Articles Posted in Personal Injury

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In a Florida restaurant injury lawsuit recently filed in the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, a 45-year-old woman alleges a waiter at a restaurant inside the Don Cesar Hotel poured liquid nitrogen into her water. The incident occurred last year, and according to the lawsuit, wherein plaintiff says she nearly died.restaurant injury lawsuit

Although this isn’t your typical restaurant injury lawsuit, it does underscore the duty of care that restaurants and other business establishments have to their patrons.

Restaurant establishments have a responsibility to keep their properties safe for their customers, and to warn them if any aspect is not safe. That can include the the temperature – or contents – of food and drink if there is a potential danger. It can also include injuries that occur in dining areas, restrooms, walkways and even the parking lot.

Most commonly, a restaurant injury lawsuit will stem from a slip-and-fall, due to spilled food or drinks or a claim of negligent security in the event of a preventable criminal attack on site. Restaurants can also be held liable for food poisoning or sickness caused by contamination or allergens not disclosed or obvious in a certain dish.

Chemicals in one’s food or drink can also certainly be cause for a claim, especially when it results in serious illness or long-term injury. Continue reading

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Your Florida injury lawsuit is over. The judge has made a final ruling. Whether you won or lost, there is still something that needs to be resolved: Taxation of costs.injury lawyer West Palm Beach

But what are costs in a tort case? What costs are taxable? Which are considered non-taxable costs?

It’s important to point out that “taxes” in this case aren’t referring to a cut owed to the Internal Revenue Service. The question is whether the losing party can be “taxed” for certain costs associated with the litigation process incurred by the prevailing party.

For example, expert witness fees – paid to an expert witness for their services before or during trial – can be either a taxable or non-taxable cost (depending on a host of factors). These have to be paid whether you win or lose. If you win and the court decides that cost is taxable, the defendant pays.

Despite some clear lines drawn in both case law and statute, the question of taxable/non-taxable costs – and whether a person should have them covered – can still be a matter of sharp dispute.

Recently, the Alaska Supreme Court in King v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. was asked to settle an argument over whether a plaintiff who won her drunk driving injury lawsuit was entitled to certain taxable costs. The court ruled some couldn’t be collected because plaintiff didn’t timely file the request, but the lower court had erred in denying her others. Continue reading

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Most of us have been in a car accident at some point or another. (If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky – or due for one soon, statistically speaking; car insurance companies estimate every driver files a claim about once ever 17 years.) If you have been in a crash, you may have been asked more than once whether you plan to sue.car accident lawyer

When it comes to auto accidents, Florida is a no-fault state. What that means is that rather than pursuing a claim against the driver who was at-fault, it’s your own auto insurance company that is responsible for compensating you after the crash. This falls under the provision of state law (specifically F.S. 627.736) regarding personal injury protection insurance (or PIP). However, this only covers up to $10,000 in medical and disability expenses and only $5,000 in death benefits.

If you’re injured to the point you are required to take more than  few weeks off work, have lasting disabilities or are disfigured, this won’t be nearly enough. Yet it is only if one meets the serious injury threshold, as outlined in F.S. 627.727 that he/she may step outside the no-fault system to claim damages from the at-fault driver (or his/her own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage). Continue reading

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After years of ping-ponging on the issue of evidence admissibility standards in Florida courts – weighing the long-standing, more relaxed Frye test versus the more rigorous Daubert analysis – it seems the Florida Supreme Court has made a final decision. At least for now… West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer

For decades, it was Frye. Then in 2013, Daubert. Except not everyone agreed, and for a while, lower courts and lawyers weren’t exactly sure which applied until 2018 when it was definitely Frye. But now, we’re back to Daubert.

As our South Florida injury lawyers can explain, this is going to have a big impact on both criminal and civil cases. Perhaps most significantly in torts, plaintiffs with highly-technical claims requiring expert witness testimony (medical malpractice, product liability, etc.) are likely going to have a much tougher time overcoming the “trial within a trial” hurdle that Daubert presents.

While criminal and civil defense lawyers will be pleased with this change, prosecutors and personal injury lawyers most likely are not. Continue reading

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Injury at South Florida gyms has been climbing as the number of health-fitness clubs and gyms has risen – 4 percent in the last five years, according to IBISWorld market research.Industry-wide revenue topped$2billion this year. gym injury lawsuit Miami

The question of whether one can successfully sue for a gym injury in Florida will depend heavily on how the injury occurred, what assurances of safety were express or implied with your gym patronage, the language of the liability waiver you (most likely) signed and whether third parties were involved.

Because injuries at the gym have the potential to be very serious (with some reported including broken bones, facial fractures, dental injuries, head injuries, neck and spinal cord injuries and more) it’s imperative to discuss your options with an experienced Miami personal injury attorney.

Fitness centers throughout Miami in standalone buildings, shopping plazas, hotels, resorts, spas – even commercial warehouses (primarily Crossfit). Customers pay good money to use the parking facilities, access all the workout equipment, receive one-on-one time with personal trainers, attend various classes and use amenities like lockers, change rooms, showers, pools and steam rooms. Unfortunately, as our personal injury attorneys in Miami are well aware, that’s a lot of opportunity for potential danger. Continue reading

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West Palm Beach injury lawyers have been watching closely the progression of HB17, a bill that would limit the amount of damages for losses like pain and suffering that can’t be easily quantified. The $1 million damage cap would affect non-economic damages in personal injury cases. Proponents claim it’s necessary to improve insurer and large corporation stability, “balance out” their legal risk resulting from high litigation costs and lower what we all pay for insurance and other products/services. West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

The Florida House Civil Justice Committee approved the cuts, and the bill is advancing.

Here’s the reality about legislative actions like this (also known as “tort reform“): It’s a “get-out-of-jail” free card for insurers and big business. Where they have been successful, it is found companies are better-shielded from litigation risks and their profits are higher. It very often does not result in savings for the public/consumers. Furthermore, it’s been proven that the people most affected by a policy like this are the individuals hurt most severely. Finally, it’s likely no coincidence the most ardent advocates of this measure receive an awful lot of campaign contributions from lobbyists for these industries.

The Case of McCall v. State Showed Damage Caps Don’t Work

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Bars, festivals, nightclubs, concerts and cruises are required to use reasonable care in ensuring the safety of patrons – particularly if they are serving substantial or unlimited quantities of alcohol – in order to prevent South Florida injuries and wrongful deaths.South Florida festival injury lawyer

According to The News-Herald, a man filed a Florida injury lawsuit recently alleges a no-limit alcohol policy for unlimited alcohol policies for VIP guests. Among the most dangerous practices: Offering unlimited amounts of “free” alcohol. This, plaintiff alleges, resulted in his falling off the balcony at a Panama City Beach business owner and sustaining serious injury.

Although there was railing on the multi-level platform, there was no railing on the stairs that flanked either side of it. When he was asked by a security employee to sit down on the step, he complied – but lost his balance ended up falling from the stairs, sustaining serious and permanent injury.

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When you are reeling from a personal injury in Florida, the materials on your cast may hardly even be dry before you are hit with a barrage of paperwork from doctors, police and insurance companies. None of those entities or individuals, however, is looking out for your best interest, making sure your rights are protected and that you aren’t saddled with a financial burden you don’t deserve. Whether your injury resulted from a work accident, car accident, slip-and-fall or some other incident, it will behoove you to hire a South Florida injury lawyer with experience, as opposed to one just starting out. South Florida injury attorney

There have been numerous reports the last handful of years about the fact that there are too many law students and too few legal jobs, with the American Bar Association reporting schools are continuing to raise tuition and produce twice as many graduates as the job market has to absorb. We mention this to say that while there is plenty of bright young talent in the legal profession, there are also a fair amount starting out – even in the first few years – who may not have much if any experience in handling the kind of case on which you require assistance. There are also attorneys who take many different kinds of cases – from personal injury to criminal defense to business law – just to make ends meet. But that doesn’t help you with a Florida work injury claim where the rules for workers’ compensation benefits and third-party liability claims are very specific. You can have greater confidence in the experience of attorneys who can point you to proof of success in past cases.

Personal injury attorneys in Florida are paid on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay a fee for attorney services upfront. Instead, you pay a portion of whatever is recovered (if anything is recovered) either from a settlement or jury verdict.  Continue reading

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A personal injury lawsuit filed by 15 high school students, survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has been dismissed by a federal judge who ruled six defendants, including the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, a school deputy, a campus monitor and the Broward School District, owed no duty of care to protect the students from the gunman. Nothing in the state constitution or statute imposes a general duty on police officers or other government officials to protect people from harm – even when they know it will occur. This duty is limited to those who are “in custody” of police, which as our Broward County injury lawyers can explain has been narrowly interpreted by courts to mean those situations wherein a person has lost his/ her freedom to move freely or seek assistance on their own. It doesn’t apply to students in school, particularly the older they are. personal injury attorney

In total, 17 students and staff members were killed in the six-minute attack and 17 others were injured.

The outcome was indeed disappointing for many in Parkland and throughout Florida because it undercuts a core belief so many have about police and school services: That the public – especially schoolchildren – have the right to expect police will protect them. That is simply not true. The few exceptions that have been carved out, as noted by legal scholars quoted in The New York Times, are situations where, for instance, a crossing guard is assigned specifically to protect a child from crossing the street and instead gets distracted by their smartphone. In the eyes of the law, that crossing guard may have a special relationship to that specific child. It’s only when this special relationship has been established or when the officer has done something to enhance the risk of harm that the officer and/ or the employer can be held liable under the state’s negligence laws. Continue reading

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Sometimes when folks read that the statute of limitations on Florida personal injury and wrongful death claims is two and four years respectively, they figure they’ve got some time before they need to bother reaching out to a South Florida injury attorney. And while it is true that you technically have that time span in which to file a claim, our Naples injury lawyers know what that timeline fails to take into account is:

  • The faster you act, the more likely your attorney can gather important evidence, talk to key witnesses and best preserve your case.
  • In most all cases,  you won’t be able to file a claim at all unless you have properly provided notice to defendants in accordance with Florida law. The timeline for notice is shorter than the statute of limitations period, and the requirements can vary depending on a host of factors.injury attorney Naples Continue reading