Since 1976 Daniel L. Hightower has been standing up for the rights of people against those that caused them injury. Many times the at-fault party is represented by an insurance company, or the injured party is seeking benefits from their own insurance company. You do not have to, and should not, go it alone against the insurance companies, even if the insurance company is your own. The attorneys at Daniel L. Hightower, PA have years of experience in successfully representing the interests of their clients and obtaining recoveries on their behalf.

Each lawyer in the Personal Injury Department has years of experience prosecuting personal injury and wrongful death claims of people and families in the courts of central and north Florida. Each attorney is assisted by teams of top-notch paralegals, investigators and support staff that help to investigate each claim and vigorously prosecute each case to a swift resolution.

Many of our clients have been seriously or catastrophically injured and proving such a case often demands the coordination of various resources, including accident reconstructionists, engineers and economists. We have the professional and financial resources to properly litigate these cases.

Client satisfaction is of utmost importance to Daniel L. Hightower, PA and we feel strongly about frequent communication with our clients and keeping them informed of the status of their case every step of the way.

When Daniel L. Hightower, PA undertakes the legal representation of a client, we make a commitment to the client to see their case through until justice is obtained. From the beginning of the case, the legal professionals at Daniel L. Hightower, PA fully investigate the case, develop trial strategies and aggressively pursue a just resolution of the case, be it by settlement or by jury verdict. All of the attorneys in the Personal Injury Department are proven trial lawyers that will take your case to trial for you if necessary.

The vast majority of our cases are handled on a contingency fee basis which means that we never charge any fees or costs unless we make a recovery for you. If you have a potential personal injury claim, please feel free to contact us. Prior to representing any client, an attorney will meet with you personally to discuss your case at no charge to you.

Below is a summary of some of the types of claims the Personal Injury Department handles:

Products Liability / Car Defects

When products, including cars, are placed into the stream of commerce, the manufacturers, distributors and retailers of those products have a responsibility to the consumers to meet accepted standards of health and safety, to warn consumers of any hazards their products may pose, and to remove dangerous products from the market. Unfortunately for us all, they don’t always uphold their legal responsibilities and innocent users of their products can be seriously injured and sometimes even killed.

Products liability cases include crash worthiness, airbag or seatbelt litigation. They can also include cases involving other heavy equipment like construction equipment and scaffolding. Finally, when ordinary household products like baby seats, appliances and electronic devices injure you or a loved one, it may be the result of substandard products or failing to be properly warned about hazards posed by that product.

Unfortunately, too many of the governmental entities that are supposed to police the manufacturers of products are too underfunded, understaffed or overworked to do so. Often manufacturers, distributors and retailers are most concerned with the bottom line of their business and not the safety of the consumer. That is why it is important there are lawyers like those at Daniel L. Hightower, PA that have the knowledge and the dedication to their clients to aggressively pursue their claims and try to right the wrongs committed against these unsuspecting consumers.

If you or a family member has been injured because of a defective product or design, please feel free to contact us.

Premises Liability

Premises Liability is a general term that includes claims for injuries or death resulting from dangerous conditions that existed or activities that happened at a particular location. For instance, premises liability cases can arise from a trip and fall in a home or restaurant, falling merchandise in a store or warehouse, dangerous conditions that are not readily apparent on a sidewalk or in a pool; injuries caused by insufficient lighting, negligently designed stairways or handrails; or negligent security at a particular location.

As a general rule, property owners are responsible for injuries which occur as a result of a dangerous condition on their property, which the owner knew about, or should have known about and failed to warn others about.

Premises liability cases can be complicated because many different entities may own, lease, maintain or control the premises. Additionally, there can be different policies of insurance that may cover the incident. It is important to obtain legal advice and promptly investigate the claim and secure evidence early on because if the dangerous condition is fixed, you may forever lose the evidence that you need to prove your case. Prompt investigation of a premises liability claim is also important because if it involves a government entity, the time period in which you have to pursue your claim is substantially less than the four-year period for most personal injury actions.

If you have a potential premises liability claim, please feel free to contact us.

Negligent Security

A person may have a claim against a landowner or property manager if they sustained an injury due to the failure of the landowner or property manager to protect the injured person from foreseeable crimes on or near the property. It is important to seek legal counsel qualified to handle the specific type of investigation needed to establish that the landowner or property manager knew, or should have known, that such an event was foreseeable. Victims can sustain injury from assault, battery, robbery, rape or any number of other crimes committed by individuals that exploit the insufficient security or lighting of the premises. Negligent security cases may be brought against hotels, shopping centers, malls, schools, office buildings or nightclubs.

If you or a loved one was the victim of a crime due to the negligent security of another, please feel free to contact us.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Over 1 million people sustain a TBI each year in the United States and twenty percent of those cases are caused by automobile crashes. You do not have to be traveling at a high rate of speed to suffer a head injury, nor do you have to hit your head on an object to injure the brain. Experts suspect that much of the damage in a TBI happens when the brain’s soft, delicate tissue slams up against the hard, corrugated interior walls of the skull. Nerve fibers can also stretch and rip during the sudden accelerations or decelerations that occur in a car accident. Tiny tears in nerve fibers can lead to cell death days after the original brain injury. Cells that don’t die may never function properly again.

Medical experts refer to TBI as “the silent epidemic” because most of the available statistics underestimate the size of the problem. A TBI can do significant damage without leaving any visible outward signs on the victim, or even on a brain scan. Often the family and loved ones of an accident victim are first to notice the tell-tale signs of TBI. Some of the signs and symptoms of TBI are:

• Persistent headaches or neck pain
• Difficulty in remembering, concentrating or making decisions
• Slowed thinking, speaking, acting or reading
• Getting lost or easily confused
• Loss of energy and motivation
• Mood changes
• Change in sleep patterns
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Blurred vision

Many people who sustain TBI in a car crash don’t know that they have a brain injury, they just know that they “feel different.” Mild to moderate TBI, which can be extremely debilitating to the victim, often does not show up on a typical brain scan that is conducted at the emergency room. Because their brain scan is “normal,” they think that it must be all in their head, or emotional.

Although TBI can not be reversed, there are many medical resources available to help the person better cope with their symptoms and adapt to the person they are now. Medical professionals, such as neurologists, neuro-psychologists and neuro-psychiatrists, with specialized training in TBI offer resources to diagnose and treat TBI.

If you suspect that you or a loved one sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of the negligence of another it is important to seek legal advice from an attorney experienced in presenting these complex, significant claims to insurance companies and juries. Please feel free to contact us.

Click here for our FAQ on Personal Injury Law.