Port Richey Personal Injury Attorneys
The Accidents We Handle for Port Richey Clients
Every case starts with the same phone call: something happened, and it wasn't your fault. From there, our personal injury lawyers in Port Richey sort the details into five broad categories:
Auto Accidents
U.S. 19 cuts straight through Port Richey and carries a steady mix of commuter and commercial traffic, and the crossings at Ridge Road, Little Road, and Regency Park Boulevard rank among the busiest in the area. Our Port Richey car accident attorneys represent clients injured in:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Distracted driving accidents
- DUI accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Scooter accidents
- Rideshare accidents (Uber/Lyft)
- Delivery vehicle accidents
- Taxi accidents
No settlement replaces a person, but it can cover what their death left behind: a funeral bill, a missing paycheck, a household budget that no longer adds up. Our Port Richey personal injury attorneys build these claims around what a family actually lost, not just what a policy limit happens to allow, in matters such as:
- Fatal accidents caused by negligence
- Wrongful death claims tied to car, truck, and motorcycle collisions
- Fatal slip and fall incidents
- Nursing home fatalities
Slip/Trip and Fall
A wet floor with no sign, a broken step nobody fixed, a parking lot pothole hidden by shadow: property owners around Port Richey are on the hook when a hazard like this sends someone to the hospital and they knew, or should have known, about it. Our team takes on:
- Slip and fall injuries
- Trip and fall accidents
- Premises liability claims
- Retail and grocery store incidents
- Apartment and condo falls
Medicine has a defined standard of care, and a patient shouldn't have to absorb the cost when a provider ignores it. We bring in outside medical reviewers to pinpoint exactly where the treatment went wrong, in matters such as:
- Surgical errors
- Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
- Birth injuries
- Medication errors
- Brain injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Nursing home negligence
Other Personal Injury Cases
A backyard dog bite, a boating mishap on the Cotee River, a golf cart rollover: none of these fit the boxes above, but the same basic rule applies to each one. If someone else's negligence caused it, it's worth a phone call. Our personal injury lawyers look at:
- Child injuries
- Burn injuries
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Boating accidents
- Golf cart accidents
- ATV accidents
Let the Adjuster Deal with Us Instead of You
Every phone call, form, and follow-up with the insurance company can route through our office instead of yours. Start a free case review, and spend your energy on physical therapy instead of paperwork.
Florida State Rules Worth Knowing Before You File a Personal Injury Claim
Three rules control nearly every injury claim filed in Florida: how blame gets divided between two drivers, how long you have before the courthouse door closes, and which insurance policy pays out first. Here's what each one means for a Port Richey claim.
If you're found more than half responsible for causing your own accident, Florida law cuts you off from recovery entirely under Fla. Stat. § 768.81. Stay on the right side of that 50% line, and your payout simply drops by whatever percentage of fault a jury assigns to you. Adjusters lean on this rule hard, since shifting even a small share of blame onto you shrinks what the insurer has to pay.
You generally have two years from the date of your accident to get a lawsuit on file under Fla. Stat. § 95.11. That clock keeps running whether or not you're still negotiating with an insurer, and once it expires, the strength of your evidence stops mattering.
Every Florida driver is required to carry at least $10,000 in personal injury protection coverage under Fla. Stat. § 627.736, which pays a portion of your medical bills and lost income regardless of who caused the crash. If you want to pursue the at-fault driver directly for anything beyond that, you first have to clear the state's serious injury threshold under Fla. Stat. § 627.737.
The Four Things We Have to Prove in a Personal Injury Case
An insurance company won't cut a check just because you got hurt. Florida law requires proof of four specific things first:
- Duty of care: The person or company responsible for what happened owed you some basic level of care to begin with.
- Breach of duty: They fell short of that standard, whether through something they did or something they failed to do.
- Causation: Their conduct is what actually caused your injury, not a separate, unrelated event.
- Compensable harm or loss: You walked away with real losses, medical bills, missed paychecks, or otherwise, because of it.
Miss one of the four, and an adjuster has an opening to deny the whole claim. Our Port Richey personal injury attorneys build the proof for each piece before a demand letter ever goes out, so the file is ready for pushback from an adjuster and, if it comes to that, a Pasco County courtroom.
Compensation Available After a Port Richey Injury
Florida law allows injury victims to pursue several categories of damages, depending on the facts of the case.
Financial losses backed by bills, pay stubs, and expert calculations, including:
- Medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Property damage
Losses without a fixed dollar figure attached, but no less real, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
Florida courts reserve punitive damages under Fla. Stat. § 768.72 for conduct that goes beyond ordinary carelessness, such as drunk driving or a deliberate disregard for someone else's safety. These awards are less common, but they can apply when the facts support them.
Our Port Richey Personal Injury Claim Process
No two claims move at exactly the same pace, but nearly every one passes through the same five stages. Here's what to expect at each step:
Our team listens to what happened, looks at any evidence you already have, and lays out how Florida law applies to your situation. There's no charge and no obligation.
Once you retain us, we obtain the crash or incident report, track down witnesses, secure surveillance footage before it's deleted, and pull your medical records.
After your treatment stabilizes, our Port Richey personal injury attorneys send a demand package to the at-fault party's insurer and negotiate for the full value of the claim, not the first number they offer.
If the insurer won't pay a fair amount, we file suit in Pasco County or the appropriate venue and prepare the case for discovery, depositions, and trial.
Most cases settle before trial, but our personal injury lawyers carry more than 60 years of combined courtroom experience into every negotiation. If a jury needs to decide your case, we're ready.
The Two Attorneys Behind Every Case We Take
"Insurance companies have teams of lawyers. You deserve an attorney who knows your name and fights just as hard for you."Angela Zervos
With 20+ years of undefeated litigation experience, Angela delivers aggressive advocacy and genuine care for every client.
"Our clients aren't case numbers. They're our neighbors who need someone who genuinely cares about their recovery."Lauren Calta
With 30 years of courtroom experience, Lauren blends fierce representation with compassion and clear communication.
Why Port Richey Clients Choose Zervos & Calta PLLC
Two Decades Without a Trial Loss
Angela Zervos has stood against major insurance carriers in court for more than 20 years and has never lost.
Your Attorney Answers, Not a Call Center
Call at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., and you'll reach the lawyer handling your file, not a paralegal reading from a script.
You Owe Us Nothing Until We Win
We take cases on contingency. You pay no fee to get started, and we take our fee from the final recovery, not your pocket beforehand.
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Serving Injury Victims in Port Richey and Pasco County
Zervos & Calta PLLC represents Port Richey clients and the surrounding Pasco County communities of New Port Richey, Holiday, Elfers, Hudson, and Trinity, from four Tampa Bay area locations.
Reach Out to Zervos & Calta PLLC Today
If someone else's carelessness left you hurt in Port Richey, the clock on your claim is already running. Speak with our Port Richey personal injury attorneys directly, not an intake screener, and find out where you stand at no cost and no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get medical attention first, even if the injury feels minor. File a report, photograph the scene and your injuries, and collect contact information from any witnesses. Notify your own insurer, but hold off on a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer until you've talked to an attorney.
It depends on your injuries and how the insurer responds. Simple claims often wrap up in a few months, but cases with disputed liability or a serious injury can push that past a year. We'll give you a realistic timeline once we've reviewed the details.
Check your own policy. Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is optional in Florida, but if you carry it, it can cover medical bills and lost wages that the at-fault driver can't. We review every policy you have before ruling anything out.
Most don't. But we prepare every file as if it will, and that's usually what pushes an insurer toward a fairer number. We have unmatched trial experience, and we strive to always be the most prepared lawyers in the courtroom.