Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

As summer approaches, Florida parents will sign various waivers, releases and indemnification agreements if they want to unload their children at various camps or day care centers. As a Miami-Dade County children's injury attorney, I recommend caution be exercised before you sign anything.

Florida's Supreme Court made it clear in Kirton v. Fields that parents cannot waive their children's rights by signing a release in a commercial activity. This is true in most jurisdictions in the United States. However, what has been defined as a commercial activity has been hotly litigated in the courts.

In 2010 the Florida Legislature once again came to the aid of big business at the expense of injured children by passing §744.301(3). This law, buried under the "domestic relations" section of the Florida Statutes, allows business owners to escape liability when the activity is "inherently dangerous" so long as the business operator acts reasonably. The Statute also excludes claims for failing to warn of a dangerous condition.

To further help business protect themselves from accountability to an injured child, the Florida Legislation drafted the release and put it right on the books for all businesses to use. For example, if your local swim camp has a high rise diving board and your child is severely injured there may be no ability to obtain compensation for their injuries. Especially if you have signed the attached form.

Our South Florida personal injury lawyers recommend that before you put your children in the hands of anyone this summer, you carefully research the training, experience and supervisor-to- child ratio.

Continue reading "Should You Sign a Waiver for Your Kid's Summer Camp? " »

A recent study published in the North American Spine Society's Spine Journal revealed that a bone growth protein manufactured by Medtronic used in spinal fusions has been linked to an increased risk of male sterility. Our Florida back injury lawyers are particularly concerned because of the growing number of injured men who elect to have fusions after suffering traumatic spine injuries. About 80,000 patients per year undergo spinal fusions in the United States alone. Many of our clients who have sustained back injuries from a car wreck, slip and fall or cruise ship accident have considered having spinal fusion surgery.

Spine fusion surgery is when two bones in the back are permanently joined together to prevent them from moving. Fusions are usually performed with other back surgical procedures such as discectomies, laminectomis or foraminotomies, which remove the discs between the spine before fusion. Some surgeons opt for grafts, which uses bones taken from the patient or a cadaver to hold the bones together.

The Medtronic product in question is called, "Infuse," and was approved by the FDA in 2002. The results of the study show that only men have an increased risk of sterility. Our Broward County defective medical device lawyers recommend that men who are considering having children consult with their orthopedic surgeons regarding the risks and benefits of using the Medronic product and the availability of alternative surgical techniques.

De acuerdo a mi experiencia como abogado en lesiones de caidas y resbalones en cruceros y habiendo sido contactado por pasajeros lesionados en cruceros y abogados de todo el mundo, muchos de ellos se han sorprendido al conocer, que independientemente de donde el crucero haya embarcado o desembarcado, la mayoría de estas líneas de cruceros tienen impreso en letras bien pequeñas y difíciles de leer a simple vista, un lenguaje legal que requiere que todo caso en cual haya un reclamo de lesiones de caidas y resbalones en cruceros,que ocurran en este caso en Miami, la demanda deberá ser presentada en la Corte Federal de los Estados Unidos en Miami.

Muchas personas se han lesionado al momento de desembarcar, ya sea con los pequeños barcos de transporte o en excursiones provistas por los mismos. Las leyes de la Florida están claras en cuanto a la irresponsabilidad o no aceptación de las mismas de estas líneas, al proveer transporte seguro para sus pasajeros entre el buque o crucero y el muelle.

Las líneas de cruceros defienden estas reclamaciones en contra de ellos, alegando que no son responsables por negligencias causadas u ocurridas en las pequeñas embarcaciones de transporte, ya que ellos no poseen o tienen el control de las mismas.

Actualmente nuestros abogados en Miami especializados en accidentes en cruceros están representando en la Corte Federal, a una señora de Texas que se lesiono gravemente cuando su pierna se atasco entre una de las pequeñas embarcaciones de transporte al crucero y el muelle en el Puerto George Town, incidente ocurrido en las Islas Cayman. Como pasajera de De la línea de cruceros Carnival la misma fue transportada de emergencia al Hospital local de George Town donde fue diagnosticada con severas fracturas.

Como firma de abogados especializada en implantes de caderas defectuosas, encontramos en el sitio Web de la FDA, una orden reciente, en la cual se habían hecho estudios posteriores a la comercialización, en los cuales se estuvo bajo observación y vigilancia a los fabricantes de sistemas de cadera " metal en metal".

Lo mas preocupante para mi, como abogado especializado en caderas de reemplazo lesionadas en Miami, es como la informacion se difunde a los consumidores que creen erroneamente que estos productos han sido probados antes de ser aprobados para su uso. Las actuales polizas medicas regulatorias permiten implantes de cadera como las llamadas "metal en metal" aprovadas para la venta, las mismas, sin nungun tipo de pruebas en pacientes. Mas de 250,000 procedimientos de este tipo ( reemplazos de caderas) se realizan anualmente en los Estados Unidos.

La FDA, de manera típica, ha dejado la decisión en cuanto a la evaluación clínica y a la metodología completamente a los fabricantes. Como esencia, sería lo mismo si preguntáramos si un partido de futbol pudiera ser oficiado por los dueños del equipo y no por los árbitros, pero con la diferencia y como consecuencia, la vida.
Por primera vez, la FDA, esta "Pidiendo", no "Requiriendo" que los fabricantes, determinen con qué frecuencia estos dispositivos han fallado.

Nuestros abogados especializados en negligencias médicas en la ciudad de Miami, recomiendan, que cualquier persona que este considerando someterse a un procedimiento de implante de cadera " metal en metal", debe considerar cuidadosamente los beneficios y riesgos de la misma. Paradójicamente, este tipo de implantes, no es para todos, especialmente pacientes con problemas renales, alergias a los metales, sistemas inmunes suprimidos, mujeres en edad fértil o aquellos que reciben altas dosis de corticoides. Así mismo, se han descubierto marcados incrementos en fallas en aquellos pacientes que poseen una estructura ósea pequeña.

Aquellas personas que poseen implantes de cadera "metal en metal" o no están seguros que tipo de implante ya tienen, nuestra recomendación es un seguimiento inmediato con su cirujano, especialmente si está experimentado algunos de los siguientes síntomas: dolor en la cadera, dolor en la ingle, hinchazón local, y adormecimiento o cambios en su habilidad para caminar.

Para más información acerca de la FDA, o si tiene algún otro tipo de preocupación con relación a los implantes de cadera puede consultar las siguientes categorías:

* Acción de Clase / Litigios múltiples Distrito Responsabilidad por Productos Defectuosos
* Caderas Depuy
* Productos Defectuosos

Graduating from law school is a major accomplishment for anyone. The problem facing most graduates this year is that most have no prospect of employment. Some newly- minted lawyers are having to rethink their careers just as most law firms are downsizing because of declining demand for legal services.

Law Schools keep spitting out more and more lawyers who. These graduates, for a variety of reasons, decided to invest years of hard work and hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain a degree that most have no idea how to use or if they really even wanted it.

As a Miami lawyer, I wrote "Make It Your Own Law Firm, The Ultimate Law Student's Guide to Owning, Managing and Marketing Your Own Successful Law Firm" to help tell those considering becoming lawyers the truth--not just about being a lawyer, or becoming a lawyer--but the reality of how to graduate from law school and start your own law practice, surviving and thriving in this economy.

Make It Your Own Law Firm can be purchased on line at Make It Your Own Law Firm's website, Books and Books and as of today Book Horizons in Coral Gables.

Continue reading "Hope for Law Students Graduating Without a Job" »

Lo ultimo que un nuevo padre quiere es preocuparse de que su bebe sea herido durante el parto. Afortunadamente, la mayoria de los recien nacidos nacen sin complicacion y la mayoria de los problemas al nacer son resueltos. Aunque, medicos, hospitales y equipos medicos cometen errores que causan lesiones neurologicas permanentes.

La Legislacion de la Florida intervino para proteger la responsabilidad legal atravez del Establecimiento de Nacimiento de la Florida Asociacion de Compensacion de Lesiones Neurologicas (NICA).

NICA creado en el 1988 establecio un plan para pagar ciertos cuidados limitados a recien nacidos bajo estas condiciones:

1. vivos
2. lesiones de la medula o cerebrales
3. peso al nacer de al menos 2500 gramos
4. lesionado debido a la falta de oxigeno
5. nacimiento en hospitals participantes
6. sufrido un permanente deterioro
7. no causado por una abnormalidad genetica
8. emitido por un medico calificado

La determinacion de si un nino esta cubierto por el plan NICA es tomada por un juez administrativo. Nuestro bufete de abogados en la Florida que trata casos con lesiones causadas en el parto recomienda que todos los padres que esperan bebes verifiquen si el medico y el hospital se han registrado con este plan antes que su bebe nazca.

La ley de la Florida exige que los medicos y hospitals proporcionen a todos sus pacientes con previo aviso de que estan en el plan y un folleto que describe sus beneficios. NICA tiene su propio sitio web donde menciona los medicos participantes. Tristemente, no ha sido actualizada desde el 2009.

Uno de los beneficios primarios de NICA es que proporciona a los padres con una cantidad en efectivo de $100,000. Si bien esto puede paracer una cantidad significativa de dinero, si es muy rara vez compensar a los padres durante la vida util de estres emocional y financiero que el cuidado de un nino gravemente herido requiere.

Como abogado de Miami tratando casos de negligencia de hospitales, yo creo que NICA sirve para privar a los que tienen la mayor necesidad de una indemnizacion de obtener la justicia que necesitan aislando aquellos que causan dano de su culpabilidad.

Los remedios y recursos del Plan de la Florida de Lesiones Neurologicas Causadas por el Parto se describen en el estatuto de la Florida 766.303 como el remedio exclusivo para recien nacidos lesionados durante el parto, o inmediatamente despues del parto como resultado de negligencia medica con la excepcion cuando hay "pruebas claras y convincentes" de "voluntario y gratuito" descuido a la vida humana o la seguridad.

The last thing a new parent wants to worry about is their baby being injured during delivery. Fortunately, most babies are born without complication and most birth-related traumas resolve. Although, doctors, hospitals or delivery teams make mistakes that cause lifelong neurological injuries, Florida's legislation stepped in to protect them legal accountability by establishing Florida's Birth Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA).

NICA,created in 1988, established a plan to pay for the certain limited care of babies born only under all of the following circumstances:

1. Alive
2. Spinal or brain injuries
3. Birth weight of at least 2500 grams
4. Injured due to oxygen deprivation
5. Birth in a participating hospital
6. Suffered a permanent or substantial impairment
7. Not caused by a genetic abnormality
8. Delivered by a qualified doctor.

The determination of whether a child is covered by the NICA plan is made by an Administrative Judge. Our South Florida birth-related injury law firm recommends that any expecting parents verify whether the doctor and hospital has registered with the plan before the child is born. Florida law requires doctors and hospitals to provide all patients with notice that they are in the plan and a brochure that outlines its benefits. NICA has its own website where it lists participating physicians. Sadly, it has not been updated since 2009.

One of the primary "benefits" of NICA is that it provides parents with a lump-sum cash payment of $100,000. While this may seem like a significant amount of money, it very rarely will compensate parents for the lifetime of emotional and financial stress that taking care of a severely injured child requires.

As a Miami hospital malpractice attorney, I believe that NICA serves to deprive those who have the greatest need for compensation from obtaining needed justice by insulating those who cause harm from accountability.

Continue reading "Florida's Birth Injured Infants Get No Justice" »

As a defective hip implant law firm, we noted buried deep in the FDA's website a recent order for post -market surveillance studies to manufacturers of metal-on-metal hip systems. This was issued over a year after the UK's equivalent of the FDA, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a similar advisory. The FDA's warning was sent to twenty-one different manufacturers after startling data revealed an alarming number of metal-on-metal hip implants simply fail over time.

What is troubling to me, as a Miami hip replacement injury lawyer, is how the information gets disseminated to consumers who mistakenly believe that the FDA has tested these products before they were approved for use. Current medical device regulatory policies allow implants like metal-on-metal hips to be approved for sale with virtually no clinical testing in patients. Currently in the US alone, over 250,000 hip replacement procedures are performed annually.

In typical FDA fashion, the Agency has left the decision as to clinical evaluation and reporting methodology completely to the manufacturers. This is in essence the same as asking football game to be officiated by the team owners rather than by impartial referees--but with life-altering consequences. For the first time, the FDA is simply "requesting", not "requiring", that manufacturers determine how often their devices fail.

Our Miami medical malpractice lawyers recommend that anyone considering undergoing a hip implant procedure using a metal-on-metal system to carefully consider the benefits and risks. Specifically, metal-on-metal hip implant systems are not for everyone, especially patients with kidney problems, metal allergies, suppressed immune systems, women of childbearing age or those receiving high doses of corticosteroids. There have been marked increases in failures for patients with smaller body frames.

For those who already have metal-on-metal implants or are not sure what kind of hip implant they have we recommend an immediate follow up with your surgeon, especially if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms: hip/groin pain, local swelling, numbness or changes in your ability to walk.

Continue reading "FDA Finally Tells Hip Implant Makers to Study Failures " »

Our Florida birth injury lawyers noted a recent article in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics evaluating neonatal mortality rates following midwife training in Essential Neonatal Care (ENC). Specifically, the midwives studied cleanliness, neonatal care, resuscitation, breast feeding and small infant care. The results showed a decrease in neonatal mortality from 11.5 per 1000 to 6.8 per 1000 in live births after receiving the training.

As a Miami hospital mistake attorney, I urge everyone considering the use of a midwife to understand that midwives are not medical doctors and are taught not to intervene in labor unless necessary. We also recommend contemplate the following;

1. The midwife is licensed and over the age of 21.
2. Only appropriately used in low-risk pregnancies.
3. The midwife Is accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board.
4. Florida's Midwife Statute §467.014 does not require malpractice insurance.
5. Verify that the midwife has a written plan for emergency complications.

Continue reading "What is a Midwife Good For? " »

As a Florida medical malpractice and defective drug and medicine lawyer, I was surprised when a client of ours was recently diagnosed with acute kidney failure related to her use of a common over-the-counter non-prescription pain medication. Apparently, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been found to induce two different kinds of kidney injuries.

Our Miami injury lawyers recommend that if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, asthma or a history of liver or kidney disease to tell your physician before taking Aspirin, Motrin, Advil, Naproxen, Aleve or Relafen. The greatest risk is when a patient is seeing multiple physicians and there is no coordination of care. It is highly possible that one doctor can be unaware of what another doctor of a different specialty is doing while treating an unrelated condition.

Lastly, do not underestimate the dangers of NSAIDs simply because they are available over the counter without a prescription.