South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Three years after University of Central Florida football player Ereck Plancher died after an off-season practice session that set off his sickle cell trait, a judge has given his family permission to seek punitive damages against the university. Plancher’s family is suing UCF for Florida wrongful death.

The Planchers claim that UCF was negligent because school trainers and coaches allegedly ignored Plancher’s symptoms of exhaustion, dizziness, and breathing problems even though they knew that the 19-year-old had sickle cell trait and his physical condition was supposed to be monitored. Yet, according to some of Plancher’s teammates, the football staff failed to come to the wide receiver’s aid soon enough. The Orlando Sentinel even reported that in the months before Plancher’s death, he collapsed twice after workouts.

The university maintains that the footballs staff did everything to save Plancher and that punitive damages are not appropriate in this case. Judge Robert Evans, however, believes that there is reasonable basis under the law to let the plaintiffs seek punitive damages.

Punitive Damages
Under Florida law, a defendant can be held liable for punitive damages only if there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant engaged in gross negligence or intentional misconduct that resulted in the Florida injury or wrongful death. Barring certain exemptions, as outlined in Florida Statute §768.73, punitive damages awarded cannot exceed $500,000 or exceed three times the compensatory damages awarded to each claimant.

However if there is evidence that the wrongful conduct was motivated by unreasonable financial gain and that the person in charge of making policy decisions for the defendant knew that the injury was a likely consequence, then punitive damages cannot go over $2 million or four times the amount of compensatory damages each claimant is awarded. Or, if it can be proven that the defendant purposely intended to harm the claimant and did in fact inflict injuries, then there will be no cap on punitive damages.

You should speak with an experienced South Florida injury lawyer about your Miami wrongful death case.

Family of dead UCF player given the green light to seek damages, NBC Sports, March 28, 2011

Ereck Plancher family can seek punitive damages from UCF Athletic Association, judge rules, Orlando Sentinel, March 25, 2011

Related Web Resources:
University of Central Florida

Sickle Cell Trait, IDPH

More Blog Posts:
Family Preparing Broward County Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Fatal Shooting at Deerfield Country Club, South Florida Injury Lawyer, March 21, 2011

Space Coast Area Transit Sued for Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Bus Driver Left Pastor Who Had Just Undergone Dialysis Unattended, South Florida Injury Lawyer, March 15, 2011

Man Files Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against Hospital Over Wife’s 2008 Wrongful Death, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 12, 2011

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, two Wellington teenagers were killed yesterday night and a third one injured after the car they were riding crashed into the back of a semi-truck on South Boulevard East of the Glades. An investigation into the Palm Beach County tractor-trailer accident is currently under way.

Per police, 18-year-old Mazelle M. Demeraski was driving a Camry east on Southern Boulevard when the car struck the rear corner of a semi’s trailer as the larger vehicle was crossing the intersection at C.R. 880. The impact of the crash caused the smaller car to roll over.

Demaraski and 18-year-old Jahmila Mariaca, both Wellington, Florida residents, were pronounced dead at the crash site. A third teen that was with them, 18-year-old Royal Palm Beach resident Eriberto Gomez Jr., was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Meantime, the driver of the large truck, Burnice L. Thompson, did not stop at the crash site. Thompson, who was later stopped by police, says he didn't know that his vehicle had been involved in the deadly collision.

Florida Semi-Truck Crashes
If you or someone you love was seriously hurt in a South Florida tractor-trailer crash, you should speak to an experienced Palm Beach semi-truck accident law firm right away. There is a lot of information that evidence that will need to be gathered to determine who was at fault.

In some instances, the liable party will be the trucker and his/her trucking company. In other cases, it is the driver who of another vehicle that was involved in the large truck crash. Vehicle manufacturers of an auto or truck that malfunctioned can also be sued for Florida auto products liability, as can the government entity responsible for designing a road that lacked a necessary traffic light or stop sign. Depending on who or what caused your Palm Beach truck crash, there may be more than one party who should be held liable for Florida personal injury or wrongful death.

Two Wellington teens killed in semi crash; third teen expected to be released from hospital today, Palm Beach Post, March 30, 2011

Truck driver tells Martin deputy he was unaware vehicle was involved in double fatality, TCPalm, March 30, 2011

Related Web Resources:
FMCSA

Truck Safety Coalition

More Blog Posts:
Drunk Driver in 2009 Miami-Dade Truck Crash that Killed Three Kids Could End Up in Jail for 45 Years, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 18, 2011

Florida Tractor-Trailer Accident Kills Two, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 7, 2011

Broward County Tractor-Trailer Accident Injures Four People and Kills Three Teenagers, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, December 20, 2011

Another two women reportedly plan to sue Doral Golf Resort & Spa for Miami personal injury. They claim that they too were sexually assaulted by employees will receiving spa treatments at the luxury facility. Already, two women have filed their Florida sexual assault lawsuits.

One spa worker, David Muñoz, has already been charged with one count of sexual battery for allegedly assaulting a woman during a massage. Another masseur, John J. Pacheco, is also accused of sexual assault. The victim that named him told CBS4 that the experience was a “a devastating nightmare.”

Sexual assault is a crime and can also be grounds for a Miami personal injury case against the assailant and other related parties. For instance, another woman has filed a Broward County personal injury case against Henderson Mental Health Center because she claims that her counselor threatened to take her son away from her if she didn’t have sex with him.

Per her Florida injury complaint, the woman joined a mental health program after a judge made her participation a requirement if she wanted to retain custody of her son. However, rather than providing counseling to the woman, Mervin Span, a Henderson Mental Health Center, employe allegedly “demanded” that she give him sexual favors or he would “remove her son from her home.” Jane Doe No. 1’s attorney says that Herman touched his client inappropriately, performed oral sex on her against her will, and raped her on more than one occasion without using a condom. Doe at one point tried to commit suicide.

She is seeking over $5 million. Doe blames the mental health center for the sexual abuse because Henderson allegedly was aware that Span was a “sexual opportunist” who was a “risk to females.”

Doral Spa Facing Two More Sex Assault Suits, NBC Miami, March 8, 2011

Woman Claims Mental Health Counselor Forced Her to Have Sex or Lose Custody of Her Son, Miami New Times, March 23, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Doral Golf Resort & Spa

Henderson Mental Health Center

Rubbed the Wrong Way

Last week, the Florida Senate approved a bill that could make it harder for victims to obtain Florida products liability compensation from manufacturers. Sen. Garret Richter's, R-Naples, “crash worthiness” bill mandates that juries consider everyone who may have been at fault in contributing to an accident, not just a product maker. The bill is geared towards limiting car manufacturers' liability for auto defects that cause injuries or death in a Florida car crash. A companion bill is now making its way through committees in the Florida House.

Under current state law, juries for Florida products liability cannot consider evidence regarding the fault of the person that actually caused the accidents. They can only consider evidence related to the manufacturer’s fault in a product’s defect.

If this bill becomes law, it would reverse the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling in D’Amario v. Ford Motor Co. in 2001. That auto products liability case involved teenager Clifford Harris, who sustained serious burn injuries and lost three limbs when the 1988 Ford Escort that his drunk friend was speeding in struck a tree and then caught fire.

Harris’s mom filed a Florida auto products liability complaint against Ford. She said a relay switch failure contributed to the vehicle catching fire. While a jury ruled in Ford’s favor, the state’s highest court reversed the decision. This precluded juries from looking at evidence involving the party that caused the accident. In this case, it would have been Harris’s friend.

Critics are worried that this latest bill would make it easy for manufacturers to not be held accountable.

Florida Products Liability
Manufacturers should be held accountable for products that cause serious injuries or death. Poor design, product defects, manufacturing flaws, parts malfunctioning, marketing defects, breach of warranty, and faulty instructions are some grounds for victims and their families to sue.

Proving Palm Beach products liability can be challenging, which is why you should get legal help. The statute of limitations for a Florida products liability case is four years. However, if a product defect resulted in a death, then the statue of limitations is two years.

Florida Senate Moves to Curb Liability Suits Against Car Makers, Insurance Journal, March 17, 2011

Florida Senate limits product liability lawsuits against auto makers, other businesses, NaplesNews, March 16, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Defective Product Liability Claims: Who to Sue?, Nolo

Products Liability, Cornell.Law.Educ

More Blog Posts:
Will US Supreme Court’s Revival of Seat Belt Defect Lawsuit Against Mazda and Window Defect Case Against Ford Pave the Way for More Florida Auto Products Liability Cases?, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 28, 2011

Five People Killed in West Palm Beach After Tire Blowout Causes SUV Rollover, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 20, 2008

Continue reading " Florida Products Liability: Senate Passes Tort Reform Legislation That Could Limit Payouts from Manufacturers of Defective Autos " »

Two months after Lataurus Randall was fatally shot during an attempted robbery on the golf course of the Deerfield Country Club, The New York Times reports that his family is preparing a Broward County, Florida wrongful death case. Randall, 35, was playing golf with his cousin Melvin Philpart on January 14 when two masked men approached them and demanded their money. That was when Randall was shot.

The country club, which is a 50-year-old course, is bordered on one side by a neighborhood that police say has experienced a series of burglaries where drug deals often occurs. The robbers were able to disappear into that area through a hole in the fence at the 17th fairway where the shooting happened.

While some have speculated that Randall, a landscaping company owner, was specifically targeted during the attempted robbery, others believe that he just happened to be at the wrong place at a bad time. Also, Philpart, who was not injured during the incident, claims that Deerfield Beach Fire-Rescue paramedics and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office took 20 minutes to arrive at the scene after he called 911. By that time, Philpart had already loaded Randall onto the golf cart and taken him to the parking lot.

Police, however, are disputing Philpart’s claim. A Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson says that a patrol car was there in less than two minutes after the emergency call was placed. Philpart believes that his cousin would still be alive today if only help had arrived sooner.

If someone you love was injured or killed on another person’s property during a violent crime, you may have grounds for a Broward County, Florida injury case against the premise owner—especially if adequate security could have prevented the incident from happening—and other liable parties.

Deerfield Beach man shot while playing golf dies, Sun-Sentinel, January 14, 2011

A Golf Course Shooting Shakes the Notion of Refuge, New York Times, March 12, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Deerfield Country Club

More Blog Posts:
Inadequate Security Alleged in Broward County Injury Lawsuit of Teen Left with Brain Damage After Beating at Deerfield School, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 27, 2011

Florida Family Sues Miami-Dade School District for Daughter’s Wrongful Death, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 16, 2008

Ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, a jury has awarded $3 million to Ann Prushansky’s children for her Palm Beach County wrongful death in a Boynton Beach car crash in 2008. Because the jury members determined the 70-year-old mom to be 25% at fault for the deadly collision, the award has been reduced to $2.25 million.

The driver of the vehicle that rear-ended Prushansky’s vehicle, then-17-year-old Patrice Fradley, was initially charged with DUI manslaughter and other offenses. However, because a judge decided that blood tests were administered illegally, the criminal charges against her were dropped. While the jury was not told about the blood test results, they were made aware that Fradley had said that she took Xanax and alcohol on the day of the Palm Beach County traffic crash.

Although Fradley's attorney claimed that Prushansky would not have died if she’d been wearing a seat belt, the family’s Florida injury lawyer countered that the older woman was buckled up. He also disputed the defense’s claim that because Prushansky had been involved in another just before Fradley’s car struck her, the younger driver did not have enough time to stop to avoid causing the deadly crash.

Florida Injury Law
Florida personal injury law follows the comparative negligence rule. This means that any damage award is reduced by whatever percentage of fault—if any—that is placed on the victim for causing the accident. Unlike in a criminal case, where the state has to prove that someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the burden of proof for proving liability in a civil case is lower. The plaintiff only has to prove that the majority of evidence showed that the defendant is responsible. This means that even if someone isn’t found guilty in criminal court, he/she could still be ordered to pay damages in civil court.

Children awarded $2.25 million in crash that killed mother in Boynton Beach, Sun-Sentinel, March 15, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Florida DMV

NHTSA

More Blog Posts:
Drunk Driver in 2009 Miami-Dade Truck Crash that Killed Three Kids Could End Up in Jail for 45 Years, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 18, 2011

Driver in Palm Beach County Car Accident that Caused the Death of 10-Year-Old Loxahatchee Girl May Have Been Drunk, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 12, 2010

The family of Rev. Owen O. Human is suing Space Coast Area Transit for Florida wrongful death. The 75-year-old died after he was allegedly left unattended on a bus.

Human, who required the use of a wheelchair, took the Space Coast Area Transit to the Titusville Dialysis and Kidney Center on September 11, 2008. After undergoing dialysis treatment, the bus driver helped him get on the bus. She then allegedly went back into the building. The Florida wrongful death lawsuit contends that when she returned, Human was face down on the floor, bleeding, and unresponsive. He died three days later.

Human’s family contends that because he was left unattended on the bus for at least 20 minutes, he was injured in a Florida fall accident, hit his head, lost a great deal of blood, stopped breathing, and died. Their Florida injury lawyer contends that dialysis treatment can make someone weak and that Human therefore shouldn’t have been left alone. The plaintiffs are also seeking wrongful death damages from the Brevard County Commission.

Florida Wrongful Death
A party does not have to have directly caused a wrongful death to be held liable. Sometimes, the defendant can be a person or entity whose actions or inaction contributed to allowing a death to happen. The defendant can also be the person or party that was tasked with supervising the victim at the moment when the death occurred.

A Miami wrongful death claim won’t bring your loved one back, but it can allow you to recover compensation and hold the responsible party or parties liable. Family members may be entitled to receive compensation for loss of companionship, mental pain and suffering, medical bills, funeral costs, lost income, and/or other damages.

Family sues Space Coast Area Transit after Mims man's death, Florida Today, March 9, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Space Coast Area Transit

Florida wrongful death statute

Dialysis, Medline Plus, National Institute of Health

More Blog Posts:
Delray Beach Day Care Center Sued for Palm Beach County Wrongful Death of Toddler Left in Van to Temporarily Shut Doors, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 3, 2010

Palm Beach County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Blames Sheriff’s Office for Teen Informant’s Murder, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, December 10, 2010

Widower Files Palm Beach County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Comcast Over Botched 911 Call, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 28, 2010

Karl Lambert is suing is suing a former St. Lucie County Fire District firefighter-paramedic for Florida personal injury. Lambert lost part of his leg and his foot in a 2008 traffic crash. He wants compensation from Cynthia Economou, who admits that she did take the foot from St. Lucie County car accident site on I-95.

Economou took the foot, which was trapped in the wreckage, to help train her dog in body recovery. She says that the foot was “unrecognizable” when she found it and that she considered it unusable, which is why she didn’t give it to her commander.

However, Lambert contends that if the found body part had been delivered to the West Palm Beach hospital, the possibility of reattachment could have at least been explored. He is also suing the St. Lucie County Fire District for Florida personal injury on the grounds that it was “vicariously liable” for Economou’s actions while on the job.

Economou has pleaded no contest to the criminal charge of second-degree petit theft and she is no longer working for the district’s fire department. She maintains that she never meant to cause Lambert any harm.

Lambert is seeking unspecified St. Lucie County personal injury damages.

Florida Personal Injury
To prove negligence in Florida, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant was obligated to behave according to a certain standard to protect others from risk of injury and that this duty was breached, serving as the proximate cause of the personal injury that the plaintiff ended up sustaining. A plaintiff that proves a defendant was negligent may be entitled to not just compensatory damages but also punitive damages.

Former St. Lucie paramedic who took foot from crash site sued by victim, TCPalm, March 7, 2011

Excuse me? That's my foot — even if it's not still attached, MSNBC, March 8, 2011

Related Web Resources:
St. Lucie County Fire District

Severed limb Q&A, The Telegraph

More Blog Posts:
Man Files Florida Personal Injury Lawsuit After Losing Penis In Industrial Accident, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 27, 2011

Man’s Legs Severed in Miami Car Accident, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 19, 2011

In a tragic series of events on Saturday, four people were killed on Interstate 95 close to Miami Shores. The victims appear to have gotten out of their vehicles to check on another traffic crash. A fifth pedestrian who was with them was taken to Jackson Memorial Ryder.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the first of multiple Miami-Dade County car crashes on I-95 occurred at around 4:45 am when a vehicle drove into the concrete median wall close to 103rd street. A Ford auto then pulled over on the shoulder. Not long after, the driver of a Honda, who was in the express lane, swerved to avoid hitting the first car but then ended up striking the five pedestrians and the Ford. The Honda’s driver and its passenger were also transported to Jackson Memorial Ryder. Police are trying to determine exactly what happened.

Miami-Dade Traffic Crashes
Even if an emergency situation forces you to get out of your vehicle, it is important that you still exercise caution on the road—especially if you are standing in an area where motorists don’t expect to encounter pedestrians. That said, there may be parties who should be held liable for your injuries or the death of your loved one in a Florida pedestrian accident.

Proving liability in a Miami car crash can be extremely challenging—especially when multiple parties are involved. This is why you should speak with an experienced Miami personal injury law firm about your case.

In many instances involving serious injury, Florida’s PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage is not enough to cover injuries, medical bills, rehabilitation and therapy costs, lost wages, and other damages sustained during a serious pedestrian accident.

I-95 Re-Opened After Crash Kills 4, CBS Miami, March 5, 2011

Four Dead After I-95 Crashes, Miami Herald, March 5, 2011

Related Web Resources:
What is "Personal Injury Protection" (PIP) insurance?, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Traffic Accidents FAQ, Nolo

More Blog Posts:
Man’s Legs Severed in Miami Car Accident, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 19, 2011

Recent Palm Beach County Car Crashes, Pedestrian Accidents, and Bicycle Collision Cause Deaths and Injuries, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 12, 2011

7-Year-Old Pedestrian Injured in North Lauderdale Car Accident is in a Coma, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, December 23, 2010