Lakeland Personal Injury Lawyer


People who get hurt by the negligence of another will often have a claim against the negligent party that caused them injury. Injury victims can recover monetary damages for all the harm that was done to them, including present and future medical expenses, lost income for the time they missed from work or if they are disabled from working in the future as they used to be able to do, plus compensation for harm such as the pain and suffering they experienced or continue to experience, mental anguish or emotional distress, loss in quality of life, and related harm.


Most of the time, these claims can eventually be resolved satisfactorily with the insurance company, but sometimes it’s necessary to file a lawsuit and even go to court to resolve the claim. Whether dealing with the insurance company in settlement negotiations or litigating in court, having an experienced personal injury attorney on your side is essential to being successful on your claim and getting the full amount of compensation you deserve. Florida attorney Michael Ruel is an experienced former insurance defense attorney with over 15 years of experience representing the insurance companies’ customers in Central Florida on personal injury matters. As the founder of the Ruel Law Firm, Michael uses the skills and knowledge he developed during that time to help injury victims get maximum compensation after a personal injury or wrongful death matter in Central Florida, including maritime injuries, premises liability, products liability and more. Contact our experienced Lakeland personal injury lawyer today.


Maritime Injuries on Florida Lakes, Rivers, and Offshore


With over 7,500 lakes, more than 1,500 navigable river and inland waterway miles, and coastal access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is home to more vessels than any other state (almost one million registered vessels). With all of this boating, you would expect to find plenty of Florida laws regulating who can operate a boat or personal watercraft, but that’s not the case. Hundreds of boating accidents every year in the Sunshine State end in hundreds of injuries and dozens of deaths. Boating accidents can be complex events that are difficult to reconstruct, but the Ruel Law Firm can help you establish a boat operator’s negligence and liability to you for your damages if you or a loved one are hurt or worse in a boating accident, jet ski crash, or other recreational boating accident. We represent boaters, swimmers, water skiers, operators of personal watercraft and others in all manner of boating accidents in Central Florida, including:


  • Collisions with another vessel or watercraft.


  • Allisions with a fixed object.


  • Drownings/falls overboard.


  • Capsizing


  • Swamping or flooding.


  • Fires and explosions.


  • Defective vessels or watercraft.


Premises Liability


Property owners have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition for the safety of people on the property. This duty is even higher for companies that invite the public onto their property to conduct business for the benefit of the property owner, such as grocery stores, restaurants, nightclubs, retail stores and shopping malls, hotels and resorts, and other commercial establishments. Customers, guests and members of the public injured in a slip and fall or trip and fall, who are hit by a falling object or assaulted because of negligent security can assert a claim for their damages caused by the property owner’s negligence. These premises liability claims can be complex and hard to prove. The injured victim has the burden of proving the property owner either created the hazard or knew about or should have known about it but failed to fix it in a reasonable time before the accident happened. Property owners and their insurers will be quick to deny such knowledge or responsibility and will often blame the victim for causing or failing to avoid the accident, or they will dispute the victim’s injuries, arguing they are not serious or were not caused by the fall or other incident.


As an insurance defense lawyer for over a decade, Michael Ruel regularly represented property owners and their insurers in premises liability claims, including general liability, products liability, industrial accidents, and more. The Ruel Law Firm has particular expertise in construction site accidents and injuries caused by construction defects as well. If you have been hurt in a slip and fall or other accident on another’s dangerously unsafe property, the Lakeland premises liability lawyer at the Ruel Law Firm can help you get the compensation you need to deal with your injury and the harm that has befallen you.


Wrongful Death


Florida law provides a mechanism for a spouse, child, parent, certain other family members, and the estate of the deceased to recover compensation for the harm inflicted when the death of a loved one is caused by another party’s negligence. These claims can be difficult to navigate; issues such as proving liability and the proper calculation of damages can be complex. The Ruel Law Firm can help you obtain justice and accountability for your loved one along with the financial support you need to deal with the needless loss of a valuable and cherished member of your family.


Contact the Ruel Law Firm Today


Dealing with an injury or the loss of a loved one is difficult enough without adding the burden of pursuing an insurance claim or lawsuit while you are in pain, recovering from your injury, and trying to get your life back in order. The Ruel Law Firm can take on this burden for you and pursue your claim on your behalf while you rest and recover. Call our experienced Lakeland personal injury lawyer today.

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