Located in Pinellas County, Clearwater is known for its gorgeous white sand beaches and sunny weather. It is home to a number of great neighborhoods, including Clearwater Beach, downtown Clearwater, Imperial Cove, Belleair Beach, and Northwood estates.
Clearwater sits along the Gulf of Mexico, and is the smallest city of the three cities that make up the Tampa Bay area (including Tampa and St. Petersburg). Downtown, you will find the Flag Building, the largest building in Clearwater that is owned by the Church of Scientology. In downtown’s redeveloped Cleveland Street District, Clearwater residents can enjoy bars, restaurants, and both the Capitol and the Royalty Theatres.
There is lots to do in Clearwater, including visiting the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the BayCare Ballpark. You can also enjoy nature at the Moccasin Lake Nature Park, including learning more about local wildlife at the Moccasin Lake Environmental Education Center. Given Western Florida’s subtropical climate, you can partake in outdoor activities like swimming, boating, and golfing year-round in Clearwater.
While Clearwater is a prime tourist destination, it is also home to more than 115,000 full-time residents. If you live and work in Clearwater, you may be aware that it has some dangerous roads and highways. This includes Florida Route 60 (from Gulf to Bay Boulevard), Old Coachman Road, U.S. 19, Belcher Road, and Enterprise Road. Most of these roads connect tourist areas, residential neighborhoods, and commercial areas – which means that they are heavily traveled by tourists and locals alike.
Many intersections along these roads are also dangerous, such as U.S. 19 at Drew Street and the intersection of U.S. 19 and FL-60. Other dangerous intersections include:
- Court Street and Fort Harrison Avenue
- Eastland Boulevard and McMullen Booth Road
- Gulfview Boulevard and Hamden Drive
- FL-60 and Belcher Road
- FL-60 and Hercules Avenue
- SR 686 at 34th Street North
- Chestnut Street and Fort Harrison Avenue
- Cleveland Street and Fort Harrison Avenue
Many of these intersections are particularly risky because of the high speed limit, low visibility, or drivers simply not paying attention. If your travel route requires you to travel on these roads in and around Clearwater, make sure to take your time and look carefully before making any turns onto one of these busy roads.
If you are injured in an accident in the Clearwater region, Distasio Personal Injury Law Firm is here to help. Our Clearwater personal injury attorneys will fight for your right to full compensation.
If you are looking for legal counsel in Clearwater after an accident that resulted in injuries, a skilled accident attorneys from our office is available to help you with your case and discuss the details in a free consultation. We can identify the liable party and help you seek compensation from them to cover your injury treatment and other damages.
A Clearwater personal injury lawyer at Distasio Law Firm can file a claim and handle all legal matters on your behalf. We strive to provide compassionate, skillful, and aggressive legal representation to ensure that your best interests are always a priority.
What Can a Personal Injury Lawyer from Distasio Law Firm Do?
When considering whether or not to hire a law firms attorney in Clearwater, it is important to remember that personal injury claims & lawsuits can be very time-consuming and present many challenges. The legal system is difficult enough to navigate when you are at your best, let alone when you are struggling to recover physically and mentally from a personal injury.
While we cannot reverse your pain and suffering, the team at Distasio Law Firm can advocate for the justice, peace of mind, and compensation you deserve. Here are just a few of the many legal services we can perform on your behalf:
- A free case assessment: A member of our team will listen to your concerns and evaluate your case’s viability at no charge. Then, if possible, our entire team can fight to hold the parties who harmed you accountable for their actions.
- Compassionate advice: We advise clients of the good and the bad so they fully understand all possibilities and options in their cases. We are always happy to answer questions from our clients and respond to all calls in a timely fashion.
- Administrative assistance: Legal paperwork can be tedious and burdensome, and meeting with the insurance company on your own can be risky. Our team manages all paperwork and communications for clients.
- Investigation skills: Our team will conduct an independent investigation into the accident. We may be able to find documentary evidence and corroborating witnesses to strengthen your case and prove that you need damages.
- Negotiation skills: We can sit down with the insurance company’s representatives, show them the evidence we have gathered, and try to persuade them to pay a fair amount.
- The ability to go to trial: If it is necessary, we can take the liable party to court and fight to convince a jury of your need for damages. You do not have to represent yourself in court; we are there to fight for you.
Distasio Law Firm has been helping clients take on the insurance companies and win for more than 30 years. After a Clearwater boating accident that left our client quadriplegic, we were able to recover over $7 million. We can calculate how much your case is worth and fight for that amount.
Recover damages for your injuries with Distasio Law Firm, Personal Injury Lawyer
What Damages Can I Recover from a Personal Injury if I Hire a Lawyer in Clearwater?
You naturally want the negligent party to pay proper compensation that covers all the damages you have incurred. You will also want to hold the negligent party accountable for their destructive actions. Distasio Law Firm understands this, and our determined Clearwater personal injury attorney can help you pursue these goals by listing and quantifying all of your accident injuries. This may include some or all of the following.
Lost Wages
An injury can cost you income and affect your career in many ways, including by:
- Forcing you to take a leave of absence from work while your injuries heal
- Permanently affecting your ability to work and, therefore, your ability to earn a living
- Forcing you to give up your job and retire early, if your permanent injuries prevent you from fulfilling your job duties
- Making costly vocational rehabilitation training necessary so that you can get a job in a new field
Our team can fight to see that you recover both past and future lost wages.
Medical Care
This includes both emergency and long-term case expenses from:
- An emergency room visit immediately after the accident
- Medical tests, such as x-rays or MRIs
- Surgery
- Physical therapy
- Prescription medications
- Psychological treatment
- Assistive devices, such as a walker or a wheelchair
- Home nursing services
- Certain travel expenses related to receiving medical care
We can help you determine what medical care you require and seek compensation for past and future medical bills.
Physical and Psychological Harm
Your injuries themselves, regardless of the money they cost you, should not have happened. You may be entitled to compensation for those injuries. There are many types of compensable injuries for which you may seek damages following an accident. These injuries include but are not limited to:
- The loss of a body part
- Bone fractures
- Lacerations
- Concussions
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Mental illness
- Scar tissue
- Neck and back injuries
You may qualify for compensation if your injury was caused or worsened by the accident.
Pain, Suffering, and Loss of Enjoyment of Life
In addition to suing for the injuries themselves, accident victims may seek compensation for the short- and long-term effects those injuries had on their lives. Examples include:
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Emotional distress and trauma
- Lost independence, such as if you now need help with basic life tasks
- The inability to engage in fun hobbies or activities, such as a favorite sport or playing with your children
- The inability to connect with your spouse as you used to
These types of injuries may be harder to put a dollar amount on, since there are no associated bills or receipts as there are with medical expenses. Our team of dedicated personal injury lawyers in Clearwater would be happy to help you calculate how much to seek for these types of injuries. Once you know your case’s true worth, it will be harder for the insurance company to get away with offering less than you need.
WHAT DOES A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY COST?
The cost of a personal injury lawyer in Clearwater may depend on a number of factors, such as how long your case lasts and whether or not you have to go to court. With Distasio Law Firm, however, you do not have to worry about paying attorney’s fees up front, because we charge a contingency fee. This means:
- You pay nothing right away: We start working on your case without accepting any attorney’s fees up front.
- We take a percentage of your compensation: You do not have to pay our fees out of pocket. You may even be able to sue the liable party for attorney’s fees to cover your legal expenses.
- You pay nothing if we do not win: If we cannot get compensation for you, then you owe us no attorney’s fees, period.
We would be happy to go over payment options with you before signing any agreement.
WHAT KINDS OF CASES DO PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS TAKE?
A lawyer from Distasio Law Firm is here to help with your personal injury case, wherever you are in Florida. Our injury attorneys handle many types of accident cases in Clearwater, including:
- Car accidents
- Slip and Fall
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Pharmaceutical malpractice
- Wrongful death
Whether another driver hit your car from behind at a stoplight or a loved one was the victim of a doctor’s error, a personal injury attorney from Distasio Law Firm can help you recover appropriate compensation.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A PERSONAL INJURY SUIT?
You must file a personal injury lawsuit within the legal deadline, which is known as the “statute of limitations.” In Florida, as stated at Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a), you must file a suit within two years from the date of your accident or when your injury or illness should have been discovered. In wrongful death cases, this deadline is even shorter – just two years from the date of death, per Florida Statutes § 95.11(4)(d).
Once this window is closed, you will not be able to file a lawsuit, no matter how much you need damages. For this reason, as well as to ensure important evidence is available when you need it, it is best to start your case as soon as possible.
SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH A CLEARWATER PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY FROM OUR LAW OFFICE TODAY
Distasio Law Firm is ready to counsel you on your case. We can work closely with you to build the strongest case possible and determine exactly how much money your injury entitles you to. To learn more about how a Clearwater personal injury lawyer can help you pursue damages, get your free case evaluation, call us today. We have offices in Largo, Wesley Chapel, and Tampa.
