St Petersburg Personal Injury Attorney Blog

One overlooked and underappreciated injury to women during an auto accident is the rupturing of breast implants . This injury occurs when a woman is pushed into a steering wheel, struck by an airbag, thrown about in the interior of the vehicle, or forcefully restricted by seat belts. The more severe the crash, the more likely that an implant will rupture . Ruptures to breast implants are not an injury that you would commonly associate with an auto crash, until it happens to you. At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in injuries to women as a result of auto accidents. Two thirds of our client base are women, so we are particularly sensitive to female specific injuries. Breast implant ruptures during a serious auto accident occur far more than one would imagine. Over 300,000 breast augmentation surgeries are performed in the US annually . Thus, the odds are good that a woman involved in a serious auto accident may suffer this type of injury. ...

No other law firm handles as many car accident claims in Gulfport, Florida as we do. For over 60 years, we have helped injured people in Gulfport recover compensation after car accidents. One reason is our reputation for excellence. Another is simply our proximity to the City of Gulfport . We are literally the closest law firm to Gulfport. Our office is only six or seven blocks from the edge of Gulfport and less than a mile from Boca Ciega High School . I attended Stetson College of Law and lived in at the Pasadena Golf Club Apartments on Gulfport Blvd for three years. Needless to say, I know Gulfport, the people, the Gulfport Police Department and how to handle injury cases from this area. If you have been injured in a car accident, you will likely have many questions about what steps to take, who you will need to speak to, how to have your medical bills paid, and how a car accident claim works. This article is written to assistance those who have been injured navigate the complex...

If you have been injured in a car accident in Seminole , you will likely have questions about the legal steps to take. At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in accidents in Seminole and have handled countless car accident claims there. Our office is only a few minutes from Seminole , so that makes us one of the best located law firms to be able to help. This article seeks to walk an injured person through the process from the date of the injury to the conclusion of the claim. There are many steps along the way that you will need to address, but they are all standard under Florida law. Seeking Emergency Medical Treatment If you have a question as to whether you should go to the hospital or not, err on the side of caution. Because your no fault or PIP insurance will pay up to $10,000 of medical bills, your hospital visit will be covered. If your injuries clearly do not rise to the level of emergency room care, then I recommend to go to an U...

At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in slip and fall accidents involving serious injuries. In our continuing efforts to effectively represent those who have been injured due to no fault of their own, we constantly review the most recent legal decisions around Florida. In a recent case from Miami-Dade, a tenant successfully won a trial against his landlord and it was upheld on appeal. This article will discuss the case and the effect it should have on landlords throughout Florida. If you have been seriously injured in a slip and fall accident and want to know your legal rights, we are happy to discuss your claim with you. We have successfully handled countless varieties of slip and fall accidents across the state. Slip and fall cases can be more challenging than claims for car accidents and the like. There are various legal pitfalls and varying degrees of liability in each case. These cases require the eye and guidance of an experienced ...

Informational Injury Guide for Women At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in car accident injuries to women . Our client base is two thirds women, therefore we are in a unique position to encounter various issues that our female clients experience. An issue that we have continued to be made aware of are complaints by women who have begun to experience issues with bladder control and/or incontinence after a car accident . At first our assumption was that these symptoms were simply a manifestation of complications after childbirth. In fact, this belief was even shared by some of the very women who were experiencing the issues. But, when we began to have reports from women who never had children that they too were experiencing these symptoms, than we realized that this was a larger issue that needed to be addressed. Therefore, we have taken steps to educate our clients and the treating physicians of this issue in order to get the appropriate ...

At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we handle a wide range of injuries which have been caused by someone else’s negligence. One of the immediate things to do if you have been injured is to seek medical attention. Many times, if you or a loved one is injured, let’s say in a car accident, and get taken from the scene to the hospital; the hospital will conduct a battery of tests. If there is suspected trauma to a specific part of the body, the hospital staff may order imaging studies of the suspected injured body part. The most common types of imaging studies are X-ray’s , CT scans and MRI’s . Each type of imagining study has its pros and its cons. If you were not immediately taken to the hospital, but instead followed up with your primary care provider or urgent care clinic, they may not immediately order imaging studies and opt for a more conservative approach of monitoring your symptoms and decide whether imaging studies are necessary. In the injury cas...

As mentioned in previous articles, two thirds of my clients are women. In my continuing series for women, this article is dedicated to covering what happens when a pregnant woman is the victim of a car accident injury . It has been my experience that car accidents involving women are surprisingly common. While it is entirely possible that the pregnant woman is the driver, every case that I can recall from memory was an injury to a passenger. Perhaps that is simply a coincidence, but I think it is more likely that women are being driven while pregnant as a courtesy and/or as assistance. At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in accident injuries to women . We understand how these accidents affect women, the fetus, and their families. Car accidents involving pregnant women are very sensitive because of the unknown repercussions. While we hope that there are no complications, every victim of the accident should consult with an experienced car...

Uber and Lyft accidents have become a common occurrence in Florida. Even though these ride share companies have been around for years, many personal injury lawyers still do not understand how these claims are different from the standard auto accident injury case . Many personal injury lawyers still view Uber and Lyfts like taxis. Technology and innovation have passed them by. Ask yourself why you would hire an attorney for an Uber or Lyft injury case if the lawyer has never used the app before? At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in Uber and Lyft claims . And, yes, we use both apps regularly. We realize that these claims are different from the average auto case because of the technology involved and the multiple possible layers of insurance coverage. If you were injured by an Uber or Lyft or were a passenger in one when injured, you may have a claim to recover damages. This article seeks to explain the process of each claim. How are Ube...

At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, two-thirds of all our auto accident clients are women . I noticed this trend and started to ask myself why. I wondered whether women were simply more in tune with their bodies and more proactive about getting treatment. I wondered if men were just more likely to live with the pain. But, the severity of the injuries to my female clients and the amount of surgeries that they undergo compared to my male clients belied my assumptions. Then I came across a study from the Center for Applied Biomechanics (CAB) at the University of Virginia (UVA). The CAB is the largest university-based injury biomechanics lab in the world. It is an engineering lab that specializes in impact biomechanics for injury prevention. The study confirmed what I was seeing at my personal injury law firm: that women are much more likely to be injured in auto accidents than men . The results are truly eye opening. The Study From the University of Virg...

At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we specialize in accident injury claims from South St. Pete . Because we live in St. Pete and our office is on Central Ave., we are proud to help our people in our community during their time of need. We have represented countless people who have been injured in accidents in South St. Pete over the years. We know what these claims require and how to maximize the amount of money that our clients put in their pocket. We communicate with our clients and never take advantage of them. Just as important, if there is no chance of success on a case, we are up front about it. We have heard many complaints about other local law firms that will “sign up” a case and then keep their clients in the dark. You will never have that problem at our law firm. What Is Different About Southside Accidents? In order to properly handle southside claims, a lawyer needs to be familiar with the area, the people, and how the insurance process w...

Almost every driver has been involved in a minor accident at some point in their lifetime. Maybe you were pulling out of a parking space or were bumped from behind at a red light or stop sign. Whatever the situation, because the damage to the vehicles is minor, I find that people do not know whether they should contact law enforcement. This article will explain your obligations under Florida law and provide advice if you have been in a fender bender . What Are Your Requirements Under Florida Law If You Have Been in a Fender Bender? If you have been in a minor accident or fender bender , you have an obligation to stop and exchange information with the other driver. But, what about whether you also need to contact law enforcement? Under Florida Statute § 316.066 , you are only required to report to the police when one of these factors is present; the accident involved an injury or death a driver fled the scene someone was under the influence of drugs or alcohol a vehicle ...

Choosing the right personal injury attorney for you might seem daunting at first. It might be challenging to sift through all of the lawyer marketing and advertising to find out facts from fiction. But, if you have been injured in an accident and are looking to hire a lawyer, countless others have been in your shoes before. This article is written to help you to avoid making mistakes when selecting a lawyer. At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, we realize the difficult position that you may find yourself in after an accident. You are injured, you might not have the use of your vehicle, and maybe you can’t work. These factors put a great amount of stress on you and your family. When you add in the calls from the insurance company, you might think that you will never have time to find the right personal injury attorney . However, there are several steps and tips that you can do to ease the process. The hiring of a lawyer is perhaps the most important deci...

If you have reached the point where you no longer wish to be represented by your personal injury lawyer, you are not alone. While it is likely that you have tried to be patient and perhaps have given the lawyer multiple chances to correct the problems, some people simply don’t change. But, what lawyers don’t want you to know is that you can change personal injury attorneys at any time at no cost to you and no penalty to your case. While this decision should not be taken lightly, it is sometimes necessary once you have realized that the lawyer you have hired is hurting or going to hurt your case. At St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys McQuaid & Douglas, approximately 25% of our cases are from people who have switched lawyers to hire us. These transitions are usually seamless and we do our best to handle the change in a professional manner with no hard feelings to anyone involved. We have come to realize that not every personal injury attorney goes the extra mile for their c...