Premises Liability

South Florida Slip-and-Fall Injury on Cruise Ship Nets Nearly $300k

March 25, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Jurors awarded nearly $300,000 to a woman who suffered a broken leg and shoulder in a South Florida slip-and-fall injury that occurred on a cruise ship seven years ago. As our Palm Beach premises liability lawyers can explain, proving legal responsibility in such cases is rarely a cakewalk, particularly in a higher-value claim. Slip-and-fall cases especially have a high proof burden, as outlined in F.S. 768.0755. Cruise ship injury lawyer Florida

In this case, according to Daily Business Review, the 64-year-old passenger was reportedly walking across an exterior passageway of the ship when she fell. The ship, which departed from Tampa, was in the Caribbean Sea at the time of her fall. As a result of the fall, she sustained serious injuries to both her leg and shoulder (a fractured left femur and a displacement fracture of her right shoulder).

The day after the accident, she disembarked the ship and was treated in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Hospital Medical Center, where she had a rod placed in her leg and plates and screws placed in her shoulder. She endured nearly two weeks in the hospital, followed by nearly a month of inpatient rehabilitation therapy. There were also numerous follow-up orthopedic evaluations, with treatment concluding about five months after the trip. Ongoing health issues stemming from the fall include residual pain and certain limitations. She cannot easily raise her right arm anymore, and long periods of walking leave her in great pain. Despite reaching maximum medical improvement, these problems persist and may never go away.

In her subsequent South Florida slip-and-fall injury lawsuit (filed in federal court), she alleged the owner/operator of the ship was negligent in creating a dangerous condition that resulted in her fall. Specifically, she said her leg caught on a lounge chair, one of many chairs aligned in a row on a narrow, curved passageway next to a restaurant. The woman was walking behind her husband at the time because the walkway wasn’t wide enough for them to walk side-by-side. Her husband walking in front of her, she said, obscured her view of the chair. At trial, a cruise ship safety expert for the plaintiff testified that the chairs presented a walking hazard in that they substantially reduced the amount of space pedestrians had while traversing the walkway. Continue reading

Florida Trip & Fall Lawsuit Alleges Dangerous Sidewalk is Fault of Restaurant and City

February 2, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Can a Florida restaurant be liable for the dangerous condition of an adjacent sidewalk, even if the portion of pavement in question is technically owned by the city? In a pending South Florida trip-and-fall lawsuit, the answer is: Maybe. As our Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, more than one entity can be liable for a dangerous walkway condition. Here, the final ruling is likely to come down to the level of control the restaurant had over the sidewalk. Palm Beach restaurant injury lawyer

Gass v. Chops City Grill, Inc., is a case out of Naples recently weighed by Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeals. Both the original plaintiff – a woman who was injured after tripping on a section of sidewalk – and the City of Naples, a co-defendant in the case, appealed the lower court’s summary judgment in favor of a local restaurant. The restaurant had successfully argued it had no duty of care to the woman or responsibility to maintain the sidewalk, which it didn’t own. But the appellate court reversed, finding the restaurant hadn’t met its proof burden. The case will now proceed against both defendants.

According to court records, plaintiff was with her then-boyfriend in 2015, on their way to meet another couple at a Naples restaurant. Her boyfriend dropped her off in front of a different restaurant (defendant’s) before driving away to find a parking spot. After plaintiff got out of the car, she stepped off the street and onto the sidewalk. Within a couple of steps, she fell to the ground and was hurt. She wasn’t sure the exact spot where she fell, but it was an area with pavers in front of the defendant’s restaurant. At the time she fell, she said she wasn’t paying close attention to the ground, as she was looking around at which direction she needed to go.

In her subsequent premises liability lawsuit, she initially named only the city. Later, she added the restaurant as a co-defendant. She alleged that as a business invitee to the City of Naples, the city owed her a duty of care to maintain the premises/sidewalk in a way that ensured the walkway was safe. Instead, it was defective/dangerous. The city’s failure, she asserted, amounted to negligence and was the proximate cause of her injury.

She lodged a similar complaint against the restaurant, which she said had negligently or incorrectly installed the pavers, making them unsafe, defective, and dangerous, resulting in a public tripping hazard. She further alleged the restaurant knew about this dangerous condition and failed to remedy it. Continue reading

South Florida Negligent Security Claim Targets Store, Storage Unit Owner

January 30, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

South Florida negligent security lawsuits involve allegations that a property owner failed to use reasonable care to protect lawful guests from foreseeable harms – including crimes committed by third parties. The occurrence of a criminal act resulting in injury on its own doesn’t open the door to a civil lawsuit against the property owner. Some very specific boxes need to be checked to proceed with this type of premises liability claim. Palm Beach negligent security lawyer

One recently-filed negligent security claim accuses a store and storage unit of failing to protect a South Florida surgeon who was kidnapped, beaten and threatened with death by two attackers.

According to the civil complaint, the incident occurred three years ago. His kidnappers, armed with guns and tasers, accosted him at a Hallandale Beach store parking lot, stunned him with a taser and then threw him into the rear of a cargo van before driving him to a local storage unit. There, he later told law enforcement, he was bound to a rolling chair and burned with metal cutters heated by blow torches, slapped, punched, threatened, coerced into giving his home access code and forced to drink alcohol until he passed out. The motive, authorities say, was robbery. The two assailants dumped him – tied up – in the back seat of his car early the next morning. That’s where police found him.

One of the men was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges. The other, whose estranged wife was a patient of the doctor’s, was extradited from Spain and convicted last month on the same charges as the other. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

But as our South Florida negligent security attorneys can explain, that’s not the end of the ordeal. Entirely separate from the criminal proceedings is the civil case, which alleges both the store and the storage unit failed in their legal duty to take reasonably prudent measures to protect people on their respective properties. Plaintiff asserted both businesses had a history of prior violent crimes on site and failed to take adequate measures to keep people safe. Continue reading

Thanksgiving Safety Tips From Our South Florida Injury Lawyers

November 19, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Thanksgiving is all about gathering and good eats. Lots of folks are especially excited about this year’s festivities, as pandemic-related restrictions have increasingly eased. However, many holiday safety concerns persist year after year. Palm Beach injury lawyer

As longtime South Florida injury lawyers, the cases we handle almost all involve preventable injuries resulting from the failure of someone else to use reasonable care – not necessarily because they meant to cause harm, but simply because they weren’t careful. If at all possible, we want people to avoid associating joyful holidays like Thanksgiving with sadness or regret. That’s why we urge everyone to take a few minutes to ensure they’re being as safe as possible – behind the wheel, in front of the stove, through the stores, and at the table.

Driving Dangers on Thanksgiving

Palm Beach Dangerous Property Claims: Overcoming the “Obvious Danger” Defense

November 5, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In Florida, property owners have a legal responsibility to keep their properties reasonably safe, and to warn visitors of any dangerous conditions. This duty, which falls under the umbrella of premises liability law, is applicable to hazards about which the owner knows (or reasonably should know), but which a visitor couldn’t have discovered using reasonable care. Palm Beach injury lawyer

Defendant property owners can sometimes win these types of cases by raising the “open and obvious” defense. This defense asserts that the danger was so open and obvious there was no need to warn guests of it.

As our Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, though, this is not a complete defense. That is, a property owner isn’t going to win their case solely based on the fact that the danger was open and obvious. Rather, it’s considered a factor in deciding who is at fault. In Florida, plaintiffs may share a percentage of the fault (referred to as comparative fault) and still collect a percentage of the damages.

Recently in the case of Pratus v. Marzucco’s Construction & Coatings, Inc., an employee of an electrical subcontractor was hurt when stepping into an uncovered drain at a South Florida construction site. He conceded he’d seen the drain uncovered numerous times at work, but argued the general contractor was still liable for the dangerous condition on site. A trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant general contractor, on the grounds that the dangerous condition was open and obvious. But in its reversal, the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal underscored two significant points:

It is the danger, not the condition, that is obvious to the visitor. You might be aware that a dangerous condition exists on site, but you might mistakenly (and reasonably) think the landowner put some safeguards in place to protect against the danger. In the case recently before the 2nd DCA, the drain in question was covered and uncovered at various times. Sometimes the door that led to it was marked with caution tape. On the day of the incident, there was no tape over the door, despite the fact that the drain was uncovered that day.
Owners have a legal responsibility to anticipate the actions of those who enter the property. That’s not to say they need a crystal ball, but they need to consider the potential actions of reasonable and prudent persons on site. Construction sites can have SO many dangers. Those working at the site might need to get to a certain location, but the path they took, with its inherent dangers, may be the only option. In that case, even if they knew about the risk and it was open and obvious, they might be partially excused for failing to avoid it.

The bottom line is that where a property owner expects or should have known that a danger – however open or obvious – might pose a realistic threat to invitees, the jury can still hold the property owner responsible, even if the visitor/plaintiff shares some of the blame too. This is especially true if there is evidence of negligence per se, which would involve violation of a health or safety statute. Continue reading

$5 Million South Florida Negligent Security Affirmed by 4th DCA

January 15, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In Florida, business owners, property managers, landlords and security contractors have a legal duty to take necessary steps to secure their premises and prevent foreseeable harm to patrons, residents and lawful guests. If a property owner fails in this duty, he or she can be held legally responsible for the damages. West Palm Beach negligent security

A poorly-secured premises can leave people vulnerable to robbery, sexual assault or another violent attack leading to serious and physical and emotional injuries. Sometimes, it can lead to death.

Negligent security is a special type of premises liability claim wherein someone alleges their injury by a third-party criminal on another person’s property was at least partially the result of the property owner’s failure to make the site safe when they had a responsibility to do so.

There are several defenses in negligent security cases for which your legal team should be prepared, as was illustrated in an appellate case recently before Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal. In Pride of St. Lucie Lodge 1189 Inc. v. Reed et al, the issue was whether the court erred in awarding $5 million to the plaintiff (daughter of decedent), given that decedent had been involved in a felonious brawl at defendant night club just prior to her death. Continue reading

Third-Party Liability for Work Injuries Highlighted in Acrobat Injury Settlement

January 4, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Eight acrobats who suffered life-altering injuries in a 2014 circus accident in which they fell 20 feet while hanging from their hair reached a $52 million settlement last month with the owner of the arena where it occurred. Notably, the Florida-based circus that employed them was not named as a defendant in that case. West Palm Beach injury lawyer

As our South Florida injury lawyers can explain, much of that has to do with the fact that state workers’ compensation laws stipulate that workers’ comp insurance is the exclusive remedy against an employer for work-related injuries. That doesn’t necessarily mean people who are seriously injured on-the-job don’t have alternative claims against third parties. This type of claim is more common in hazardous professions like construction, truck driving, warehousing, nursing, etc., where workers are often contracted to work at that location by another company. Continue reading

How Crime Statistics Factor in West Palm Beach Sexual Assault Lawsuits

July 25, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Like many other large cities, West Palm Beach has its fair share of criminal activity. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports that Palm Beach County’s violent crime rate in 2019 was 390 per 100,000 residents. The good news is that’s a drop of about 5 percent from the year before. However, it includes more than 560 reported rapes and sexual assaults, while only 105 arrests were made for these offenses. What some survivors may not realize is that besides the criminal justice system, there is another avenue of accountability: Civil claims filed against third parties for negligent security. West Palm Beach sexual assault lawyer

Crime statistics have proven invaluable in Florida negligent security lawsuits.

Negligent security is a type of civil premises liability claim filed for injuries resulting from a property owner’s negligence. Survivors of rape and sexual assault may have a negligent security claim if they can prove the property owner owed them a duty of care to protect against third-party attacks and failed to put reasonable security measures in place or warn them of possible danger. Continue reading

Understanding Open & Obvious Dangers in Florida Premises Liability Cases

July 11, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In Florida premises liability law, the “open and obvious doctrine” is one that states business owners can’t be held liable for open and obvious dangers – unless the owner should have anticipated harm despite the open and obvious condition. Florida premises liability attorney

An “open and obvious danger” is one that creates a visible, well-known risk of harm that would be discernible by casual inspection to someone of typical intelligence.

Property owners in general have a duty to maintain a reasonable degree of safety on their properties and to warn others of dangers that aren’t obvious. But patrons, guests and tenants also have a responsibility to recognize and appreciate danger when it’s open and obvious – and take prudent measures to protect themselves from that harm. Continue reading

Overcoming Obstacles to Civil Liability in Florida Sexual Assault Lawsuits

June 20, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

An estimated 1 in 6 women in Florida will be victimized by sexual assault at least once in life, while 1 in 5 men will be victimized by some form of sexual violence other than rape. Although survivors can make the decision to report such actions to police, pursuing criminal prosecution is ultimately up to the local state attorney’s office. Even if the prosecutor files charges and secures a conviction, the reality is compensation to the victim in the form of restitution is unlikely to be adequate (if it’s ordered or able to be collected at all). Florida sexual assault lawsuit

But one avenue through which survivors may still obtain justice is civil litigation. As our West Palm Beach civil trial lawyers can explain, the goal of a civil sexual abuse lawsuit isn’t to undo what cannot be undone. Rather, it is to make victims as whole as possible by compensating for physical injuries, disability (time you had to take off work), mental and emotional trauma and even damaged relationships.

And the perpetrator may not be the only one you can hold responsible – even if he or she acted alone. In civil litigation, you’ll want to explore the potential liability of:

The owner/controller of the property where the sexual assault happened.
The offender’s employer.
The school, daycare, sports organization, religious institution, nursing home or hospital that had a duty to protect the victim.
Any security firms contracted to keep people safe.

Civil liability against third parties in sexual abuse lawsuits considers the duty of care the defendant owed to protect the plaintiff (victim) and whether the offense was reasonably foreseeable. Did the employer do enough to vet its workers? Did the sports organization overlook years of misconduct by a coach? Did the hotel fail to make sure it had adequate security staff on site to keep guests safe? These are the kinds of things that can result in a finding of third-party liability in Florida sexual assault lawsuits. Continue reading