If you or someone you love has been hurt in an accident on a South Florida road, at a Miami construction site, in a Coral Gables grocery store, or in any other situation caused by another party's negligence, the choice of attorney you make in the days that follow can shape the rest of your life. Florida's no-fault insurance rules, the strict deadlines for filing a personal injury lawsuit, and the tactics used by insurance carriers to minimize payouts all make it essential to have an experienced advocate at your side from the very beginning. Our firm has practiced personal injury law for nearly two decades and brings that experience to clients throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties.
What We Do
We represent people who have been hurt physically, emotionally, or financially because of someone else's negligence or wrongdoing. Our goal is to make sure injured Floridians are fully compensated for everything they have lost. The work we handle on every case includes:
- Investigating the crash, fall, or other incident to identify every responsible party and preserve key evidence before it disappears
- Coordinating with your medical providers and applying your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits properly under Florida law
- Calculating the full value of your damages, medical bills, lost income, future treatment, property damage, pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Negotiating directly with insurance adjusters who are trained to settle Miami claims for as little as possible
- Filing suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court and trying your case in front of a jury when the insurance company refuses to be reasonable
Types of Cases We Handle
Florida personal injury law covers a wide range of accidents. The categories below are the practice areas we handle most often for South Florida clients. Click any area to learn more about how we can help.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Car AccidentsCrashes on I-95, the Palmetto, US-1, the Dolphin Expressway, and Miami's surface streets caused by distracted, reckless, or impaired drivers.
- Truck AccidentsCollisions involving 18-wheelers and commercial trucks on Florida's highways and at the Port of Miami.
- Pedestrian AccidentsSouth Florida is one of the most dangerous regions in the country for pedestrians struck by vehicles.
- Uber & Rideshare AccidentsInjuries in Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare vehicles, and the layered insurance issues they create.
- Drunk Driving AccidentsCivil claims and dram-shop liability for crashes caused by intoxicated drivers in Miami-Dade and Broward.
- Motorcycle AccidentsRiders are uniquely vulnerable on South Florida roads, and Florida law treats motorcycle injury claims differently.
Workplace & Construction Injuries
- Construction AccidentsFalls, equipment failures, and OSHA violations on Miami's high-rise and residential construction sites.
- Scaffold AccidentsInjuries from scaffold collapses, falls from height, and defective scaffolding on Florida job sites.
- Work InjuriesOn-the-job injuries, third-party liability claims, and workers' compensation under Florida Statute Chapter 440.
Medical Negligence
- Medical MalpracticeSurgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication errors, and improper treatment in South Florida hospitals and clinics.
- Birth InjuriesInjuries to a child or mother caused by negligence during prenatal care or delivery.
- Nursing Home NeglectPhysical, emotional, and financial abuse or neglect in South Florida nursing facilities and assisted-living homes.
- BedsoresPressure injuries caused by nursing home or hospital neglect, almost always preventable with proper care.
Premises Liability & Property
- Premises LiabilityInjuries from dangerous conditions on someone else's property under Florida premises liability law.
- Slip & FallFalls in grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, and condos caused by wet floors and other hazards.
- Elevator AccidentsInjuries in Miami's high-rise condos and offices from elevator malfunctions and entrapments.
Catastrophic & Serious Injuries
- Brain InjuriesTraumatic brain injuries from crashes, falls, and assaults, often requiring lifelong care.
- Burn InjuriesBurns from fires, gas explosions, chemicals, and electrical accidents.
- Catastrophic InjuriesLife-altering injuries including spinal cord damage, paralysis, and amputations.
Other Practice Areas
- Product LiabilityInjuries caused by defective vehicles, consumer products, and medical devices.
- Dog BitesFlorida is a strict-liability state for dog bites; owners can be responsible even on a first attack.
- Boat & Watercraft AccidentsBiscayne Bay, the Intracoastal, and the Keys see thousands of boating injuries every year.
- Hurricane & Property ClaimsUnderpaid and denied homeowner's claims after South Florida storms.
- Insurance DisputesBad-faith insurance practices and underpaid first-party claims.
We have successfully represented clients in a wide variety of accident cases like these and many more. If your situation is not listed here, call us anyway, most personal injury matters fall under one of the categories above even if you would describe them differently.
Why Hire Our Firm
Having an experienced Miami personal injury lawyer on your side gives you significant advantages, especially against Florida's largest insurance carriers. Our clients benefit from:
- Direct attorney access; you speak with a lawyer, not just a case manager
- An honest evaluation of what your claim is actually worth under Florida law
- Trial experience that insurance adjusters know about and respect when they make settlement offers
- Careful handling of PIP, MedPay, health insurance liens, and Medicare/Medicaid set-asides so you keep as much of your settlement as possible
- Strict attention to Florida's statute of limitations and pre-suit notice requirements
- No fee unless we recover money for you
Florida's statute of limitations on negligence claims was shortened in 2023, and many medical-malpractice and government-defendant deadlines are even shorter. Waiting to call a lawyer can cost you the case entirely. If you need legal representation, the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin can help. We are located in Coral Gables and serve clients throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties. You can call us at 786-522-1411 or send us an email at [email protected].
How Florida Personal Injury Law Changed in 2023
House Bill 837, signed in March 2023, reshaped Florida personal injury law more dramatically than any single piece of legislation in decades. Several changes directly affect what your case is worth and how fast it must be filed:
- Two-year statute of limitations for general negligence claims under § 95.11(3), reduced from four years
- Modified comparative-negligence rule with a 50% bar under § 768.81, plaintiffs found more than 50% at fault recover nothing
- Restricted medical-damages evidence: the "amounts billed" no longer come in when insurance actually paid a discounted figure
- Apportionment of fault to criminal actors in negligent-security cases against property owners
- Constrained bad-faith claims against insurers after an excess judgment
The practical takeaway: cases that would have been straightforward under pre-2023 law are now contested on issues that did not exist before. Early investigation, careful liability framing, and methodical damages development are more important than ever.
What to Expect at the Initial Consultation
Your first conversation with our firm is free and confidential. There is no obligation to hire us, and we will tell you honestly whether we think you have a viable claim, what we believe the case might be worth, and what challenges we see. To make the consultation as productive as possible, please bring or be ready to discuss:
- The Florida Traffic Crash Report, police report, or incident report
- Photographs of the scene, vehicles, and visible injuries
- Names and contact information for any witnesses
- Your auto insurance declarations page (showing PIP, BI, UM, and MedPay coverage)
- Any health insurance card or Medicare/Medicaid information
- Medical records, discharge instructions, prescriptions, and bills you have received
- Any communications from the at-fault party's insurance carrier, letters, emails, voicemails
- Documentation of lost wages, pay stubs, time-off records, employer correspondence
If you do not have all of this material, we will help you obtain it. The consultation can also be conducted by phone or video for clients who cannot travel because of injury.
How We Build a Florida Personal Injury Case
Every case we accept moves through a structured process designed to maximize the recovery and protect the client at each stage:
- Investigation and evidence preservation. Spoliation letters go out to potential defendants and custodians of surveillance footage, telematics data, and other electronic evidence within days of intake.
- Medical coordination. We work with treating providers to ensure proper diagnostic workup and continuity of care, and arrange specialist treatment through Letters of Protection when health insurance is inadequate.
- Liability development. Witness statements, expert engagement, scene reconstruction, and public-records requests are completed before any settlement demand is made.
- Demand and pre-suit negotiation. A comprehensive demand package is sent to the carrier with full medical documentation, lost-wage proof, and a liability narrative. Most cases that resolve do so in this phase.
- Litigation. Cases that do not settle pre-suit are filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Discovery, depositions, mediation, and (where necessary) trial follow under Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
- Lien resolution and disbursement. When the case resolves, we negotiate health insurance subrogation, Medicare and Medicaid liens, hospital liens, and provider balances to maximize the client's net recovery.
Why Clients Choose Our Firm
Several features distinguish our personal injury practice from the high-volume settlement mills that dominate South Florida advertising:
- Direct attorney access. Every client has the attorney's cell phone and email. You will not be routed to a case manager.
- Trial readiness. Every case is prepared from day one as if it will be tried. Carriers know which firms try cases and which do not, and adjust their settlement offers accordingly.
- Selective caseload. We take on a limited number of cases at a time so each one receives meaningful attention.
- Honest evaluation. If we do not think a claim is viable, we tell you. If we think you are being offered fair value, we tell you that too.
- Full cost advancement. We pay every cost of investigation, experts, depositions, and trial. You owe nothing unless we recover.
- Bilingual capability. We serve South Florida's Spanish-speaking community throughout the litigation process.
South Florida Communities We Serve
We represent injured clients throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties, including Miami, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Brickell, downtown Miami, Wynwood, Little Havana, Doral, Hialeah, Kendall, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Homestead, Aventura, North Miami, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour, Key Biscayne, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Weston, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, and Key West. Cases anywhere in South Florida can be handled remotely from initial intake through resolution, clients who cannot travel because of injury never have to.
Where We Practice
- Miami
- Coral Gables
- Miami Beach
- Fort Lauderdale
- West Palm Beach
