Business Liability Lawyer Florida
If your Florida business has been hit with a denied or underpaid commercial property claim, the losses can compound quickly. Your building needs repairs, and now your operations are disrupted. If you’re like many Florida business owners, you can’t afford endless delays from your insurance carrier. You need help now, and you’ll get it from The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers.
Our Florida business liability lawyer has been doing this for over 25 years, first from inside the insurance industry and now squarely on your side. We handle commercial and residential property damage claims across Florida on a pure contingency basis. And, we offer free consultations with our attorneys, so you can learn your rights and legal options.
Why Choose The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers for Business Liability in Florida?
She Built Her Career Inside the Insurance Industry
Maria O’Donnell founded The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers in 2014 after spending years running one of the largest female-owned insurance defense firms in Florida. Before she started fighting for policyholders, she was defending State Farm, Allstate/Castle Key, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Universal Property, Mercury, Travelers, and Esurance, handling everything from routine claims to sensitive Special Investigation Unit cases for those carriers.
She graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2001, was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2002, and has been litigating property and insurance cases in Florida ever since. She has established published case law through her litigation record and carries a reputation inside the industry for running an aggressive, precise practice that consistently closes with results.
Ms.O’Donnell’s background makes the difference for business owners like you. She knows precisely what adjusters look for, how carriers build their denial rationale, and where those arguments fall apart under pressure. As a business liability attorney in Florida, she brings that insider knowledge to every commercial claim we take on.
A 99% Success Rate With Fast Resolutions
The numbers matter here. Our firm maintains a 99% success rate across commercial and residential property damage cases, with a track record of achieving fast, high settlements for clients across Florida. We have helped business owners recover millions of dollars in insurance proceeds that carriers initially refused to pay. We analyze your claim, identify potential leverage points, and move quickly. That approach is intentional. The longer a commercial claim sits unresolved, the more a business suffers.
Attorney David Edwards brings additional depth to the firm’s commercial and business liability practice. Recognized in the Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers Association for the civil plaintiff attorney division, his record reflects the same client-focused, results-driven approach the entire firm operates on.
The firm is listed with Martindale-Hubbell, one of the legal profession’s most recognized peer-review directories.
No Fee Unless We Win
We’re paid only when you win. We use a contingency fee structure for every commercial property damage and business liability case we take on. No retainers, no hourly billing, no surprise invoices while your claim is being litigated, so you can focus on rebuilding your business after the storm.
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“Great firm. Maria has been in this biz over 25 years and she represented State Farm Allstate Citizens Universal Mercury etc no one is better suited to fight them then one who was one of them, and the best and most aggressive for you.” — Sal Trinkey
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of Business Liability Cases We Handle in Florida
Florida businesses face a wide range of property damage and insurance disputes. Our attorneys handle commercial claims from initial filing through trial when necessary.
- Commercial property damage. We represent business owners, commercial landlords, and investors whose buildings have sustained damage from fire, water intrusion, roof collapse, mold, or severe weather. We handle both the initial claim and supplemental claims when damage totals expand after the initial assessment.
- Denied and delayed insurance claims. Florida carriers deny and delay commercial claims regularly, using policy exclusions, late-notice defenses, and documentation demands to wear claimants down. We challenge those tactics directly and push for the resolution your policy entitles you to.
- Coverage disputes. When a carrier argues that your commercial loss falls outside your policy, those disputes require careful analysis of policy language and Florida insurance law. We have litigated coverage disputes across a wide range of commercial policy types and structures.
- Hurricane and storm damage. Commercial hurricane claims are among the most heavily contested in Florida. Carriers use post-storm conditions, engineering reports, and policy exclusions to reduce payouts on major losses. Our attorneys have handled a significant volume of storm-related commercial claims and know how to counter those arguments.
- Property and casualty. Some commercial losses involve both property damage and third-party liability components. We navigate the full scope of these claims, including situations where multiple policies or coverage layers are in play.
- Bad faith insurance claims. When a carrier’s conduct goes beyond aggressive claims handling into a pattern of delay, misrepresentation, or outright refusal to honor a valid policy, Florida law provides a remedy through bad faith claims. These cases carry the potential for damages well beyond the policy limits.
Florida Legal Requirements for Business Liability Cases
Florida’s insurance statutes were significantly restructured between 2021 and 2023. If you own commercial property in this state, these changes affect your rights in ways that are not obvious from reading your policy alone.
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. Supplemental claims seeking additional amounts from a loss already reported must be filed within 18 months. For a business owner dealing with storm damage discovered months after the event, this deadline can close quickly. A commercial building with a slow roof leak may have a date-of-loss dispute that requires careful legal analysis to resolve correctly.
The 60-day pay-or-deny rule. Under Florida Statute 627.70131, insurers must pay or deny a property insurance claim within 60 days of receiving notice. This rule applies to residential claims and to commercial property claims where the insured structure is 10,000 square feet or less. If your building exceeds that threshold, or if your policy covers property in more than one state, the 60-day clock does not apply. Carriers know this. Larger commercial property owners have less statutory leverage on timing and need an attorney who can apply pressure through other means.
The statute of limitations for breach of contract. Under Florida Statute 95.11, a breach of contract action against an insurer generally carries a five-year limitations period. That window interacts with the one-year notice requirement under 627.70132 in ways that can create real problems if you wait. Missing the notice deadline eliminates the claim regardless of where you stand on the five-year period. These are not redundant protections. They are layered requirements, and both have to be satisfied.
Comparative fault in commercial premises cases. If your business liability matter involves an injury on your commercial property, Florida Statute Chapter 768 governs how fault is allocated. Florida uses a modified comparative fault system, meaning a claimant’s recovery is reduced in proportion to their own share of fault. For commercial property owners, this can be a meaningful defense. The law changed in 2023, and the thresholds involved matter significantly depending on the specific facts of the case.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Florida Business Liability Case?
Economic damages. These are the straightforward financial losses: the cost to repair or replace the damaged structure and its contents, business income lost during the shutdown period, spoiled inventory, and replacement costs for equipment that cannot be restored. For commercial landlords, lost rental income during the repair period typically qualifies as well. Florida law allows recovery for the full measure of economic loss your policy covers, and in bad faith cases, that recovery can extend beyond the policy limits entirely.
Non-economic damages. Pure insurance contract disputes do not routinely produce non-economic damages. But when a carrier’s conduct rises to the level of bad faith under Florida law, non-economic harm becomes recoverable. The disruption to your operations, the burden of managing a prolonged claims dispute while running a company, these carry real value in the right case. An experienced Florida property damage attorney can assess whether your situation meets that threshold.
Punitive damages. These are rare and reserved for cases where the insurer’s conduct was intentional or grossly negligent. Florida courts have awarded punitive damages in bad faith insurance cases where carriers knowingly misrepresented policy terms or deliberately delayed legitimate claims. Not every disputed claim supports a punitive damages argument, but when the facts are there, the exposure for the carrier is significant.
Attorney’s fees. Florida law permits prevailing policyholders to recover attorney’s fees from the insurer in certain circumstances. Because we work on contingency, you carry no financial risk in bringing your claim regardless. Fee-shifting provisions, when available, strengthen your overall recovery.
Contact The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers
If your Florida business is dealing with a denied, delayed, or underpaid commercial property insurance claim, the time to act is now. The filing deadlines under Florida law are strict, and the window closes faster than most business owners expect. When you work with The People’s Law Team, PA Property Damage Lawyers Property Damage Lawyers, you can trust that all necessary legal actions are filed completely and on time. We handle everything on your behalf.
We offer free consultations with our Florida business liability lawyer for both residential and commercial property damage and other Florida insurance disputes. There are no upfront costs and no fees unless we win. Contact us to schedule your consultation and put over 25 years of insurance industry knowledge to work for your business.