Practice Areas

After an accident, you may feel overwhelmed by the costs associated with a disabling injury. Whether you are one of many people injured in a truck rollover accident, or you fracture your ankle on a slippery grocery store floor, it is crucial to retain an experienced Ocala personal injury attorney after an accident. At the Dean Law Firm, we help accident victims pursue compensation from negligent people or companies so that they can focus on rest and recovery. Our firm also can handle matters related to trusts and estates, real estate, business law, and other areas.

Most car accidents result from negligence by one or more drivers. To prove negligence, you will need to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the other driver owed you an obligation to use reasonable care but did not meet that obligation. The defendant’s failure to drive safely must have been a direct cause of your injuries. This may happen in many ways, such as by running a red light, driving drunk, using a cell phone behind the wheel, or failing to check a blind spot. You may be able to receive damages for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, property damage, and other economic and non-economic forms of harm.

Truck accidents may be caused by the carelessness of a truck driver, a trucking company, a third party, or a combination of these. In addition to holding a driver responsible for negligence or negligence per se, you may be able to hold the trucking company liable under a theory of negligent hiring, negligent training, or negligent supervision. Even if the company did not act carelessly, you still may be able to hold it vicariously liable for its employee’s conduct if the crash happened while they were on the job.

Motorcyclists may suffer catastrophic injuries or even death after a collision or a near-collision with a larger vehicle. You may be able to hold a driver liable under a theory of negligence. Often, the driver or their insurer will defend the claim by saying that you were also negligent. If a jury finds that your own negligence contributed to your injuries, your damages likely will be reduced. This is one reason why seeking knowledgeable counsel early in a case is critical. Florida uses a pure comparative negligence rule, so even if you were somewhat at fault, you still may be able to recover damages in proportion to the defendant’s negligence.

Property owners have a duty to keep their property reasonably safe for visitors. This means that they must repair a dangerous condition or provide warnings about it. Your status as a visitor on the property will determine which kind of duty you are owed. In order to hold a store liable for a slip and fall as a customer, you will need to show that the store was negligent and that it knew or should have known about the condition that caused your slip and fall.

Generally, medical malpractice exists when a health care provider's actions fall below the professional standard of care and cause injuries to a patient. However, the professional standard of care relative to a particular patient may vary, and it will be necessary to retain an expert to testify about the standard of care and how the defendant’s actions caused the patient’s injuries. These cases may arise from a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis, negligence during the childbirth process, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, emergency room mistakes, and many other situations.

Ordinary household items, medical devices, toys, cars, and appliances may be defective and cause serious injuries. To establish a manufacturer's liability, you will need to prove, among other things, that the product was defective in terms of its manufacturing, marketing, or design. In Florida, you may hold a manufacturer strictly liable for products that are in a condition that is unreasonably dangerous.

Catastrophic injuries are injuries that permanently and dramatically alter an accident victim's life. For example, paralysis, traumatic brain injury, complex fractures, disfigurement, and amputation are all catastrophic injuries. When an accident is particularly devastating, a victim may even lose their life. Their family then will have the right to bring a wrongful death action to pursue compensation for the related costs as well as their subjective losses caused by the victim’s absence from their lives.

We also handle lawsuits in areas such as probate litigation, real estate, business law, and consumer protection. Probate litigation usually arises in connection with challenging some aspect or the entirety of a Last Will and Testament, but it may also be a result of a challenge to other trust documents. Real estate litigation involves any number of disputes related to property, including those arising from the purchase or sale of a home or commercial building. Business law matters that we handle include issues related to business formation and dissolution, contracts, banking, and zoning and eminent domain claims. In many cases, consumer protection claims take the form of a class action involving numerous claims requesting similar relief. For example, it might be appropriate to bring a class action if you suffered minor injuries from a defectively designed appliance that many other people also used and by which they were similarly harmed.

At the Dean Law Firm, we can represent you if you need a car accident lawyer or assistance in any other type of claim arising from an accident. We can also represent you in probate litigation, real estate disputes, business matters, and class actions. Contact us online or call us at 352-387-8700 to set up an appointment. Our Ocala personal injury lawyers also can assist people in The Villages, Crystal River, and other areas of Citrus, Levy, Sumter, Marion, and Lake Counties.