Tampa Bay Personal Injury Lawyers, Here for You Since 1996
A serious injury rarely comes alone. Medical bills, missed paychecks, and calls from insurance adjusters tend to arrive all at once, usually while you are still trying to heal. Since 1996, Hancock Injury Attorneys has helped people across Tampa Bay carry that load, so you can focus on getting better while we take care of everything else.
What Is a Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is the legal process for recovering money from the person or company whose carelessness hurt you. In Florida, most of these claims are built on negligence: someone failed to act with reasonable care, and you paid the price in injuries, medical bills, and lost time.
Most claims are resolved through the at-fault party's insurance company, either by a negotiated settlement or, when the insurer will not be reasonable, through a lawsuit. Either way, a claim is only as strong as the evidence behind it, which is why the first weeks after an injury matter so much.
The Four Things Every Negligence Claim Must Show
To recover compensation, you generally need to prove four elements:
- Duty. The other party owed you reasonable care. Drivers owe it to everyone on the road, and businesses owe it to their customers.
- Breach. They failed to meet that duty, for example by texting behind the wheel, ignoring a spill, or skipping truck maintenance.
- Causation. That failure caused your injuries.
- Damages. You suffered real losses, such as medical expenses, lost income, and physical pain.
Insurers often attack causation. They argue that your back pain was pre-existing, or that a gap in treatment proves you were not really hurt. Before founding the firm, Mike Hancock defended companies like Allstate, State Farm, and Geico, so we know where those arguments come from and how to answer them with medical records and testimony.
What Compensation Can Cover
Florida law allows injured people to recover two broad categories of damages:
- Economic damages: past and future medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages, lost earning capacity, home modifications, and out-of-pocket costs such as travel to appointments.
- Non-economic damages: pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring and disfigurement, and in some cases a spouse's loss of companionship (loss of consortium).
In rare cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct, punitive damages may also be available. No honest lawyer can tell you what your case is worth at the first meeting. What we can do is document every loss thoroughly so nothing is left on the table.
Florida Deadlines and Fault Rules
Two-year filing deadline. For most negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years to file a lawsuit (section 95.11, Florida Statutes). Wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. Exceptions exist and some deadlines are shorter; claims against a city, county, or state agency, for example, carry pre-suit notice requirements. Call promptly so a deadline never decides your case for you.
Modified comparative negligence. Under section 768.81, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are found more than 50% at fault, you generally cannot recover at all. Insurers know this, which is why they work so hard to shift blame onto injured people.
No-fault rules for car crashes. After a motor vehicle crash, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays first, and you must get initial medical treatment within 14 days to use it. Our car accident page explains how that works.
Injury Cases We Handle
We represent people hurt by someone else's negligence throughout Tampa Bay. Learn more about each type of claim:
- Car accidents, including rear-end, left-turn, and rideshare crashes
- Truck accidents involving tractor-trailers, delivery vans, and commercial fleets
- Motorcycle accidents, where riders often face unfair bias
- Slip and fall and premises liability claims against stores, restaurants, and property owners
- Catastrophic injuries such as brain injuries, paralysis, amputations, and severe burns
- Wrongful death claims for families who have lost a loved one
- Boat accidents on Tampa Bay, the Gulf, and inland waters
- Pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents
- Golf cart accidents in neighborhoods and on local roads
- Insurance disputes, when your own insurer denies, delays, or underpays a claim
How We Handle Your Case
Hancock Injury Attorneys is deliberately not a high-volume advertising firm, and that choice shapes how we work:
- You meet with an attorney, not a paralegal. You will sit down with Mike Hancock, and our attorneys stay involved through the end of your case.
- We handle the busywork. We deal with adjusters, medical providers, billing offices, and property damage so you can focus on recovery.
- We prepare every case as if it will be tried. Most cases settle, but insurers take a claim more seriously when they know the firm behind it is ready for a jury.
- We bring in the right help. Depending on the case, that may include accident reconstructionists, engineers, economists, and medical and vocational professionals.
What It Costs
Nothing up front. We handle 100% of our cases on a contingency fee, which means no fee unless we recover money for you. We advance case costs and do not hold you responsible for them if there is no recovery. There is no "file set-up fee" and no vague administrative charge. And unless there are extenuating circumstances, we will never take home more than our client does. Read more about what a lawyer costs.
Talk to a Tampa Bay Personal Injury Lawyer
With offices in Tampa, Wesley Chapel, and Spring Hill, we are close to home for clients across Hillsborough, Pasco, and Hernando counties. Consultations are free and can happen however works for you: by phone, at your home, by email, or over FaceTime or Zoom, on weekdays or weekends.
Our phones are answered 24/7. Call (813) 915-1110 or contact us online to talk with an attorney about what happened and what comes next.
Serving Injured People Across Tampa Bay
From our offices in Tampa, Wesley Chapel, and Spring Hill, we represent injured people throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, and the surrounding counties.
- Tampa
- Carrollwood
- Northdale
- Lutz
- Town ’n’ Country
- Brandon
- Temple Terrace
- New Tampa
- Wesley Chapel
- Land O’ Lakes
- Zephyrhills
- Odessa
- Spring Hill
- Brooksville
- Hudson
- New Port Richey
- Hillsborough County
- Pasco County
- Hernando County
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost?
We handle every case on a 100% contingency fee, so you pay no attorney's fee unless we recover money for you, and we advance the case costs. Florida Bar rules cap contingency fees, typically at 33⅓% of a recovery up to $1 million if the case resolves before the defendant answers or arbitration is demanded, and 40% after that through trial. You sign a written fee agreement and receive a Statement of Client's Rights before we begin.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Florida?
For most negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years to file a lawsuit. Wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. Exceptions exist and some deadlines are shorter, such as claims against government entities that require pre-suit notice, so it is wise to call as soon as you can.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Often, yes. Under Florida's modified comparative negligence rule, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, so a person found 20% at fault would recover 80% of their damages. If you are found more than 50% at fault, however, you generally cannot recover.
What is maximum medical improvement (MMI)?
MMI is the point at which your doctor believes your condition has stabilized and further treatment is unlikely to change it significantly. It matters because that is usually when your future medical needs, and the full value of your claim, can be measured. Settling before you reach that point can leave you paying for future care yourself.
Will my case have to go to trial?
Most personal injury cases settle without a trial. We still prepare every case as though it will be tried, because that preparation is what gives us leverage in negotiations. If the insurer refuses to make a fair offer, we are ready to file suit and present your case to a jury.