Practice Areas at JOHNILAW
Areas of Practice
Motor Vehicle Crashes
Motor vehicle crashes can be devastating, and can change your life in a heartbeat. You could be on your way to the store. You’ve driven this route hundreds of times, but today is different. Today, another car blows through a stop sign and T-bones you. Your life changes in an instant. Your car is destroyed, you are in the hospital, medical bills are piling up, and you are completely overwhelmed by the process because another driver wasn’t paying attention. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Motorcycle Crashes
Motorcycle and scooter riders don’t stand a chance in a crash involving a car or a truck – there’s nothing between you and the ground and the only thing able to absorb the impact is your body. You could be riding to work early in the morning. You notice the car at the stop sign with its left turn signal on, but you have the right of way, your headlight is on, and you’ve got some loud pipes – nothing to worry about. Wrong. The car pulls out right in front of you, leaving you no room or time to stop. You become a hood ornament. Your bike is destroyed, you are in the hospital, medical bills are piling up, and you are completely overwhelmed by the process because another driver wasn’t paying attention. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Bicycle Crashes
Bicycles are expected to follow the same rules as other vehicles on the road. However, because they move at a much slower speed, bicyclists are especially vulnerable on or roadways. You could be heading to the beach. You’re riding with traffic on a two-lane road hugging the curb as cars and trucks whizzing past you; and then one doesn’t - it clips you as it passes sending you and your bike flying. Your bike is destroyed, you are in the hospital, medical bills are piling up, and you are completely overwhelmed by the process because another driver wasn’t paying attention. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Trucking Crashes
A 4,000 pound passenger vehicle is no match for a fully loaded 80,000 pound commercial truck. You could be on I-4. It’s your first day of vacation and everyone is excited. Traffic is heavy, but moving along pretty well. The only thing you can see in your rearview mirror is the grill of the big-rig behind you. Brake lights come on in front of you and you put your foot on the brake. But the semi behind you can’t slow down in time and drives you, your car, and your family into the car in front of you. Your car is destroyed, your vacation is ruined, your entire family is in the hospital, medical bills are piling up, and you are completely overwhelmed by the process because another driver wasn’t paying attention. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Pedestrian Crashes
Being hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian often results in life-threatening injuries. You could be walking along Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete. You press the button on the light pole and wait for the red hand to become a white figure. When it does, you step out into the crosswalk and are immediately struck by a driver making a right-hand turn from behind you. You lay in your hospital bed wondering how you are ever going to pay the medical bills, when you will be able to return to work, and where to even start the process of putting your life back together. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Slip-and-Fall Injuries
Falls caused by dangerous conditions left unattended in a store can often be attributed to carelessness and apathy of the store’s employees. You could be picking up some fresh vegetables for dinner. You take a step to get a closer look at the cucumbers and the next instant you are lying on the floor in pain. Dinner is all but forgotten as the paramedics load you into the ambulance. They say your hip is broken. You can’t imagine how much the medical bills are going to be, how much your life is going to change, or how to even begin the process because somebody didn’t bother to keep the aisles clean, dry, and safe. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the business owner responsible for your injuries and losses.
Homeowner Injuries
Homeowners are supposed to warn their guests about any dangerous conditions on their property. If they don’t, they are responsible if someone gets hurt. You could be at a baby shower. A picnic lunch is set up in the back yard. As you start down the stairs another guest asks you about a mutual friend. You lean on the railing and it collapses. As your friend dials 9-1-1, the homeowner runs up and stammers something about “meaning to fix that.” You look around your hospital room waiting for the doctor to tell you why you can’t feel your fingers, wondering how much this going to cost, crying and completely overwhelmed by the process because nobody told you the railing was faulty. What do you do? Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Insurance Disputes
It is not uncommon for insurance companies to offer far less than your claim is worth or to deny your claim altogether. They depend on your inexperience and desire to “put this all behind” you, and they rip you off. Don’t let the insurance company bully you around. Contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to stand up to the insurance company.
Injury Types Handled
Quadriplegia
Quadriplegia is a severe or complete loss of motor function in both arms and both legs, often resulting from neck injuries involving the spinal cord. I was temporarily paralyzed after being involved in a severe crash in 1986. Having personally experienced the devastation that can result from motor vehicle crashes allows me to appreciate the suffering that my clients endure do to the carelessness of someone else. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Paraplegia
Paraplegia is a severe or complete loss of motor function in both legs and the lower portion of the body, often resulting from back injuries involving the spinal cord. I was temporarily paralyzed after being involved in a severe crash in 1986. Having personally experienced the devastation that can result from motor vehicle crashes allows me to appreciate the suffering that my clients endure do to the carelessness of someone else. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Other Spinal Cord Injuries
Injuries to the spine can result from any type of collision or fall. Two major causes are blunt force trauma to the spine and whiplash. Any damage to the spinal cord can cause significant nerve damage. Patients may experience reduced sensation of and control over their arms, hands, legs, feet, and other body parts. Additionally, spinal disks can be damaged. Patients often experience numbness or tingling sensations, muscle weakness, and arm or leg pain. Injuries to the spine can make it difficult to remain in one position for an extended period of time, adversely affecting your ability to walk, stand, sit, sleep, work, and recreation. The more severe the injury the less function you can expect to regain even after surgery and extensive physical therapy. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injury results from an impact to the head that disrupts normal brain function. Traumatic brain injury may affect your cognitive abilities, including learning and thinking skills. Seated drivers and passengers involved in collisions can strike their heads against steering wheels, dashboards, or windows. This can cause a traumatic brain injury, including bleeding in the brain, coma, and long lasting cognitive problems. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Limb and Joint Injuries
Crashes can cause broken bones, ranging from hairline fractures, to simple fractures, to compound fractures. Broken bones require emergency care. Some can be repaired with a cast, while others might require surgery and hospitalization. Knee, shoulder and pelvic injuries can also result from a crash. The knees are especially prone to tearing and dislocation. Shoulder injuries are also very common among crash victims. Injuries to the pelvic area are most common in pedestrian, bicycle, and motorcycle crashes. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Amputations
In cases of extreme injury caused by severe trauma, amputation of a limb may be needed. Amputation of the arm can mean anything from a finger to the entire arm. Amputation is often a last resort when all other therapies or surgeries have been exhausted. Clearly these are very severe injuries leading to the lost of body tissue. In severe cases a prosthetic limb may be necessary. In all cases retraining and rehabilitation is likely to be extensive. Not only do you have to contend with the physical difficulties of losing a limb, or finger or toe, there is the psychological impact to deal with. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Other Serious Injuries
The majority of traumatic injuries tend to classified as “soft tissue injuries.” However, just because you didn’t break a bone doesn’t mean that your injuries are trivial – quite the contrary. Soft tissue injuries include tearing of muscle, tendons, ligaments, among other things. For instance, the heart and lungs are soft tissue organs, and nobody would consider injuries to those organs to be minor. If you have had to seek medical treatment for an injury caused by someone else, then it is likely that compensation can be awarded in your favor. Soft tissue injuries can take many forms. A “whiplash” type injury to the neck and upper back is a form of soft tissue injury. These same mechanisms and forces can cause soft tissue injuries in other areas of the body. If you’ve been injured due to no fault of your own, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible for your injuries and losses.
Wrongful Death
In some of the personal injury cases we handle, we never have the opportunity to meet the injured party. This is because the severity of the injuries resulted in the person’s death. In these cases, the victim’s family has a right to recover not only the final medical and funeral expenses of their loved one, but also for their own losses, pain, and suffering. If you’ve lost a family member due to someone else’s carlessness, contact Johnilaw. We will give you the personal attention and guidance you need to navigate through this difficult time, and help you hold the at fault party responsible.