Property Damage Lawyer Pompano Beach, FL
Pompano Beach stretches more than 20 square miles along the Atlantic coast of northeastern Broward County, with nearly three miles of beachfront and a dense concentration of single-family homes, condominiums, and commercial properties that were mostly built in the 1960s and 1970s. With a population of more than 110,000 residents and a location directly in the path of South Florida’s annual hurricane season, this city generates more property damage insurance claims per square mile than most of Florida.
When those claims get denied, delayed, or underpaid, the consequences are serious. Repair costs in coastal Broward County can easily reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. Roof replacements, storm damage remediation, water intrusion repairs, and mold work in Pompano Beach neighborhoods like Cresthaven, Garden Isles, and Terra Mar Island carry price tags that many homeowners cannot absorb out of pocket.
That is why you need an attorney who knows exactly how carriers approach Pompano Beach property damage claims. Our Pompano Beach, FL property damage lawyer has been litigating property damage disputes in South Florida for over 25 years. We represent Pompano Beach homeowners, commercial property owners, and landlords on a pure contingency basis. Please contact The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers today to learn more about how we can help you.
Why Choose The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers for Property Damage in Pompano Beach?
She Defended the Carriers. Now She Fights Them.
Maria O’Donnell founded The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers in 2014, but her knowledge of property damage litigation in Broward County goes back much further than that. Before turning to plaintiff work, she ran one of the largest female-owned insurance defense firms in Florida, representing Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, State Farm, Allstate/Castle Key, Universal Property, Mercury, Travelers, and Esurance in property damage cases throughout South Florida. She handled sensitive Special Investigation Unit matters for those same carriers.
She knows the arguments carriers use to deny roof claims on the aging housing stock in Pompano Beach neighborhoods. She knows how adjusters are instructed to minimize wind damage payments on coastal properties. She knows how carriers apply depreciation calculations to reduce replacement cost payments below what the policy actually requires. Since 2014, she has used every bit of that knowledge to fight for Florida policyholders. As a property damage attorney in Pompano Beach, she brings that full background to every case we accept.
Ms. O’Donnell earned her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2001 and has been a Florida Bar member since 2002. Her record includes establishing substantive published case law across decades of South Florida property damage litigation.
Attorney David Edwards was recognized in the Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers Association for the civil plaintiff attorney division. The firm is listed with Martindale-Hubbell, one of the legal profession’s most established peer-review directories.
A 99% Success Rate Across South Florida Property Damage Cases
We maintain a 99% success rate across residential and commercial property damage cases throughout Florida. We have helped policyholders across Broward County recover millions of dollars in insurance proceeds that carriers initially refused to pay. We are based in Pompano Beach. This community is not just a keyword. It is the community we work in and fight for every day.
No Fee Unless We Win
Every property damage case and Florida homeowner insurance claim we handle is taken on full contingency. You pay nothing until we win. No retainers, no hourly billing, and no out-of-pocket expenses at any stage of the case.
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“Maria put in a lot of time and effort on my behalf knowing the chances of getting paid at the other end were slim. Not many people are willing to invest the time and effort to help out the ‘little guy’ against the insurance companies. Thank you!” — Dave Evans
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of Property Damage Cases We Handle in Pompano Beach
Pompano Beach homeowners and commercial property owners face property damage risks driven by this city’s coastal position, its large inventory of pre-2001 construction, and its annual exposure to the Atlantic hurricane season. Our attorneys handle all of the following in Pompano Beach and throughout Broward County.
- Hurricane damage. Wind damage, roof losses, wind-driven rain, and storm-related structural failures are the most heavily contested claims in coastal Broward County. Carriers routinely attribute roof damage on Pompano Beach’s 1970s-era housing stock to pre-existing wear rather than storm force, and offer estimates that fall well below actual local contractor pricing.
- Denied and delayed insurance claims. A denial is a legal position, not a final answer. Whether the carrier cites a policy exclusion, a late-notice argument, or a disputed cause of loss, those positions can be challenged. We challenge them regularly and we win.
- Water intrusion and plumbing damage. Sudden pipe failures, appliance malfunctions, and roof leaks leading to interior water damage and mold are among the most common property damage claims in Pompano Beach. Carriers frequently argue that damage was gradual or the result of maintenance failures rather than a covered sudden event. We document cause of loss from the start and contest every mischaracterization.
- Insurance claims. When a carrier argues that your specific loss falls outside the scope of coverage based on exclusion language, policy endorsements, or anti-concurrent causation clauses, those arguments require careful legal analysis. We analyze every coverage position the carrier takes and challenge the ones that cannot be supported by the policy language or Florida law.
- Bad faith insurance claims. When an insurer’s handling of a Pompano Beach property damage claim crosses from aggressive adjustment into deliberate misconduct or willful delay, Florida law provides a remedy that goes beyond the policy limits. We evaluate every file for bad faith potential and pursue those claims when the facts are there.
- Commercial property damage. Business owners, commercial landlords, and investors in Pompano Beach whose properties have been damaged and whose carriers have applied coverage restrictions not supported by the policy. Our Florida property and casualty attorneys handle commercial claims with the same approach we bring to residential disputes.
Florida Legal Requirements for Pompano Beach Property Damage Cases
Pompano Beach property damage disputes are governed by Florida’s statewide insurance statutes and litigated in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. These are the statutory requirements every Pompano Beach property owner needs to understand.
The one-year notice deadline. Under Florida Statute 627.70132, a new or reopened property insurance claim must be reported to your insurer within one year of the date of loss. For hurricane claims, the date of loss is the storm’s landfall date as verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Supplemental claims for additional damage from the same event must be filed within 18 months. With much of Pompano Beach’s housing built in the 1970s and featuring older roofing systems, storm damage can reveal itself slowly as water works its way into walls and ceilings after the event. But the clock runs from landfall, not from discovery.
The 60-day pay-or-deny requirement. Under Florida Statute 627.70131, your insurer has 60 days after receiving notice of your claim to pay it, pay the undisputed portion, or issue a written denial citing specific policy language and applicable Florida law. Payments made after that deadline bear interest from the date the claim was filed. Carriers that use documentation requests and reinspection demands to push past this window without paying are in statutory violation, and that violation is leverage we use in every case where it applies.
Replacement cost and ordinance coverage. Under Florida Statute 627.7011, insurers must offer replacement cost coverage for the dwelling and law and ordinance coverage paying additional costs to rebuild to current Broward County building code standards. Pompano Beach’s flood information and building code requirements are administered through the city’s Building Division at 100 West Atlantic Boulevard, and compliance with current flood ordinance standards after a loss can add significantly to the cost of repair. When carriers fail to honor these coverage provisions or improperly depreciate replacement cost payments, we challenge those calculations.
The bad faith remedy. Under Florida Statute 624.155, a Civil Remedy Notice must be filed with both the insurer and the Florida Department of Financial Services before a bad faith lawsuit can proceed. The carrier has 60 days to cure. Under Florida Statute 624.1551, a court judgment establishing breach of contract is required before extracontractual bad faith damages can be pursued, but once obtained, the full range of remedies including damages beyond the policy limits becomes available.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Pompano Beach Property Damage Case?
Contractual damages. The full amount your policy was required to pay: the cost to repair or replace your damaged structure, its contents, additional living expenses during displacement, and any code upgrade costs under ordinance and law provisions. When carriers pay less than the policy requires, we pursue the full difference.
Interest on late payments. Under Florida Statute 627.70131, payments made past the 60-day deadline bear interest from the date the claim was first filed. That interest is a recoverable element of your total claim and one we track in every Pompano Beach property damage case we handle.
Bad faith and extracontractual damages. When a carrier’s conduct rises to the level of bad faith under Florida Statute 624.155, the available recovery exceeds the policy limits. Florida courts have awarded extracontractual damages where carriers denied valid claims without meaningful investigation or deliberately delayed settlements to force below-value resolutions.
Punitive damages. Available under Florida Statute 624.155 when the insurer’s conduct was willful, wanton, or in reckless disregard for the policyholder’s rights with sufficient frequency to indicate a general business practice. We pursue them when the record supports that threshold.
Contact The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers
If your Pompano Beach property damage claim has been denied, underpaid, or delayed, the time to act is now. The one-year notice deadline under Florida law runs from the date of loss, and the window for supplemental claims closes at 18 months. The sooner you contact The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers Property Damage Lawyers, the more options our legal team is able to deploy.
We offer free consultations with our Pompano Beach property damage lawyer. Contact us today to put over 25 years of South Florida insurance industry knowledge to work for your property damage claim.