With over fifty years of protecting the rights of the individual, Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin is one the foremost client advocacy firms in the nation. We would be honored to review your case and, if taken, to fight vigorously for you.
 

Do You Have a "Permanent Injury?"

Under Florida's "no-fault" law, a person injured in an automobile accident must have sustained a permanent injury in order to pursue a case against a negligent party. If you have not sustained such a permanent injury, you cannot recover, even if the negligence of another person or business has caused your accident.

So what is a permanent injury? The standard under the law is a permanent injury of any kind or degree. No "percentages of disability" or "permanent impairment" -- as must be proved in worker compensation cases -- are needed in personal injury cases under Florida's no-fault law. In fact, in many cases, a plaintiff is able to demonstrate that he or she has suffered a permanent injury even though that injury is not disabling and does not permanently impair the plaintiff.

In Johnson v. Phillips, Florida's Second District Court of Appeals made it clear that a permanent injury may be proved through continued subjective complaints of pain resulting from an initial organic injury (such as a brain concussion or injury to tissue), even where the initial organic injury has since healed.

The attorneys at Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin can help you determine if you have suffered a "permanent injury" under Florida law. Contact us for a free case evaluation today.