South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Trina Jackson plans to sue J. Ruiz Learning School, LLC for Miami-Dade personal injury to a minor. Jackson’s five-year-old daughter, Kayla, attends the daycare center. The little girls says that she has been slapped, hit, and scratched many times while at the daycare.

Jackson claims that her daughter was victim of negligence, assault, and battery while at the Miami facility last April. She says that video footage from surveillance cameras shows a group of girls jumping on her daughter and ripping one of her braids out of her head. Jackson contends that the caregiver that was there appeared to ignored the altercation.

Jackson says that when she complained about marks she found on her daughter after the alleged incident, the caretaker told her that nothing happened and that her daughter’s braid was already gone when she arrived at the preschool that day. However, according to Jackson’s Miami personal injury lawyer, the footage shows a daycare employee grabbing Jackson’s daughter’s scalp to check it after the alleged assault. The surveillance footage also shows one teacher punching a boy’s face,.

The Department of Children and Families had opened a probe into the abuse allegations, but the investigation was closed in June. Findings were not released.

Daycare centers, schools, and any individual or organization in charge of the care and supervision of your child can be held liable for Miami personal injury if their negligence, recklessness, or carelessness allowed or caused your son/daughter to get hurt.

Reasons why a parent or guardian might pursue a Miami child injury claim against a daycare center:

-Physical abuse
-Sexual abuse
-Injuries caused by dangerous conditions or hazards on a premise
-Fall accidents that could/should have been prevented
-Playground accidents
-Inadequate supervision
-Inadequate care

Mom Sues Daycare Over Alleged Abuse Video, NBC Miami, August 30, 2011

Daycare sued for abuse of child, WSVN, August 30, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Injury Prevention Issues & Topics of Interest: Daycare Safety & Injury Prevention, InjuryFree.org

Florida Department of Children and Families

More Blog Posts:
Man Files Miami-Dade Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Naming Catholic Nun as His Abuser, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, April 15, 2011

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

West Palm Beach Injury Lawsuit Filed in 13-Year-Old’s School Beating, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, December 3, 2010

Jared Adkins, 39, and his son Calvin Adkins, 11, were hospitalized earlier this month after they were seriously injured in a Florida boating accident off the Upper Keys. While Jared has been released, as of August 13, Calvin was still in critical condition at a Miami hospital.

The father and son were starting a drift dive on the morning of August 9 when the accident happened. The two of them had jumped into the water from the stern dive platform while the vessel was in reverse gear, and this when they were hit by the boat’s propeller.

The dive boat is the Big Dipper from the Florida Keys Dive Center, which is is located on Plantation Key.

Florida Boating Accident
If you or someone you love was injured during a recreational boating accident, you should speak with a Miami injury law firm right away. Boating accidents need to be properly investigated and the correct evidence needs to be gathered and examined so that liability can be proven.

Our Palm Beach boating accident law firm knows how devastating it can be to sustain serious injuries that could/should have been prevented. Unfortunately, recreational boating accidents can happen—especially in Florida, with its multitude of bodies of water.

Drift Diving
Drift diving is a form of scuba diving that involves having the ocean current carry a diver. A dive boat follows the divers.

Usually, however, the boat should be secured or anchored and the engine shut or in neutral before divers can go into the water. The drivers aren’t supposed to get in the water until the boat crew gives them the clear. The US Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are investigating this boating accident.

Ft. Lauderdale boating accidents can occur both on and outside the vessel. Depending on the specifics of your case, you may have reason to file a South Florida injury lawsuit or wrongful death case against the boat operator, the boat manufacturer, the boating leasing company, the boat rental company, or another party.

Boy still critical after being hit by boat propeller, KeysNet, August 13, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Recreational Boating Accident Statistics and Trends, US Coast Guard Auxiliary

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

More Blog Posts:
Palm Beach Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Yamaha Over Fatal WaveRunner Accident That Killed One Teen, Leaving Another With Brain Damage and Physical Injuries, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, May 20, 2011

Man Dies in Florida Boating Accident After Engine Quits and Vessel Capsizes, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, April 30, 2011

14-Year-Old Injured in Palm Beach County Boating Accident Has Part of Her Leg Amputated, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 8, 2011

Matthew Lawson, a 20-year-old Pembroke Pines man, is suing the Town of Davie and three of its cops for Florida police brutality. Lawson has filed a federal complaint seeking $1 million.

In his civil complaint, Lawson claims Davie police officers Paul Vardakis, Steve Ricker, and Curtis Schock used excessive force when arresting him in 2009 . Lawson says that they Tasered him, set a K-9 on him to bite and attack, and physically assaulted him with kicks and punches. At the time of the arrest, Lawson was an 18-year-old high school student.

The charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer were later dropped by the Broward State Attorney's office, which concluded that it is not possible to resist an arrest that is unlawful and that there was no reasonable cause to justify why the officers stopped and detained Lawson. His federal complaint says that the officers reported that they tried to stop him because he was swaying and sweating and his pupils were dilated as if he were on drugs.

Not only do police officers need to have cause to make an arrest, but also, they are not then or ever allowed to use more force than necessary. Excessive use of force can cause needless pain and suffering and serious injury. It can also be considered an abuse of power.

Broward County police brutality is a violation of one’s civil rights. Police brutality doesn’t just include physical violence. Other examples of police brutality include sexual assault, blackmail, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, intimidation, false arrests, racial profiling, and other acts of violence.

You may be entitled to civil damages for the harm that you suffered.

$1M Lawsuit Accuses Three Davie Cops of Brutality, NBC Miami, August 14, 2011

Man files federal lawsuit accusing 3 Davie officers of police brutality, Sun-Sentinel, August 13, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Florida Man Dies After Police Stun Him with Taser at Universal CityWalk, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, April 22, 2011

Man Sues Clearwater, Florida For Brother’s Wrongful Death, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, August 21, 2008

Last year, our Palm Beach County personal injury lawyers blogged on the Boynton Beach wrongful death case of widower Sidell Reiner, who lost his wife Seymour Reiner. The 81-year-old woman died in 2009 after bleeding to death while making Thanksgiving dinner. Now, in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, depositions in the case are taking place.

Seymour bled to death after dropping a wine glass on her foot and cutting herself on November 26, 2009. She called 911 several times, but, unfortunately, Comcast couldn’t locate her residence. It was almost 17 minutes before rescuers arrived at her her home, but because she couldn’t answer the door and no one could see her, they left the premise. By the time Sidell arrived home, his wife was dead from a severed artery in her foot.

Sidell has sued Comcast, the city of Boynton Beach, Deltacom (contracted for operator services), and the Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. He believes that his wife might have survived if only the defendants hadn’t been negligent. They are all claiming that they did nothing wrong.

While the defendants say they completed their legal obligations in the manner in which they handled Seymour’s call, Sidell’s Palm Beach County wrongful death team disagrees. The plaintiff's side contends that tracking down her address shouldn’t have been a problem for Comcast or Deltacom—regardless of the fact that she pressed 0 instead of dialing 911—and that fire-rescue team members should have made a more solid effort to make sure that no one at the Sidell residence was in real trouble rather then concluding that there was no one there. If a paramedic had knelt down and looked through the clear glass placed below a stained glass window next to the door, he/she would have seen blood and shattered glass on the floor. It is important to note that negligence by an emergency medical worker can be grounds for a Palm Beach paramedic malpractice case.

As you can see, there may be more than one party who should be held liable for your loved one’s Palm Beach wrongful death. A liable party also doesn’t have to be the direct cause of someone’s passing to be sued for negligence. In some cases, it will be someone’s failure to act or fulfill a duty of care or actions that indirectly contributed to someone’s Florida wrongful death that will be the reason for damages.

Dying woman's phone calls for help tragically mishandled, attorney says, Sun-Sentinel, August 21, 2011

Suit filed after grandma bleeds to death, WPTV, October 27, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Comcast

Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue

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

Mother Files Broward County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over 2009 Coral Springs Car Crash that Killed Her Teenage Son, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, August 5, 2011

West Palm Beach Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Fatal Roof Fall from Pub Deck, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, May 30, 2011

Jacqueline Delgado and her husband Renee have filed a Palm Beach County personal injury lawsuit against two sellers and a packing company. Jacqueline sustained serious burns when the NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel she was using ignited, dousing her body in flames. Renee also was injured.

Not long after the Palm Beach Shores burn accident, the US CPSC and Napa Home & Garden recalled about 460,000 pourable NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel jugs and bottles because the product could ignite suddenly and splatter onto people and objects when poured into a firepot that is still burning. Napa said there were 37 incidents reported, including 23 burn accidents.

In the Delgados’ Palm Beach products liability complaint, the couple is suing Fuel Barons and Losorea Packaging Co., TJX Companies, and Manhattan’s Pharmacy. Because Napa Home & Garden has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, it would prove very challenging to obtain anything from the beleaguered company, which is facing dozens of other products liability lawsuits over its dangerous gel fuel.

Florida Products Liability
There are a number of parties who can be held liable for a product defect. Three common kinds of products liability defects are manufacturing defects, design defects, and marketing defects. Although most injury cases require negligence to be a factor when proving liability, with Florida products liability, as long as the consumer got hurt because of the product, then there is likely grounds for the recovery of damages even if the other party didn't commit an act of negligence.

Napa Home and Garden’s gel fuel is not the only gel fuel reportedly to have caused serious burn injuries. The CPSC says this year it has received reports of 2 deaths and 57 injuries linked to gel fuel, decorative tables, and pots. One man, injured in another Florida burn accident, fell into a coma before later dying.

Calls to ban gel fuel heat up, Chicago Tribune, August 10, 2011

Napa Home & Garden Recalls NAPAfire and FIREGEL Pourable Gel Fuel Due to Fire and Burn Hazards, CPSC, June 22, 2011

Palm Beach County couple files lawsuit after burning incident, Sun-Sentinel, August 3, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Burn Injury Information, Phoenix Society for Survivors

More Blog Posts:
Seven People Suffer Burn Injuries After Florida Motor Vehicle Crash Causes Deadly Gas Pump Fire at Ft. Lauderdale Station, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 9, 2008

Florida Products Liability: Senate Passes Tort Reform Legislation That Could Limit Payouts from Manufacturers of Defective Autos, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, March 24, 2011

Baby Deaths and Injuries Prompt Recalls of 1.7 Million Summer Infant Video Baby Monitors and 500,000 Bassinets by Burlington Basket Company, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 16, 2011

Fela Netkin is seeking Margate personal injury damages from her local Sav-a-Lot pharmacy because she says that they mistakenly gave her 5 times the prescribed dose of her anticoagulant medication. Because of the pharmacy’s negligence, Netkin says that she suffered bleeding and bruising and had to go to the hospital.

Per court documents, Netkin says that she had her prescription filled at the Margate pharmacy in June. However, instead of 45, 1 MG tablets of warfarin sodium, which was what the prescription was for, she was administered 45, 5 MG tablets.

Florida Pharmacy Malpractice
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can be held liable if mistakes they make when administering medication causes serious injury or death. Common pharmacist mistakes:

• Giving a customer someone else’s prescription
• Giving the wrong medication to a customer
• Confusing medications that have the same name or look alike
• Giving the correct medication but the wrong dose
• Giving the correct medication but with the wrong instructions
• Misreading the physician’s handwriting, which can result in pharmacy misfills
• Failure to consult or advise a customer who has been given a prescription

Pharmacists owe a duty of care to the customers whose prescriptions they are filing. The pharmacy, clinic, or hospital where the pharmacist works also is upheld to this duty.

Common cause of pharmacy errors:
• Inexperience
• Inadequate training
• Too many tasks to tend to—from filling prescriptions to dealing with customers. This can make it hard to focus.
• Inadequate systems and procedures in place for minimizing errors
• Too many prescriptions and not enough pharmacists
• Doctor error

Many pharmacy mistakes are preventable. It can prove fatal for someone to take the wrong medication, the wrong dose, or take a drug that reacts adversely to other medications he/she already may be taking. You may have grounds for a Palm Beach pharmacy misfill lawsuit.

Accidental Overdose? Pharmacist's Slip Makes Woman Bleed, Lawsuit Claims, Broward Palm Beach, August 10, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Unreported Pharmacy Errors, ABC

Prescription Errors Rising, Consumer Affairs, June 10, 2010

Institute for Safe Medication Practices

More Blog Posts:
Methadone as A Painkiller Can Be Fatal For Some Users, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 25, 2008

Miami Beach Personal Injury Seeks Damages Against Ex-NFL Star Larry Johnson for Alleged Assault, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, July 31, 2011

Fort Myers, Florida Personal Injury Lawsuit: Jury Orders Wal-Mart to Pay $421,400 to Woman Hit by Stock Cart, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, May 11, 2011

Richard and Susan Gold are suing a RaceTrac filling station for Pompano Beach personal injury. They claim that a faulty pump at the station maimed Richard in March 2009.

In their Broward County slip and fall complaint, the couple contends that because the gas pump was defective, it didn’t stop the gas from flowing after their vehicle’s tank was full. Instead, the gas began “spewing” into the air, onto the ground, and around his vehicle. Richard, who was the one pumping gas, says that he tried to regain control of the nozzle right away because he was afraid of the fire hazard the gasoline posed to him and those around him. The Golds say that this is when his Pompano Beach slip and fall accident happened.

Richard believes that if the pump hadn’t malfunctioned, he wouldn’t have slipped and fallen. He also says that the Pompano Beach fall accident caused him to sustain injuries to his neck, head, back, arms, and legs, and he likely has other injuries that have yet to be diagnosed.

Meantime, Susan is also suing RaceTrac for Broward County personal injury. She says that the Florida slip and fall accident has resulted in the loss of her husband’s consortium and services.

Florida Slip and Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident can result in painful, debilitating injuries. Premise owners must make sure there is nothing on the grounds that a patron, guest, customer, or visitor can slip or trip over or step into and fall over as a result. Head injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, dislocated hips or shoulders, and broken bones can result—not to mention the complications that can arise from these ailments.

An experienced Pompano Beach premises liability lawyer will know how to prove that the property owner was negligent in causing your slip/trip/step and fall accident.

Painful Gas? RaceTrac Station Pump Injures Man, Lawsuit Claims, Broward/Palm Beach New Times, July 20, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Slip and Fall, Justia

Slip and Fall Accidents, Nolo

RaceTrac

More Blog Posts:
$500K West Palm Beach Slip and Fall Verdict Awarded in Lawsuit Against Lake Worth Lawsuit Against CVS, South Florida Injury Lawyer, January 24, 2011

Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents on Ft. Lauderdale Sidewalks Can Be Costly for Local Taxpayers, South Florida Injury Lawyer, July 15, 2008

Florida Woman Sues National Audubon Society After Slip and Fall Accident in Naples Sanctuary, South Florida Injury Lawyer, June 17, 2008

Two years after her son, Robert S. Nugent Jr., drowned in a canal after the car he was riding fell into a canal, Naomi Concepcion has filed a Coral Springs wrongful death lawsuit against the city. Nugent is one of three teenagers killed in that single-car crash on November 15, 2009.

Nugent, Anthony Almonte, and Evan Sinisgalli were riding in a car driven by Sean Maxey when the latter got into a minor Coral Springs auto crash on University Drive and lost control of the vehicle. Sinisgalli is the only one who survived.

In her Broward County, Florida wrongful death complaint, Concepcion is accusing the municipality of poor road maintenance. She says that there was a gap in the guardrail walling off the drive from the water body and that this is what allowed the vehicle carrying her son to spin into the water.

Concepcion is also suing Fence Masters Inc. for her son’s Coral Springs wrongful death. She contends that the company’s design wasn’t in compliance with current Florida regulations, which resulted in risks that were "unreasonable and foreseeable" and avoidable.

Florida Car Accidents
Municipalities and certain other government bodies must make sure that their roads are properly designed for use and safety. This includes making sure that any conditions that could cause serious injury or death are eliminated or remedied.

Examples of road defects and other safety issues that could result in a Coral Springs car accident:

• Malfunctioning traffic signs
• Potholes
• Too narrow of lanes
• Not enough lanes
• Too high of a speed limit
• Debris on the road that hasn’t been cleared way
• Lack of proper pedestrian lanes and crossings
• Conditions that cause poor visibility and preventable blind spots
• Failure to warn of unavoidable blind spots
• Pavement drop offs
• Poor lighting
• Insufficient warnings that there is a road construction zone
• Inadequate warnings when there are unsafe conditions
• Dangerously designed intersections

Mourning Mother of Robert Nugent Sues Coral Springs, Broward Palm Beach, New Times Blog, July 9, 2011

Students mourn loss of peers after weekend crash kills 3, WSVN, November 17, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Robert "Sean" Nugent, Legacy.com

City of Coral Springs

More Blog Posts:
Palm Beach County Semi-Truck Crash Kills 2, Injures 1, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, March 30, 2011

$2.25M Palm Beach Car County Accident Verdict Awarded in Boynton Beach Wrongful Death, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, March 18, 2011

College Presidents Want Lawmakers to Reduce Legal Drinking Age, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 9, 2008

According to the state’s highest court, the parents of Trista Bennett can sue St. Vincent's Medical Center for Florida medical malpractice instead of going through a state fund for birthing injuries. The girl, now 10, sustained permanent brain damage after her delivery.

Bennett was delivered by C-section at the hospital after her mother was involved in a car accident. The infant had to be resuscitated after her birth. She later developed respiratory distress and was moved from the newborn nursery to the special care section. She then started to experience kidney problems and liver issues. On October 3, 2001, Bennett stopped breathing after suffering from a pulmonary hemorrhage.

In their Florida medical malpractice complaint, Tammy and Robert Bennett are accusing obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. William H. Long and the hospital of negligence. They believe their daughter was given too much intravenous fluid and that the hospital waited until it was too late to test her for serum electrolyte derangements.

The hospital had contended that the Florida medical malpractice case fell under the state’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan, which is a non-fault program that is supposed to cover the birth-related neurological injuries of newborns who did not get enough oxygen during labor, delivery, and resuscitation. The Bennetts, however, claimed that their daughter’s brain injury occurred after the “post-delivery period,” and they therefore can sue.

An administrative law judge sided with the Bennetts. The Florida First District Court of Appeal then reversed the ruling. Now, the Florida Supreme Court of Florida has overturned the appellate court’s ruling.

Brain-damaged girl's parents can sue hospital and doctor, Florida court rules, American Medical News, August 1, 2011

Read the Florida Supreme Court's Decision (PDF)

Related Web Resource:
The Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan

More Blog Posts:
Florida Woman that Delivered Baby into Toilet Sues Carrollwood Hospital for Medical Malpractice, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 7, 2008

West Palm Beach Parents that Gave Birth to Stillborn Twins Say They Will Sue Florida Hospital For Medical Malpractice, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 29, 2008

Palm Beach County Doctors Cite Fear of Medical Malpractice as a Reason for the Increase in C-Section Deliveries, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 15, 2008

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