Questions we are asked most

For most negligence claims arising on or after 24 March 2023 the limitation period is two years from the date of the incident; older claims generally carry four. Claims against a government body require written notice long before that. Because the answer depends on your exact date, bring any paperwork you have to the first meeting.

Not before someone reads the release. An early offer is usually made before the full course of treatment is known, and the release almost always closes the claim permanently — including for treatment you have not had yet.

The incident or traffic report, photographs, the names of any witnesses, your own insurance declarations page, every letter from any insurer, and the medical records or bills you already have.

No. Florida imposes strict liability on the dog's owner for a bite, whether or not the dog had shown any prior viciousness, subject to statutory defences such as a lawfully posted warning sign.

Only the personal representative of the decedent's estate, acting for the estate and for all survivors identified by the statute. Individual family members do not file separate suits of their own.

In practice, yes — a personal representative must be appointed before the action is brought. The probate step and the liability investigation are run at the same time so one does not hold up the other.

Generally two years from the date of death, not from the date of the underlying incident. Shorter contractual or notice deadlines can apply on top of that, for example in a maritime death.

The policy is read first: the notice provision, the proof of loss requirement, the appraisal clause and the suit limitation period all have their own deadlines. Where the carrier's scope of loss is simply short of the true repair cost, the dispute is over scope and price, and it can often be resolved through appraisal without litigation.

They do different jobs. A public adjuster prepares and presents the measure of the loss; a lawyer handles coverage, deadlines, examinations under oath and suit. The firm routinely works alongside public adjusters rather than in place of them.

Most policies allow the carrier to require one, and refusing can jeopardise the claim. You are entitled to be represented at it, and to review your own claim file and documents first.

Read the ticket contract immediately. Passenger tickets commonly require written notice of a claim within six months and suit within one year, which is far shorter than the ordinary Florida limitation period.

Usually not. The ticket typically contains a forum selection clause naming one specific federal court — most often the Southern District of Florida — and those clauses are generally enforced.

No. A seaman's claims run under the Jones Act for negligence, plus unseaworthiness and the shipowner's duty of maintenance and cure while you recover. Different proofs, different remedies.

A shipowner's obligation to pay a seaman's daily living costs and medical care for an injury or illness that arises in the service of the ship, regardless of who was at fault.