Immediately, in terms of the accident itself, people are often disoriented, they are trying to relax, they are in that sort of vacation mode and something happens to them and they are just not mentally or emotionally prepared to deal with it right away.
They are not in that mental state to properly gather the information, get eyewitnesses’ names and numbers and the kind of things that if they were being really truly vigilant, they would normally be, it would be second nature. Really the biggest challenge that visitors face is this idea that if we cannot get it worked out and we have to file a lawsuit that they are going to have to come back to Florida, and that really covers every aspect of the case in terms of case evaluation and how much they are willing to pay and how cooperative the other side is going to be. If they know you have to travel from somewhere far away, that is going to be an expensive trip and inconvenient and they know it. So, their evaluation of the case is going to reflect that knowledge.
Can The Cost Of The Vacation Be Included In The Recovery From A Personal Injury Claim?
Yes, if it is properly documented. For instance, sometimes we have people who have to be lifeflighted or especially flown back to their home country or state because of the injuries that they have incurred. Those are the kinds of things that we can recover. Sometimes we have been able to recover the expenses of a person missing out on Disney tickets and attractions. The difficulty comes when you try to explain that out to other family members because their vacations have been ruined, it is very hard to put a dollar value on a ruined vacation with families.
Honestly, the way that most cases are resolved are paid as one lump sum, so we just present all the evidence that we can to support the case and support the fact that someone’s vacation been ruined. If we are able to resolve it, they do not cut us a check that delineates everyone of those line items. They just say, “We will offer you $10,000, $15,000 or $50,000 and we either accept it or we do not. So there is never any breakdown per se of each of those elements of damages, but it is always something that we talk about when we are trying to get cases resolved and we are presenting our clients’ claims to the other side for resolution.
What Sets Your Firm Apart In Handling Personal Injury Cases Involving Tourists?
We have a lot of experience in these types of cases. I always enjoyed the foreign nationals who we get to represent, because I enjoy getting to know people from faraway places. I had the opportunity or the blessing to travel a lot in my life. I have been to a lot of places and so I feel like I have empathy for people from other places and how it feels to be a stranger in a foreign land. We have been doing this for over twenty-three years, so we are very much engrained in the community here. We are prepared to help people that need help here. This is true of every client that we have, not just people from other places, but we try to treat them exactly the way that we would want to be treated if we are in their similar situation.
We follow the golden rule. We give people a lot of individual attention, we are technologically savvy and that is not true with every law firm. Lawyers seem to be extremely slow to change, but we utilize the latest communication technologies in particular to keep in touch with our clients. I think we are about as good as anybody else in terms of the way that we can service people who are not from here. We do not need you to be in our office in order to do a great job for you.
For more information on Challenges Faced By Tourists, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 407-565-7386 today.