In our experience, people wait to take legal action when they are injured in a slip and fall accident for one of several reasons. They don’t realize how serious their injuries are right away, they assume it will be an expensive process, or they just don’t understand their rights.
Because it can take some time to figure out what your needs and options are, it’s a good thing that Florida gives you several years to file a claim. However, one of the worst mistakes you can make with a slip and fall accident is to wait until the deadline to take action. The sooner you gather evidence and pursue a case, the better your chances of winning are.
Florida Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability Claims
Florida limits the amount of time you have to file a slip and fall claim to four years from the date of the accident. If you miss this deadline, you will be barred from filing a legal action in most cases. Possible arguments you can make to extend the four-year deadline include:
- You were not aware of your injuries until months after the fall.
- You were physically or mentally incapacitated by the accident, making it impossible for you to file within four years.
- The business or property owner left the state of Florida or otherwise made himself unavailable to avoid being served.
- The business or property owner is the cause of undue delays.
While these arguments may be successfully made in court, you should not count on being able to extend the deadline for filing your lawsuit. When you take your time to file a claim, you risk the success of your case by jeopardizing the availability of evidence such as video footage and witness testimony, and you undermine the strength of your case by appearing to be unmotivated or hesitant to take action.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Fort Walton Beach Team
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, you need a lawyer by your side. Schedule your free initial consultation with attorney Coy H. Browning as soon as possible. He will answer your questions and review your case to let you know what it may be worth. You can be sure that the defendant will have lawyers working for him, and you should have one too. If you were injured in a slip and fall in Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Navarre, Crestview, or Niceville, call Browning Law Firm today.
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