The Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transportation system for the county, operating the Metrorail, Metrobus, and Metromover. If you live or work in this area, you have likely utilized one of these offered services before, or possibly every day. While you may generally feel safe on these public transits, you are not vulnerable to entering into accidents while on them. And when they do, the aftermath can be quite catastrophic. That said, please continue reading to learn whether you can file a legal claim as an injured public transit commuter and how an experienced Miami auto accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Gonzalo Funes, PA, can help with your critical recovery.
Can I file a claim if I was injured on public transit?
Simply put, public transportation systems, like the Miami-Dade Transit, have a duty of care to ensure passenger safety. This means they must routinely inspect their buses, subways, and trains to identify and address any potentially hazardous conditions promptly. A failure to do so may mean a breach of their duty. In turn, it is more than likely that one of their innocent passengers will enter a personal injury accident while in transport, given factors beyond their reasonable control. Ultimately, this may result in serious bodily injuries, with subsequent economic and non-economic damages. If all these elements align with what you have experienced, you may be well within your legal right to file a claim against the Miami-Dade Transit or a similar public transit company.
What are the necessary procedures when suing public transit?
You should know that the Miami-Dade Transit is operated by Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW). With this, you may need to follow a specific, strict procedure to execute your personal injury claim correctly. That is, before filing your lawsuit, you must file a Notice of Claim with the DTPW. This notice simply informs the government entity that you intend to sue them for the damages you incurred as a result of your personal injury accident on one of their transit systems. Importantly, you must submit a Notice of Claim within three years from the date of your accident. Or, three years from the date you reasonably discovered your resulting injuries.
Once this is squared away, you may proceed with your personal injury claim. The statute of limitations for this is generally two years. You must build a solid case against the DTPW, as not only is it a powerful entity with plenty of legal resources, but the state of Florida’s modified comparative negligence law is against you. This law holds that if the civil court finds you to be more than 50 percent at fault for your accident, your case may be dismissed, and you may walk away with zero compensatory damages.
If you have made it this far, please do not hesitate to seek further information from a skilled Miami-Dade County injury lawyer. The team at the Law Offices of Gonzalo Funes, PA, is willing and able to guide you through your future legal processes.
