Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have a case?

If you are the victim of an accident or other incident in which you sustain serious injuries, you may very well have a case.  We invite you to fill out our free case evaluation form, or to call our offices.  Once we have your information, one of our skilled attorneys will quickly review your case and contact you with our analysis and recommendations.

Do I need to hire a lawyer?

As attorneys that specialize in personal injury law, we are very experienced in guiding you and your loved ones through the overwhelming process that follows most accidents, injuries and malpractice cases.  We will help you make decisions that are in your best interests, and we will protect you from taking actions that will damage your claim.  After an injury, the next step may not be so obvious.  At Wolf & Pravato, our litigation team will take care of every possible issue that may arise.  We will advise you of the best course of action to take at every step of the way.  At Wolf & Pravato, we know how to ensure that you achieve the maximum result for your case.

Do I have to pay money out of my pocket?

No.  Our initial consultation is completely free.  Thereafter, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means that we only collect an attorney’s fee if we are able to obtain a financial recovery for our client.  Once we successfully obtain money damages for our client, our fee is based on a percentage of the recovery.

Can you ever sue for an injury at work?

In most cases, an injury at work must be handled through the Florida worker's compensation system. However, there are exceptions to this rule if the employer's conduct is considered so negligent that the employer is "culpable" in the accident that led to the injury. There may also be exceptions if the injury occurred as a result of a defective product. The experienced attorneys at Wolf & Pravato are knowledgeable in all areas of personal injury law and can help you to decide whether your work injury claim can lead to a lawsuit or whether you'll be restricted to recovery through workers comp alone.

What is the Florida Worker's Compenstation System?

Florida, like the other states throughout the United States, has established the workers compensation system as an exclusive remedy system. Under Florida worker's compensation laws, employers may not be sued for most work related injuries but instead must buy insurance for employees that will pay for medical bills and lost wages if an injury does happen as a result of the job.

While workers compensation in some ways provides broader recovery by allowing employees to recover damages even if employers weren't negligent -- and in some cases, even if the employees themselves caused the injury -- it also does not allow for some of the damages that are permitted in personal injury cases, like compensation for pain and suffering or punitive damages. The costs of non-economic losses that aren't covered can be substantial, leading workers to want to explore the possibility of suing for an injury at work.

When can you sue for an injury at work?

It is possible to sue your employer for an injury at work only if the employer's actions went beyond the mere “negligent” into “culpability” for the accident. The burden would be on the plaintiff to prove this, and it is a very difficult standard to meet. Thus, having an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer is essential. Even with a lawyer, however, it is rare for the court to find that an employer's behavior rises to this level of negligence.

Two more common situations when you can sue for an injury at work involve third- party negligence and product liability. If you are using a machine at work, for example, and the machine causes you to suffer harm, then you may be able to make a defective product claim against the manufacturer, distributor and reseller of the equipment. Likewise, if a third party who was not an employer was the one who caused you harm -- such as a co-worker, a salesperson or anyone other than your employer who precipitated the accident's occurrence -- then you can potentially sue that individual personally.

Deciding who to sue for an injury at work and what potential defendants might be available can be a challenge. The Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato can help by reviewing the facts of your case and identifying any negligence that led to your work related injury and that created legal responsibility for your loss.

Do you need a car accident attorney for a minor accident?

Contacting a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney is important to protect your legal rights after any car crash, including a minor accident. The experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato can help you to make a no-fault claim with your insurer and can otherwise assist you in understanding how to recover for car accident injuries and resulting financial loss.

How much does a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney charge?

When you suffer from an injury, retaining a Ft. Lauderdale personal injury attorney is the best way to get the compensation you deserve. However, you may be concerned about what will happen if you lose your case. Are you going to get stuck with a mountain of legal bills and end up worse off than you were before? The answer is no. Personal injury attorneys, like the experienced lawyers at Wolf & Pravato, usually work under something called a no-win, no-fee system.

Can you help me understand the No Win, No Fee policy?

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, the fee structure that is established is often formally referred to as a contingency fee arrangement, and informally referred to as no-win, no-fee.

Regardless of what you call it, the premise is the same: If you do not win your case, the lawyer who is representing you does not collect legal fees. You usually will still be responsible for some actual costs incurred, like court costs and filing fees, but you will not pay for the legal services that you were provided with.

How does a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer get paid?

Your lawyer does, of course, have to get paid if you win your case. Under a contingency fee arrangement, your lawyer normally is paid a percentage of whatever you receive in damages from the party or parties you were suing. This percentage is taken either out of the total damage award that the jury grants to you or is taken based on the settlement amount that you arrive at if you decide to settle and not take your case to court.

In some cases, the percentage that your lawyer takes will be different if your case settles early, versus if your case goes to trial. There may also be a larger percentage taken if your case needs to be appealed. All of this should be spelled out in your initial agreement with your attorney. The agreement will detail exactly what percentage is due to your lawyer. Lawyers are bound by their professional code of ethics to be up front about fees, so you can be sure that the information will be presented to you clearly detailing how much your Ft. Lauderdale personal injury lawyer takes as a percentage.

What are the benefits of contingency fee arrangements?

The major benefit of the contingency fee arrangement is obvious to a plaintiff. Without the no-win, no-fee system, many plaintiffs would be scared to seek justice. Since the hourly cost of a lawyer's time can total in the hundreds of dollars, it would be too great of a risk to file suit and lose.

Your Ft. Lauderdale personal injury attorney understands this, and this is why the contingency fee system is used instead. Everyone benefits from such a system, especially because some evidence suggests that when you settle out of court with an attorney's help, the amount you are able to negotiate to receive is significantly higher than what you'd be able to get on your own. The attorney's expert negotiation skills, therefore, may be more than enough to pay his or her own contingency fee.

If you are a victim of a personal injury and you'd like to find out more about what a Ft Lauderdale personal injury attorney can do for you, and what the cost of legal services will be, contact an experienced attorney at Wolf & Pravato.

How do I preserve evidence after a crash?

Losing a loved one in a car accident is devastating. While nothing can take away the pain of your loss, you can get help dealing with the expenses incurred surrounding the auto accident. You can also recover damages for certain non-economic losses, including the loss of your loved one's companionship. A Fort Myers car accident attorney can help you to get car accident damages by filing a wrongful death lawsuit so you can get justice for your family member and hold the negligent driver financially responsible. Contact the experienced attorneys at Wolf & Pravato today to learn what your options are.

How can a Fort Myers car accident attorney can help after a car accidnet death?

When a person is involved in a serious car accident in Florida, a Fort Myers car accident attorney can help that person to recover damages from their loss. Damages permitted in a wrongful death case typically include:

• Medical, hospital, funeral and burial expenses;
• Compensation for the decedent's pain and suffering, during any period of consciousness between the time of injury and death;

Losses suffered by the decedent's spouse, children, or next of kin, including:

• loss of financial support
• loss of service
• loss of gifts or other valuable gratuities
• loss of parental training and guidance
• loss of society and companionship

A lawsuit filed by a loved one after a car accident death is called a wrongful death lawsuit, and the trial attorneys at Wolf & Pravato, P.A. are experienced wrongful death attorneys that have the resources to and the skills to successfully prosecute your case and get you the justice you deserve.

A Fort Myers car accident attorney can help you to assess if you have a wrongful death case. This will mean first determining if you have a relationship to the victim of the car accident that will allow you to sue. Close family members, like spouses for example, have something called "standing to sue," which means they can bring wrongful death claims after a car accident. Your Florida auto accident attorney will help to assess whether you have standing under Florida wrongful death rules.

Once it is clear that you can sue based on the loss of your loved one, then your car accident lawyer will next help you to determine if you have the evidence available to prove your car accident wrongful death claim. For example, you'll need to show that the other driver was negligent, and that the negligence led to the death. Evidence like police reports, witness statements and medical records will be very useful here. Your Fort Myers car accident lawyer can help you to gather all of the documents you need.

If you have the evidence and you have a strong case, then your lawyer will guide you through all of the steps necessary to recover damages, from filing the lawsuit to negotiating a potential settlement to proving your case to a jury.

All of this means that a Fort Myers car accident attorney can help you every step of the way after you lose your loved one in an accident. The key is to find a qualified and skilled attorney who is knowledgeable in the field and who can help you to recover what the law entitles you to. The experienced attorneys at Wolf & Pravato have represented many clients in both car accident and wrongful death cases and can put their knowledge to work for you.