Personal Injury
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Personal Injury Attorneys in St. Petersburg, FL
If you’ve been injured in an accident in St. Petersburg, your life may feel like it’s been turned upside down. Medical bills, lost income, physical pain, and emotional distress can pile up fast—especially when someone else’s negligence is to blame. At The Walker Law Group, we help injury victims get back on their feet with trusted legal guidance and aggressive representation. Our personal injury attorneys are committed to protecting your rights and pursuing the full compensation you deserve. Schedule a free consultation with a St. Petersburg personal injury lawyer online or give us a call at 727-865-5724.
We also take on sovereign immunity claims for local and state governments. Speak to an experienced attorney at The Walker Law Group today about your situation.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death claims arise when negligence or intentional acts cause a person's death, allowing surviving family members to seek compensation for their losses. The claim focuses on the harm suffered by the survivors, including lost financial support, loss of companionship, and emotional suffering. Establishing liability requires proving that the defendant owed a duty to the deceased, breached that duty, and caused the fatal injury.
Damages recoverable in wrongful death cases often include both economic and non-economic losses, such as funeral expenses and pain and suffering experienced by the survivors. The distinction between wrongful death and survival actions is critical: survival claims address the deceased’s damages prior to death, while wrongful death claims address losses to the family. Timely filing is essential due to strict statutes of limitations.
Insurance Bad Faith
Insurance bad faith occurs when an insurer fails to uphold its contractual and statutory duties to the insured. Bad faith claims arise when an insurer unreasonably denies, delays, or undervalues a valid claim. The breach goes beyond mere disagreement about coverage—it requires demonstrating the insurer acted with malice, dishonesty, or reckless disregard for the insured’s rights.
The first task is to analyze the insurance policy terms and claim history, including correspondence and internal notes if available. Evidence of inadequate investigation, failure to communicate, or improper motives often underpins bad faith allegations. It’s not enough to show the insurer lost a case; the conduct must be egregious.
Legal remedies for bad faith include compensation for the original claim, consequential damages, and sometimes punitive damages. These claims also serve a deterrent function, encouraging insurers to treat policyholders fairly.
Timing matters—filing deadlines for bad faith claims vary, and often run concurrently with the underlying claim. It is important to consider jurisdictional nuances, as insurance laws differ state-by-state.
Pursuing insurance bad faith involves dissecting the insurer’s conduct, proving a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and securing damages that reflect both the insured’s losses and the insurer’s wrongful conduct.
Premises Liability
Premises liability law holds property owners and occupiers responsible for injuries occurring on their land due to unsafe conditions. The focus is on establishing that the defendant had a duty to maintain reasonably safe premises and failed to do so, causing harm to the plaintiff.
The duty of care depends on the visitor’s status: invitee, licensee, or trespasser, with invitees generally afforded the highest level of protection. It must be assessed whether the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and neglected to fix or warn about it. This includes slip-and-fall accidents, inadequate security, structural defects, and hazardous maintenance.
Gathering evidence—photos, maintenance logs, witness accounts—is essential to demonstrate notice and causation. Comparative negligence rules often apply, reducing recovery if the plaintiff contributed to the injury.
Premises liability cases frequently involve negotiations with insurance carriers covering the property owner. Because these claims can be fact-intensive and involve complex property law principles, experienced legal counsel is critical to navigate defenses such as assumption of risk or open-and-obvious conditions.
The goal is to hold property owners accountable for maintaining a safe environment, ensuring injured parties receive just compensation for their losses.
Federal Tort Claim
Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) cases arise when a plaintiff seeks compensation for injuries caused by negligent or wrongful acts of federal government employees acting within the scope of their employment. These claims provide a limited waiver of the government’s sovereign immunity, allowing lawsuits against the United States.
The FTCA process begins with the administrative claim filing requirement, which is mandatory before initiating a lawsuit. This includes a detailed written claim sent to the appropriate federal agency. Failure to comply with this step results in dismissal.
Litigation under the FTCA involves unique procedural rules and defenses unavailable in typical state tort claims. For example, intentional torts are generally excluded, and the government’s liability is limited to what a private party would owe under state law. Additionally, certain discretionary functions performed by government employees are exempt from liability.
Dog Bite
Liability for dog bites can be strict or negligence-based, depending on state law. In strict liability states, dog owners are responsible for injuries caused by their pets regardless of prior knowledge of aggression. In other jurisdictions, liability hinges on whether the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous. The victim’s injuries often include physical trauma, scarring, and emotional distress.
Key defenses include provocation, trespassing, or assumption of risk, which can reduce or eliminate liability. Evidence such as medical records and eyewitness testimony supports claims, while homeowners’ insurance policies often cover dog bite incidents. Disputes with insurers may require careful negotiation or litigation to achieve fair compensation.
Call us at 727-865-5724 or schedule online now to set up a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in St. Petersburg, FL.
West Florida Personal Injury Attorneys