HD Law Partners Blog

When people think of slipping and falling, they may think of how people fall in movies and cartoons. In entertainment, people fall because of marbles, fruit peels, and rugs pulled out from under them. While entertainment provides a lot of enjoyment and relief, the reality of slip and fall injuries is not funny at all. Many visiting and living in Florida slip on wet floors at businesses, either because a spill was not mopped up or a cleaning solution leaked, and face a long physical recovery as a result.

Before you decide if you should accept an insurance settlement offered or pursue a lawsuit, talk to a Tampa personal injury attorney. Monetary damages are possible when a business owner did not maintain their property safely or behaved recklessly. Liability laws are in place to protect your rights.

After a wet floor injury, making the move to be compensated fairly means you are standing up for your own rights and possibly helping others avoid the same injury you sustained. When businesses need to pay for damages, it is more likely they will repair the issue that caused the injury to begin with.

Divorce is emotional and upsetting, and on top of those worries it can be expensive. If you have talked to friends about their divorces, they may share a range of different experiences with you. For instance, it is possible they themselves paid for their attorney fees or that part of their settlement was outlining that their now ex-spouse would cover the legal expenses for both individuals.

If you believe your spouse should be responsible for your Florida divorce expenses, talk through your situation with a Tampa family law attorney. There are often more resolution options than previously recognized, particularly through negotiation.

At your initial attorney consultation, ask about how the legal team structures their fees to be sure you know how much you will need to spend in order for them to handle your Florida divorce. For example, some attorneys bill flat fees while others prefer to use hourly rates. How additional expenses will be dealt with will also be outlined in the agreement you enter into with your attorney.

There are times when a person has accumulated accident expenses but is unsure about pursuing damage recovery. This could be true for a range of reasons. Some people have seen a lot of TV shows or movies where a cruel individual seeks money from others through fraudulent claims. Or maybe you personally know the person who owns the animal who bit you or was driving the other vehicle you were involved in a traffic collision with and you are worried about their financial health in addition to your own.

But the truth of the matter is there are ethical reasons to prioritize your need for damage recovery. It is normal to be stressed and be unsure what to do when you are healing from an injury and facing a lot of expenses. You do not have to weigh all of your options on your own. Learn more about what is possible and talk through next steps with a Tampa personal injury attorney.

Taking care of your own health, including seeing a licensed healthcare provider to assess your injuries as soon as possible, is essential. Being kind to yourself is an ethical thing to do, and it is also ethical to help others avoid harm. So if you were hurt because of another’s negligence, your claim or case could put an end to that danger or risky behavior, saving others from future injuries.

It is well understood that the incomes of each spouse will be assessed when a couple chooses to divorce. But if you own your own business, you may be curious about how all of the assets and liabilities connected to the business you have created and nurtured will be impacted. While it is unlikely the value of your business is stagnant, the valuation at the time of your divorce are the figures that will be used.

A fair agreement can’t be created until all the appropriate financial information has been gathered. If you are unsure how to get a valuation figure for your business, connect with a Tampa family law attorney. In addition to the worth of your business, your attorney will also ask about if the business belongs to one spouse or if it was started as a joint venture. There are many details that can affect a final divorce outcome.

3 Possible Resolution Options

Instead of being overwhelmed by the options, talk through the pros and cons of different resolutions with your lawyer to determine which path you want to pursue. Then, your lawyer can fight for the outcome you want. For example, one of the three solutions below may be a welcomed solution for you and your spouse.

Alimony, also sometimes referred to spousal maintenance support, is common. But if you have been making court-ordered payments and have discovered your ex-spouse is now living with a romantic partner, you may be wondering if you still are required to make payments. While it is well known that remarriage can lead to the end of alimony, cohabitation and new relationships aren’t always as clear cut.

Talk to a Tampa family law attorney to have your individual situation assessed. If your ex is enjoying an increased standard of living since they moved in with their new partner, and it can be proven the relationship is supportive and established, including the sharing of finances, alimony payments could be impacted, either reduced or eliminated.

Proving a Supportive Relationship

When a relationship grows into one that is supportive and involves cohabitation, alimony may cease. The important component is being able to prove it is a supportive relationship. So, if your ex is staying with their partner a few days a week and shopping for groceries they will use to make a meal together, it will not likely not be deemed a supportive relationship. Supportive relationships are more involved than that, including joint accounts, for example.

Because timeshares go through popularity cycles, there are plenty of people who buy into a timeshare when friends are doing so then find themselves, possibly years later, trying to find a way to get out of the agreement. You may have even forgotten about the timeshare only to discover it on your credit report when you are trying to make a different large purchase.

There are steps you can take to successfully cancel a timeshare. Sometimes it is possible to do this on your own, but if you have already tried and not found success or need a professional to help you through the process, connect with a Tampa timeshare attorney. A lawyer who has worked on many timeshare cases could see a path forward you hadn’t considered on your own.

Acting Without Delay

Ideally, you will be able to cancel your timeshare within a set cancellation period. Things become more difficult when you want to cancel and you are past the set period of time for cancelation. Having a legal professional look over the specific options within your contract may be helpful.

If you were recently involved in litigation and found yourself unhappy with the outcome, there may be another way to secure the results you were seeking. The judicial system offers citizens appeal options if they believe errors were made. Appealing a ruling is entering the appellate process. Essentially, another court will review the case and will determine if there were mistakes or if the ruling that was made is solid and should stand.

The appeal process can be complicated, but there are Tampa appellate attorneys who can guide you each step. This is true if you are looking for a professional to review a case determination and assess the strength of your appeal or are already confident in your appeal and need a seasoned lawyer to represent you from start to finish.

Strengths and Weaknesses Must Be Assessed

Before taking action, an attorney will look over all the facts of your case and provide an honest assessment of the possibility of a successful appeal. Candid review is essential, as you do not want to enter the appeal process without an understanding of the costs associated with appealing and what strengths and weaknesses exist.

There are many reasons why Florida residents and visitors to the Sunshine State opt to order a taxi. Some people are on vacation and do not have a car of their own to transport them while others simply choose to pay another to drive them to work meetings or outings with friends. But too often, people riding in taxis and rideshare services forget that crashes and accident injuries are possible whenever you are in a vehicle. So, for example, always buckle your seatbelt when riding in any vehicle, taxi or your own car.

If you took all the precautions you could but were still injured when riding in the back of a taxi, you may be able to hold the liable party responsible. When reckless behavior leads to an injurious collision, compensation for medical expenses, lost income, and non-economic damages could be possible. Work with a Tampa personal injury attorney to secure a maximum settlement amount. Too often, reluctant insurance companies result in low offers. If this happens, an auto accident attorney can push for a higher amount.

Marriages end in a range of ways. There are some spouses who know the union is in trouble for years before one person brings up the topic of divorce. In other situations, one spouse believes everything is fine and is then shocked when their partner shares a desire to dissolve the union. Asking your husband or wife for a divorce is never easy. Whenever possible, take steps to make your discussions as constructive as they can be.

Schedule a meeting with a Tampa family law attorney as soon as you are considering divorce or have been told by your spouse that they want to end the marriage.  Then, you can plan the next steps to create the future you want. Talking to a lawyer is productive and proactive, which can be empowering during the divorce process, an incredibly emotional time of life.

When to Talk About Separation or Divorce

Before you bring up the possibility of separation or divorce, be sure this is a path you want. If you believe there are problems that are in need of care, counseling could be pursued, for instance. Many find that talking through issues with a third party allows them to work through frustrations and pain. Sometimes, a marriage can be repaired.

Maintaining a space that is safe for others is the responsibility of property owners. For example, a building or property that is open to the public needs to be a reasonably safe environment, and if it is not, there are steps a person can take following an injury under Florida law.

While some injuries lead to premise liability claims, it is important to recognize that not every injury will lead to financial compensation. In order to obtain a successful outcome for your premise liability claim, you need to prove the owner negligent. The recklessness needs to be in respect to property maintenance. This could be true if an owner or manager knew of a danger and failed to do anything about the risk, for instance.

Share the details of your injury and what unsafe conditions led to your injury with a Tampa personal injury attorney. Then, your attorney can share next steps with you.

In the state of Florida, individuals trespassing on a property do not have the same levels of protections. This is because they are not considered a public or business invitee. An invitee has the highest level of protection under premise liability law in Florida. A public invitee is invited onto a property as a member of the public and a business invitee is invited to conduct business dealings.