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