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“How much is my Florida injury case worth?”Palm Beach personal injury lawyer

It is probably one of the top three questions our Palm Beach personal injury lawyers get asked right off the bat – and it’s not always a simple thing to answer.

As experienced civil trial lawyers, we can typically provide a general ballpark estimate of case value based on certain elements we’ll want to explore as soon as we start investigating. That said, it’s only an estimate, and there’s a lot of room for that figure to fluctuate higher or lower depending on what’s revealed during the discovery phase.

But here are some of the basic aspects we investigate before giving a cursory answer to that question: Continue reading

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A state bill that would have all but eliminated most Florida nursing home wrongful death claims has (thankfully) died in committee. However, our West Palm Beach nursing home injury lawyers wouldn’t put it past the insurance and nursing home industries to push lawmakers to pick up the torch again in another future session.Palm Beach nursing home abuse lawyer

State lawmakers recently prevailed in a series of heavy-handed tort reform efforts – passing laws for shorter personal injury case statutes of limitations, reduced damages and attorney fee coverage for injured claimants, higher than ever proof burdens, and less accountability for insurers acting in bad faith. All of this, of course, makes it harder for those seriously injured as a result of another’s negligence to obtain fair compensation, and is unlikely to do much in the way of lowering insurance premiums (the justification given for many of these measures).

The Florida nursing home wrongful death bill would have been one of the most extreme changes. For the sake of the well-being of all nursing home residents in this state, we’re very glad that it did not pass. But given the momentum of this latest session, we’re not so sure we won’t see this issue resurrected.

House Bill 1029 and its companion Senate Bill 1304 would have significantly raised the bar for nursing home wrongful death cases – to those required of medical malpractice wrongful death cases. Specifically, it would limit claimants in nursing home wrongful death lawsuits in Florida solely to surviving spouses and/or surviving children under the age of 25.

Now, this standard is problematic for medical malpractice cases too, and our civil trial lawyers have voiced our dismay with this too. Existing medical malpractice law that significantly restricts claimants essentially means there is no consequence for medical negligence resulting in a patient’s death if the person who died isn’t married or doesn’t have kids younger than 25.

This same standard applied to nursing home cases would have been disastrous, all but wiping out most claims.

Think about it: Continue reading

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Over the past several years, numerous high-profile sexual assault and sexual abuse lawsuits have raised public awareness about both the realities and long-term consequences of this trauma. It’s part of the reason so many states have passed look-back laws or lifted the statute of limitations for claims stemming from alleged child sex abuse. The recent liability verdict in a civil case sex abuse lawsuit against former President Donald Trump by prominent writer/advice columnist E. Jean Carroll after a decades-old dressing room encounter has raised a lot of questions about why this claim was filed now, the grounds on which Carroll prevailed, and what it means for other alleged victims of sexual assault and abuse – particularly those whose abuse happened decades ago. sex abuse lawyer West Palm Beach

For those who are unfamiliar with the case, Carroll alleges Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid 1990s. She first spoke out about what happened in 2019, while Trump was president. (Prior to his election, dozens of women accused him of sexual harassment and/or assault occurring over decades, but none had resulted in criminal charges or a civil liability verdict.)

Trump denied her claims, said he’d never met her, did not find her attractive, and called her a liar. She sued him for defamation. When New York state passed the Adult Survivors Act, giving sex abuse victims a one-year window to sue attacker for assaults that took place years ago, Carroll filed a second claim accusing Trump of rape, sexual abuse, and defamation. (Her claim, filed 30 minutes after the law went into effect, was the first under the law to go to trial.)

At trial, other women testified to similar assaults by Trump around the same time frame. A jury ultimately found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and ordered Trump to pay both compensatory and punitive damages of $5 million.

As longtime West Palm Beach civil trial lawyers representing survivors of sexual assault and abuse, it’s important to address some of those issues that appear to be causing some confusion in public discussions on these types of cases.

Let’s start with one of the most pervasive questions:

Why now?

Continue reading

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Florida personal injury claims for premises liability – that is, the duty owed by property owners to those who enter – often hinge on the role of the claimant. That is, were they invited as a member of the public or for the financial benefit of the property owner? They’re invitees, owed the highest duty of care. Were they welcomed or allowed onsite as a social guest or of their own volition for their own convenience? They’re licensees, owed a moderate duty of care. Or were they trespassers? With the exception of some situations involving children, these individuals are owed the lowest degree of care. Florida premises liability lawyer

So while property owners do have a responsibility to keep their site reasonably safe, measuring the reasonableness of their actions (or lack thereof) usually comes down to what the injured party was doing there in the first place.

Invitees would include shoppers at a grocery store, fans at a rock concert, a package delivery person, or residents attending a city council meeting. The specific duty of care owed to invitees in Florida is to maintain the property in reasonably safe condition AND to warn of any known hazards that could cause harm. This includes taking reasonable steps to discover and fix any dangerous conditions on the property. As our West Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, property owners are expected to exercise ordinary care in maintaining the premises, which means acting in a reasonably prudent manner to prevent foreseeable injuries to invitees.

Licensees are those who enter a property with the owner’s permission, but for their own purposes. As noted in the 1953 Florida Supreme Court ruling in Stewart v. Texas Co., the owner owes no duty to licensees beyond not willfully or wantonly causing harm or setting traps or intentionally expose them to danger. Property owners do not have a duty to keep the premises safe for those who come there solely for their own convenience or pleasure, yet aren’t expressly invited or induced – even though entry is permitted. Active vigilance to keep the property safe isn’t required of property owners for licensees.

Trespassers, similarly, are not owed a duty of care beyond not being intentionally exposed to harm. (The exception is young children under the attractive nuisance doctrine, occurring when a feature of the site is attractive to youths who don’t fully understand the danger.)

It’s important to note that the specific circumstances of each case can affect the application of the duty of care. Different types of properties, such as residential, commercial, or recreational, may have varying standards of care depending on the nature of the premises and the activities taking place. Continue reading

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The injuries one sustains as a result of South Florida medical malpractice may last forever – but the time window in which you must initiate legal action does not. West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer

As our Palm Beach medical malpractice attorneys can explain, there is generally a two-year statute of limitations for Florida medical malpractice claims. Generally, if you do not file your lawsuit within this window, your claim may be time-barred. These limits are set forth in F.S. 95.11(4)(b).

Although it’s true that often these cases are resolved through settlement negotiation, they are more complex than other types of personal injury claims. They require expert witnesses, extensive evidence, and a great deal of preparation. It’s often necessary to file a lawsuit just to preserve the claim so that we can continue negotiations. Settlements can often be beneficial to claimants because they can lead to faster resolutions and save the time/expense/emotional toll of a trial. Still, it’s important when hiring a Florida medical malpractice lawyer that you choose one with extensive experience, a track record of success in similar cases, and who is unafraid to take a case all the way to trial if necessary.

Note that the statute of limitations varies from state-to-state, so if you recently moved here from elsewhere, the time limits and requirements were probably different.

Are There Any Exceptions to the Two-Year Limit?

There are exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations for Florida medical malpractice claims, but they are limited in scope.

The clock starts ticking usually on the date of the incident. However, it might not start until the date you discovered or should have discovered the incident through the exercise of due diligence. So perhaps you were harmed by medical malpractice, but you didn’t know – and couldn’t have known – that was the cause right away. In those situations, the court will ask at what point you reasonably should have become aware there was an issue.

Despite this, there is a hard stop of four years from the date the incident occurred. This is referred to as the statute of repose. So let’s say you don’t discover your injuries or that the source of your injuries was medical malpractice until three years after it happened. In that situation, you would have just one year in which to file your claim.

To file any Florida medical malpractice case beyond four years, the fact pattern needs to reflect one of the following situations: Continue reading

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If you’re ever in a South Florida bicycle accident with someone driving a car, one avenue through which you might obtain compensation is through your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance that you purchase as part of your regular car insurance. As our Palm Beach personal injury lawyers can explain, PIP can be applied in bicycle accidents – even if you weren’t driving – so long as the incident occurred in traffic. Technically, bicyclists aren’t required to carry any insurance at all in Florida. However, it’s a good idea – particularly if you enjoy road cycling. And if you have a car, it’s easy, as PIP (which can be paid regardless of fault in the accident) is already required coverage for registered motor vehicles in the state. However, any PIP claims must be accurately and timely filed. Palm Beach injury lawyer

Underscoring this point was a case last year before Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeals.

In the matter of USAA Casualty Insurance Co. v. Mikrogiannakis, a bicyclist was struck by a car in Seminole County (Central Florida), and sought medical treatment for his injuries. During that initial visit, his registration form listed his contact information and the name of his personal injury lawyer – but not the name and address for a PIP insurer. That field had been left blank. Over the course of several months, he continued to receive medical treatment from that same provider.

Roughly 18 months after administering these treatments, the medical provider began submitting claims to USAA, the bicyclist’s PIP insurer. However, USAA denied the payments, citing failure to comply with F.S. 627.736(5)(c). The statute is extensive (which is why we recommend consulting with a personal injury lawyer if you aren’t sure of your rights), but that provision in particular refers to the requirement that any bills for emergency services or care must be submitted to the PIP carrier within 35 days (possibly for treatment rendered up to 75 days). The bills in this case weren’t submitted for a full 18 months. Continue reading

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When it comes to defective or dangerous products – including cars and their parts – the State of Florida gives claimants 12 years from the delivery of the product to its first purchaser in which to file a claim for harm caused by that product.Palm Beach personal injury lawyer

That might sound like a lot of time, but consider that more than 1 in 5 cars and trucks driven in the U.S. are 16+ years-old. That means right now, if you’re driving a 2011 or older model car, it might be too late for any product liability claims – in Florida at least.

The one exception would be, as noted in 95.031(2)(b), if the manufacturer – through its officers, directors, partners, or managing agents had actual knowledge that the product was defective in the manner alleged by the claimant AND took affirmative steps to conceal this defect. Confidentiality of trade secrets don’t count. In those cases, the statute of limitations can be “tolled” – or paused – for the time period of the fraud/coverup.

As our Palm Beach personal injury lawyers can explain, this is an important exception particularly for those taking action against auto manufacturers because these companies have been collectively fined billions of dollars over the last decade for doing just that. General Motors was fined $900 million in 2015 for concealing dangerous car defects. Toyota was fined $1.3 billion for a deadly cover-up over two safety issues that led to unintended acceleration. Ten of the world’s biggest automakers were sued in 2015 for allegedly concealing the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in some 5 million cars equipped with keyless ignitions, which ultimately led to 5 deaths. The list goes on – defective airbags, defective seat belts, defective doors, defective engines… And much of it covered up from the public and government regulators, sometimes for decades.

However, as a recent Florida car accident case over an allegedly defective seat belt showed, proving actual knowledge isn’t necessarily a cakewalk. It may come down to who exactly in the organization knew what – and when. Continue reading

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Major changes to state law are going to significantly impact Florida personal injury lawsuit claimants – most of them adversely. Palm Beach personal injury lawyer

Among the provisions in the new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 24, 2023:

  • A shortened statute of limitations in personal injury cases, from four years to file down to two years.
  • A less favorable comparative fault standard, going from a pure comparative fault standard to one that includes a 51 percent bar.
  • Elimination of bad faith insurers’ duty to pay plaintiff attorneys’ fees except in very limited circumstances.
  • Significant reductions in damage awards for defendants in negligent security actions.

For all the accusations of “slick trial lawyers” and “frivolous lawsuits” that were used to justify these actions, the reality is that it’s never been a simple thing to file – or succeed – in a Florida personal injury lawsuit. Not to say it’s impossible, but it does require a fact pattern with strong evidence that supports a conclusion of the defendant’s liability. These provisions were heralded as helping Florida rise above the “judicial hellhole” that it had become. But the reality is it’s going to make it harder for people with legitimate claims to file, win, and collect the full scope of damages to which they’re entitled. It’s certainly a boon for the insurance companies, though.

With respect to the shortened statute of limitations, this is problematic for a few reasons. One is that while four years seems like a long time, complex personal injury lawsuits take a lot of time to thoroughly investigate. Furthermore, one of the reasons for a four-year limit is that settlement negotiations (the way 95 percent of personal injury cases are resolved) can go back and forth for many months or even years. By shortening the statute of limitations, we’re likely to see a glut of personal injury lawsuits filed (within a court system that’s already overwhelmed) so that plaintiffs can ensure their claim is preserved. Settlement negotiations can still continue after a lawsuit is filed (up to and even well into the trial) – but a shorter statute of limitations means more plaintiffs will pursue litigation just so that they don’t lose the option if too much time passes.

Next up is the altered comparative fault standard. This is a big one, and it’s going to impact most personal injury plaintiffs in a negative way. Continue reading

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Physical therapy is a form of medical treatment that helps injured or ill people of all ages and ability to improve movement and manage pain. These treatments are beneficial in preventing future injuries, rehabilitating someone who has already been injured, or treating patients with chronic conditions or illnesses. But what if the treatment itself results in injury? As our West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers can explain, most physical therapy negligence cases will be filed as medical malpractice lawsuits. That’s because most claims arise out of a deviation from the standard of care expected of any physical therapist. However, there are some situations wherein a plaintiff will advocate for their claim to be treated as a general negligence case. Florida physical therapy negligence

Why does it matter? Because medical malpractice cases are a lot tougher to win. They take longer (but have a shorter statute of limitations than ordinary negligence cases), require more expert witnesses, have a higher proof burden, and must clear more hurdles before they even get a foot in the door. If you try to allege a physical therapy injury was general negligence, be prepared for push back.

What’s more, if you file the case as one of general negligence and the court later rules it was, in fact, medical malpractice, your case could be tossed and you have to start all over. If you’re past the statute of limitations, you may lose your opportunity to seek damages altogether.

Your personal injury lawyer can help you determine if your case is one of general negligence or medical malpractice, though sometimes the answer isn’t always clear-cut. Example: Corbo et al., v. Garcia, decided in 2007 by Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeals. Continue reading

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Every year, nearly 46,000 Americans die and another 1.2 million attempt to take their own lives, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It’s not uncommon for loved ones to agonize for years about “what if” and what might be done differently – possibly blaming themselves or others for not seeing the signs or being more proactive in protecting the person from themselves. And most of the time, it’s a fruitless mental spiral because hindsight is 20/20 and of course you’d have intervened if you knew what was coming and had the power to stop it. Florida suicide lawsuit attorney Palm Beach

But what if an individual or organization was responsible for overseeing your loved one’s physical well-being and mental health and they managed to commit suicide anyway? What if red flags were missed? What if the people entrusted to care for your loved one – knowing their risk of self-harm – didn’t make absolutely sure they were safe?

In these cases, you may have grounds to sue for suicide. These third-party lawsuits assert that the doctor, hospital, or other organization owed your loved one a duty of care, breached that duty, and your loved one died as a result. As noted in a 2019 article published in FOCUS, The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, suicide is a top cause of liability against psychiatrists treating adult patients.

But are such cases medical malpractice or general negligence? The answer matters because, as our Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers can explain, the proof burden and pre-suit requirements for medical negligence cases are more time-consuming, expensive, and tedious than what’s required to initiate a general negligence action. It has a shorter statute of limitations than injury cases (2 years instead of 4), though it’s the same for wrongful death cases. Also, the plaintiff is required to provide expert witness testimony at the outset of the case just to be allowed to proceed. Naturally, anyone named as a third-party defendant in a suicide liability lawsuit is going to argue the case is medical malpractice because that will make it tougher and more costly for the plaintiff.

But just because the defense says it’s medical malpractice doesn’t mean it is. Sometimes, it’s up to the courts to decide. Continue reading

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