Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Dear Spencer:

I just had a car accident and have not yet been to a doctor. What kind of doctor should I see after my car crash to best help my case?

Thanks,

Car Crash in Cooper City

Dear Cooper City Car Crash:

I appreciate your email and want you to know how lucky you are that you have a choice in picking your doctor. Many people involved in car wrecks in Florida are taken to a hospital and undergo care and treatment without any control as to who they see. I am concerned that you are asking me what kind of doctor you need to help your case rather than for your well being. I hope I did not misunderstand your email, but I advise you and anyone else that has been in an accident, to do what is in the best interest of your health and well-being and not what might help or hurt your case.

Assuming I misunderstood your email, and I apologize if I did, there are a number of medical specialties that help diagnose and treat injuries. Orthopedic surgeons generally treat broken bones and injuries to the tissues and muscles that surround them; Neurologists treat and care for nerve injuries and brain damage; Pain Management Doctors and Physiatrists can help you with tolerating the pain while you heal; Chiropractors and Acupuncturists provide excellent care for those who like the most non-evasive and natural approach to treatment. I usually recommend that our clients see a variety of specialists to make sure that all of their injuries are both diagnosed and treated. Often doctors will overlook complaints that can be significant if they fall outside of their expertise. For instance, an orthopedic surgeon who might be treating your broken clavicle might not notice the subtle cognitive limitations of a mild traumatic brain injury.

Most importantly, you need to have a doctor that is both qualified and experienced. We recommend that you check with the Florida Department of Health website to verity that your doctor is licensed and Board Certified. I also recommend that you steer clear of a clinic that offers multiple specialties under one roof, catering only to car accident victims. These types of places may not be able to provide the level of care one needs for significant injuries and may be more focused on your PIP Insurance benefits than your health. In the end, should your injury result in a claim, the value of your claim can be directly related to the quality and reputation of physicians you have selected. Think of it in terms of selecting players for a team, because in trial, your doctors will also have to serve as your expert witnesses. If you have a weak group of doctors who cannot or will not advocate for you as their patient and withstand the scrutiny of cross-examination you probably will not win your case.

I guarantee that the defense and their insurance company lawyers very carefully select the doctors they hire to examine and testify against you. They do not necessarily hire the kindest and most gentle neurologist or orthopedic surgeon they can find. They certainly do not use doctors based upon their surgical technique or patient satisfaction survey. They hire doctors that are ready, willing and able to come into a court room, look you and your attorney in the eye and then gently turn to the jury to tell them you are not injured. This happens every day in courtrooms across Florida. That is why as a Florida lawyer specializing in car accidents, I caution you to proceed slowly if you are not seriously injured before you make a claim. Do not allow the claim to dictate your care and treatment. Rather, go to the very best doctor you can find or ask a lawyer you trust to make suggestions.

I hope this helps you and we wish you a safe and speedy recovery. Got a question about your South Florida car wreck for Spencer? Email me here and we will respond.

Our Florida hip implant law firm is working directly with the DePuy Pinnacle Multidistric Litigation (MDL) Case No. 2244 in Dallas, Texas. My friend and co-counsel, Shezad Malik, is a Dallas Attorney and Medical Doctor and has worked with me on many complex medical malpractice cases as well as the BP Oil Spill claims. The DePuy Pinnacle AcetbabularCup System is a "metal-on-metal" hip implant system very similar to the DePuy ASR system that has been recalled. Patients having received DePuy Hip Implants have experienced abnormally high failure rates, excruciating pain.

Some of our clients have reported dangerously high levels of chromium and cobalt in their blood as a result of the grinding of the implant. The high levels can result in metal toxicity or metallosis. Excessive cobalt level (cobaltism) is known to cause serious organ damage. The consequences of cobaltism are tinnitus, vertigo, blindness, deafness, peripheral neuropathy, headaches, optic nerve atrophy, convulsions, cardiomyopathy, and hypothyroidism.

Many DePuy hip implant patients have required replacement or revision surgeries. For some reason health insurance companies are not agreeing to pay for the revisions without a fight. We are also assisting our clients in filing and obtaining social security disability and lost wages for the time lost at work.

The lawsuits against DePuy claim that the design of the Pinnacle was defective and the company failed to warn patients of the known defects. This goes to the root-cause of the failures which is most likely related to inadequate safety testing. U.S. District Judge, James Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas, has ordered specific procedures for the litigation.

The FDA has expressed its concern about metal-on-metal implant systems specifically and the risks of all implants systems. Patients who have metal-on-metal implants need to be especially aware of any heart or chest pain, numbness, weakness or change in vision or hearing. In addition, thyroids and kidney function should be monitored carefully. The FDA has also ordered all metal-on-metal hip device makers to immediately study whether implants have caused an increase in patient's blood metal content or metallosis.

According to New York Times investigation the A.S.R or Articular Surface Replacement system also made by Johnson and Johnson's DePuy is one of the most problematic devices on the market accounted for nearly 75f% of all complaints.

Our Miami Pinnacle hip implant lawyers recommend you to contact your physician immediately if you have undergone a hip implant procedure to determine whether you have received a DePuy hip implant. Contact our Florida hip implant law office for more information regarding metal-on-metal hip implants before signing any documents that may affect your rights with DePuy.

Surviving a serious car or motorcycle accident in South Florida with only minor injuries is nothing short of a miracle. However, in Florida, those responsible for causing car accidents are also legally responsible if the injured subsequently suffers sub-standard medical care. Our Florida car crash injury law firm is currently investigating a potential claim where a young mother who survived a crash with seemingly minor injuries may have been exposed to potentially negligent medical care which led to her sudden death. She leaves behind a small son and many unanswered questions.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in the landmark case of Stuart v. Hertz Corp. that if one's injuries are aggravated or increased by a medical mistake, the original tortfeasor is liable. The"Hertz Doctrine" has been applied in cases where the defense argues that the care and treatment a claimant received was not reasonable and necessary. In Nason v. Sharanksi, Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial judge for failing to give the Hertz jury instruction after the defendant in a car accident tried to allege that the plaintiff's neurosurgeon, Dr. Charles Tehofilios, a board certified neurological surgeon performed an unnecessary removal of a herniated disc and two spinal fusions.

Accordingly, those who cause injuries in Florida car accidents are now responsible for any additional injury, or even death, caused by the subsequent medical treatment. This is particularly important in terms of signing releases in car accident claims before a person's injuries are fully diagnosed or treated. Many insurance companies include language in car accident releases that could be used to prevent claims against medical providers for injuries that may not have even occurred yet or for damages that are yet to be diagnosed. We strongly recommend that before signing any release for a car accident that you have it reviewed by experienced and competent Miami car accident lawyer that can protect your legal rights.

Continue reading "When A Doctor's Mistake Kills a Florida Car Accident Victim" »

As a Broward County medmal attorney, I do not agree with a recent report indicating that researchers from Harvard, University of Southern Californian and the Rand Corporation, finding that doctors who specialize in areas considered "low-risk" like pediatricians and psychiatrist are less likely to get sued in comparison with "high-risk" specialties like surgeons, particularly neurosurgeons. .

According to the report, over 19% of neurosurgeons face medical negligence lawsuits yearly. The report outlines the following ten medical specialties as those most likely to be sued:

1. Neurosurgeons
2. Thoracic-cardiovascular surgeons
3. General surgeons
4. Orthopedic surgeons
5. Plastic surgeons
6. Gastroenterologist
7. Ob-Gyn
8. Urologolist
9. Pulmonologist
10. Oncologolist

Dermatologists, pathologists, nephrologists, ophthalmologists, diagnostic radiologists, anesthesiologists and emergency medicine doctors were ranked the least likely to get sued.

The study found that gynecologists, not obstetricians, were the most likely to settle out of court yet are only the 12th most likely to be sued by a patient in the first place. Conversely neurosurgeons, the most likely to be sued, are also most likely to have to pay a malpractice claim with an average payment of $344,811. The average claim paid by pediatricians is $520,924, and for pathologists, $383,509. Many injured patients imagine their claim to be worth over $1million dollars. Surprisingly, the study revealed only 66 cases where verdicts or payments exceeded that amount.

What the study seems to not reflect is the reality of the cost in bringing a medical malpractice claim to court. The up-front cost of obtaining records, experts and preparing a case for trial can be in excess of $100,000.

Most states, including Florida, have caps on jury verdicts for damages which deter lawyers from pursuing low value cases or claims against uninsured doctors or clinics. With the tremendous financial and legal obstacles facing anyone injured by a doctor or hospital in Florida, as a Florida hospital injury lawyer can assure you that, contrary to the media hype regarding baseless medical malpractice claims, no frivolous claims are being filed. Sadly, the public does not understand the true safety value of medical malpractice litigation as a means to force healthcare providers to practice within and above the standard of care, which will keep us all from being injured.

Continue reading "How Much is My Medical Malpractice Case Worth?" »

The Florida High School Athletics Association governs high-school sports across the state of Florida. Our Florida head injury lawyers are pleased to note that the FHSAA is implementing new protocols to protect student athletes from returning to the game after sustaining a suspected concussion.

The new guideline requires all student athletes who play on interscholastic teams in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to take a base-line neurospyschological evaluation or cognitive test before the season begins. This will help coaches, doctors, parents and players monitor and evaluate any head injury.

The goal is to keep injured players off the field until they have been fully evaluated and have recovered. This is particularly important as successive or multiple concussions can have a devastating effect on young brains. Brain injuries, like concussions, have been known to cause profound changes in personality, memory and interpersonal relationships.

The test being used in Miami is called "Immediate Post Concussion Cognitive Testing" (ImPACT) and is administered on-line. While the test generally takes thirty minutes to administer, a complete and thorough neurological exam is also required before a player can be cleared.

Currently, the program is designed for football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, softball and lacrosse. According to a recent Miami Herald article, 2,800 students have taken the ImPACT test so far.

Since most parents and school coaches are not trained to recognize the subtle signs and symptoms of a concussion, we are concerned that injuries are often not diagnosed. The classic signs of a concussion are:

1. Dazed or confused appearance.
2. Moving clumsily.
3. Slow to respond to questions.
4. Loss of concentration.
5. Strange or unusual behavior.
6. Memory loss before, during and after the event.

Our Monroe county children's injury law firm believe that the test should be administered to every student enrolled in public school as it could be used to identify children who have already suffered some form of concussion or brain injury so far undiagnosed or that occurred outside of school sports. In addition, it would place the student and coaches on notice that special precautions need to be put in place such as helmets, closer monitoring or abstaining from the sport entirely.

Continue reading "How to Prevent and Recognize Your Child's Concussion With Baseline Testing" »

Dear North Miami Car Accident Lawyer Spencer Aronfeld:

I got into a car accident the other day. It was pretty serious and I was taken to the hospital. I was driving; my sister was in the passenger seat. My son was in the back seat with my niece.As a result of this accident, I had back survey and my sister had her spleen removed.

We are not the suing kind of people. The lady who hit us has Allstate, and when I got home, waiting for me was a check for $50,000.00 and some papers I was asked to sign.

I called the number on the letter and the Allstate lady told me that $50,000.00 was the most they could pay and I should just keep the money and sign the paper.
I asked her if I needed a lawyer and she told me "no."

Why do I need a lawyer if she already sent me the check?

Thanks,

Hurting Mom in Miami

Dear Hurting Mom:

Thanks for your email. Do you need a lawyer? Yes. Because insurance companies have two desires. One is to pay you as little as possible and the other is to keep you away from an experienced and skilled Florida car crash lawyer.

Insurance company adjusters are not lawyers and they are not your lawyers. They get paid by the insurance company to not pay you. That is why they are called adjusters. In your case, you may be entitled to far more money than is being offered.

I reviewed the Florida Traffic Crash Report for your accident, and it appears that the driver that hit you is not the owner of the car she was driving. In other words, this might mean that there is an additional policy out there. In fact, there may even be additional insurance policies on top of the one being "tendered" to you such as an excess or umbrella policy.

I noticed that the driver of the car that hit you, is elderly. The elderly in my experience are more likely to have and protect their assets with insurance coverage. Due to the significance of your injuries, I recommend that an asset search be performed that could tell you if they have additional property, cars or real estate.

Secondly, you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Most Florida insurance companies require that the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage be put on notice of your claim and allow you accept the policy of the at-fault driver. This is called waiving subrogation. If you do not do this, you may have ruined your chances of obtaining more coverage. The complex rules for uninsured/under insured motorist claims can be found in Florida Statutes §627.727.

Your children may have claims for medical bills and for injuries. They should be examined and cleared by experienced pediatricians before you end up inadvertently releasing any claims they may have.

The release you showed me does not exclude claims you may have against any of the doctors who treated you for the accident. Since you had complex orthopedic surgery, a medical error may not be readily apparent. If you were to sign the release that you showed me, you may give up any claims you might have against these doctors in the future.

An investigation should also be made regarding whether the lady who hit you was driving in the course and scope of her employment. Despite being elderly, she may still be working and a commercial policy might provide you with more coverage.

Lastly, since you were in the hospital for so long, both the hospital and your health insurance may have claims attached to your settlement. For your sister, Medicaid will have a claim. These claims are called liens and require repayment before you or any lawyer can get paid from the case.

Our Pembroke Pines Car Crash lawyers strongly believe that you should never accept any offer or sign any papers without first having an experience and competent Florida injury lawyer review them.

As a Monroe County hospital injury lawyer, I am painfully aware how kind Florida law is to doctors and hospitals that make medical mistakes, even if those errors end up killing patients. There is a burdensome screening and evaluation protocol that has to be complied with before one can even file a law suit. There is a two-year statute of limitations that can catch grieving widows or parent-less children out of any opportunity for compensation for their loss. There is even a Florida Constitutional Amendment designed to dissuade lawyers from suing doctors or hospitals by capping attorney's fees at ten percent. In many ways, Florida has given doctors and hospitals a license to kill without having to be fully accountable for their negligence.

Without question, the most disgusting law in Florida is §458.320 that allows doctors to practice medicine without malpractice insurance. An increasing number of doctors we sue are practicing without any coverage. Of particular alarm is today's announcement that the nation's largest medical malpractice carrier, The Doctor's Group, is trying to acquire FPIC Insurance Group, which currently insures 18,000 doctors in Florida. Before this deal can go through it has to be approved by state regulators. With Governor Rick Scott in charge, I have little doubt this will pass and The Florida Medical Associations (FMA), Florida's doctor lobby, must be thrilled.

The net result, I believe, will be a chilling effect on the ability of injured patients to obtain compensation from insured doctors who will not participate or testify in cases against other FPIC or The Doctor's Group-insured physicians. It will also lower the bargaining power that doctors have now, with fewer insurers on the market, forcing them to go bare when and if premiums become too high.

Sadly, injured patients often do not know or understand this until its is too late. Demonstrating how little the public knows about these procedures, one of my newer clients just contacted me expecting me to resolve his medical negligence claim once the defendant doctor reviewed his photographs. As a Florida patient injury attorney I had to explain how long, expensive and difficult the case was as well as the idea that a bad treatment result does not always indicate the existence of medical negligence. Even if he wins his case, if the doctor does not have medical malpractice insurance, collection is often impossible.

Our Miami medical injury law firm remains committed to holding Florida's doctors and hospitals responsible for their carelessness.

As a South Florida broken hip implant lawyer and as the son of a mother who just underwent hip implant surgery there are a number of important things every patient and their family should know.

First determine the kind of implant being used. The DePuy Pinnacle hip implant known as the DePuy Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System has been determined to be defective. It was improperly designed, manufactured and the company did not properly warn patients that there was a serious risk for complications and problems. Many of the DePuy hip recipients required additional surgery and hip replacements.

Many of the lawsuits filed alleged that Johnson and Johnson has been aware of the problems for years and that a DePuy Pinnacle product recall should have occurred years ago.

Johnson and Johnson is also facing lawsuits from many patients who received DePuy ASR hip replacement systems. The DePuy ASR implant has been known to fail at a much higher rate compared to similar products. The problem stems from the DePuy metal-on-metal system.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons issued a statement warning doctors about the problems with metal-on-metal hip replacement systems, like DePuy. Further information can also be found on the FDA's Medical Device Recall website.

If you or your parent is facing a hip implant procedure, our Delray Florida dangerous hip implant attorneys strongly recommend that you find out what specific system is being used and do not undergo a procedure utilizing a DePuy Pinnacle Hip implant or the DePuy ASR implant.

As a Palm Beach hospital injury attorney, I believe that performing an operation on the wrong patient, site or performing the wrong procedure is a completely avoidable error. When an error or adverse incident happens in a Florida hospital, Florida Statute Section 395.0197 requires hospitals to report certain events called adverse incidents, to the State of Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) within 15 calendar days.

View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

The statute specifically requires that in the event of:

1. Death of a patient;
2. Brain or spinal damage to a patient;
3. Performance of a surgery on the wrong patient;
4. Performance of a wrong-site surgery;
5. Performance of a wrong surgery;
6. Performance of a medically unnecessary surgery;
7. Surgical repair of damage where the damage is not a recognized risk,
8. Procedures to remove unplanned foreign objects.

The Agency for Health Care posts on its website quarterly reports detailing the number of reported events. Unfortunately, the AHCA protects hospitals by not identifying the offending facility by name. Assuming that many events are never reported, the number of statewide incidents for the second quarter of 2011 alone is astonishing. There were 29 reported incidents and a horrifying 16 of those involved foreign objects being left in patients.

One of the few statutes that actually protect patients is Florida Statute Section 395.1051 that requires Florida hospitals to advise patients when an adverse incident has occurred. In my 20 years of representing Florida's victims of medical malpractice, I have never seen a case where a hospital has complied with this provision. The statute is silent as to what penalties if any would befall a hospital that fails to comply with notifying a patient of an adverse event. And, as usual, the statute goes on to exclude the admissibility of any such notification in a civil medical malpractice statute.

As a Florida hospital injury attorney, I strongly recommend patients or their families who believe they have suffered an adverse incident in a Florida Hospital or other licensed facility to immediately consult with an experienced personal injury attorney and to notify the Florida Department of Health of the incident.

Our Broward traffic accident injury law firm proudly represents a Homestead, Florida mother of four, Melvina Durden, who was severely injured on July 11, 2008. She was a passenger in a car traveling north on I-95 early on the very morning that the Florida Department of Transportation and its construction contractors opened a new express lane. The lane divided a lane of I-95 with plastic sticks called "delineators." Interstate 95 in Miami is one of the highest used roadways in the world. It essentially links the entire East Coast of the United States from Maine to Miami.

The Florida Department of Transportation or FDOT is a $7Billion agency of the State of Florida responsible for managing the infrastructure of I-95 in Florida. This includes highway expansions and maintenance projects. This particular project is called 95 Express.

The FDOT states on its website that one of its "Safety Goals" is to decrease the frequency, rate, severity and potential for crashes by implementing safety and engineering programs. The FDOT divides Florida into seven distinct districts plus the Turnpike. Miami falls within its District 6 and is overseen by the State Safety Office's Chief Safety Officer.

In 2008, the FDOT decided in an effort to minimize "daily traffic and congestion" to convert two of I-95 northbound lanes from State Road 112 to just north of 151 Street NW to convert them into toll roads. The plan was to open the 95 Express in stages: Phase 1A northbound between I-195 and the Golden Glades, opened first. Phase 1B was the southbound lanes between Golden Glades and I-395, and on the northbound lanes between I-395 and I-195. Phase 2 is from Golden Glades to Broward Boulevard. In October 2010, the FDOT commissioned a survey of South Florida commuters. Did you get surveyed? Neither did I. But the results showed that less than half of those surveyed wanted to see express lanes developed on other South Florida Highways.

Deeply hidden on the FDOT's website are posted guidelines for using the express lanes. In bold print the FDOT advises that the express lanes are for "long distance" trips only. Of course, they don't define how long a "long distance trip" is but they do warn that once you enter the lane, you cannot exit until the lanes end. They continue to say that you cannot cut through the plastic poles to "break out" of the express lane. Valuable information? But unless you drive on I-95 while navigating the website, the only way for commuters to know this would be to rely on signage and warnings.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Durden, a passenger on the very first day of the express lane operation, she did not have the benefit of the FDOTs warnings. Sadly, the driver of her car tried to escape the lane and ended up losing control of her car seriously injuring herself and Mrs. Durden. Suing the FDOT and its contractor on her behalf poses many hurdles as the law is designed to afford the FDOT near bullet proof protection from law suit. Florida Statute S768.28 provides the framework for suing the State and any of its agencies, like the FDOT, for injury, property damage or death. Section 768.21(6)(a) requires that before any law suit can be filed, the Florida Department of Financial Services must be put on notice of the claim within three years of the date of the incident with some very specific information, including the claimant's date and place of birth, social security number and detailed information about any penalties the claimant may have had, including civil, criminal and administrative. In addition the claimant must state whether there are any unpaid debts owed to the government in excess of $200.00. Once the claim is filed and the appropriate agency is served, the claimant must also serve the Department of Financial Services with a copy of the complaint. To make matters worse, the FDOT enjoys a limitations-of-damages cap of $100,000 per claimant or $200,00 per incident regardless of the amount of damages their negligence may have caused. Any lawyer who dares sue the FDOT can only charge or collect as attorney fees 25% of the amount recovered compared to 40% in standard negligence cases.

Our North Miami car crash lawyers recommend that if you are involved in an accident on I-95 due to the failure of the FDOT to properly warn you of a dangerous condition or traffic engineering design defect to immediately consult with an experienced Florida PI lawyer.

Our Miami-Dade County Wal-Mart fall down injury lawyers represent the injured throughout the State of Florida. We are often contacted weeks and months after the fall occurs which makes the successful representation of the injured more difficult. Our law office recommends that if you are injured at a Wal-Mart you consider the following immediately.

1. Report the injury when possible to a Wal-Mart employee.
2. Get the employee's name and title.
3. Note the time of the fall and when you reported it.
4. Do not sign anything you do not understand or that is written on your behalf.
5. Request a copy of anything you sign.
6. Do not let the Wal-Mart employee photograph you without your permission.
7. If the employee insists you smile for the camera, don't.
8. If Wal-Mart employees insist on photographing you, photograph them.
9. Obtain the names of any witnesses to the fall.
10. Figure out what caused you to fall. Was the floor wet or slippery?
11. When possible take your own photographs. Use your cellphone.
12. Call 911 if you are injured. Do not rely on Wal-Mart to call for you.

If you are injured, contact an experienced Boca Raton Wal-Mart injury lawyer and insist that they request the surveillance video from the store for the 3 hours before and after your fall. This is crucial evidence since many people who slip and fall and are injured in stores like Wal-Mart, Publix, K-mart, Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club mistakenly believe that simply because you fall in a store and are injured the store is responsible for it. Here is a sample of our letter: Signed Preservation letter-36174.pdf

Florida law is very specific as to how and to whom a claim can be legally made.
The Florida Statutes §768.0755 provides the law on slip and falls in businesses. The law requires the injured person prove that the business actually knew of or should have known of the dangerous condition that caused the fall and should have fixed it. One can prove that the business owner should have known of the condition if the condition occurs with frequency like a broken water main or was foreseeable like placing a drink cooler with ice bucket that does not have adequate drainage. In other words, if someone were to slip and fall in Florida before a store like Wal-Mart reasonably should have been aware of it the condition, there is no case. That is why obtaining the surveillance video is so important because it will prove in some cases how long the liquid or other substance was on the floor. It will also show how often the aisles are inspected by Wal-Mart's employees. This law applies no matter how serious the injury is.

People slip and fall every day in Florida and it is not always someone else's fault. However, as a Palm Beach personal injury lawyer I suggest that when and if you fall due to the negligence or carelessness of a business owner, it is important to move quickly to protect your legal rights and ensure that you have the greatest chance of obtaining compensation for your injuries, medical expenses and time away from work.

As a Miami car accident attorney, I am astounded by Governor Rick Scott's lack of concern for Florida's patients. He has turned down millions of dollars under the Affordable Care Act that would go to providing health care to those who would otherwise be eligible for Medicare. In addition, his Republican-led Legislature has rejected grants that would move long-term patients into their own homes, curb child abuse through in home counseling, educate teens on pregnancy and put tighter grips on regulating the bloated health insurance industry.

This year's Florida Budget left over $8million of federal grants on the table that would have expanded community health centers as well as a Medicaid pilot program that would have provided $2million for a new hospice pilot program for terminally-ill children.

Governor Scott told the New York Times in a recent interview that he did not want to waste state money on "something unconstitutional."

Many of the people our Palm Beach injury lawyers represent have little to no access to medical care or health insurance. It is unforgivable that the State of Florida, which is the fourth most-populated state in the country, only collects $46.4 million out of the nearly 2 billion awarded nationally. This ranks Florida 12th in the amount of money received from health care grants.

In order for Florida to obtain more federal grants it will have to set up an insurance exchange; but with Governor Scott, that seems unlikely. In fact, he has been quoted saying, "I'd rather nobody runs it." If Florida fails to set up an insurance exchange by 2013 the federal government can take it over.

As a Miami children's safety and injury lawyer I am amazed at the number of products recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission every month. But like the toothless FDA, the CPSC does no testing or certification of products before they are sold to consumers. Nor does the CPSC recommend brands that are deemed to be the safest. Since 1972 the CPSC has been charged with protecting the public from injury or death from thousands of products. Until last year CPSC did not have the legal authority to require a manufacturer to recall a product. Now manufacturers that violate a mandatory recall notice could face a penalty of up to $100,000. Yet, there is no obligation by a manufacturer or retailer to return a consumer's money if their product is recalled.

Our dangerous product injury lawyers recommend that if you learn of a product that has been recalled that you immediately stop using it and contact the CPSC's toll-free hotline 800-638-2772 and also fill out his online form. While a recalled product does not necessarily mean that other products manufactured by the same company are unsafe, I recommend that you either stop using them or use them only with extreme caution.

In addition to checking the CPSC website frequently, consumers should subscribe to their email subscription link to get same-day notifications.

The CPSC relies upon consumers to report unsafe products, yet many consumers have no idea how. We recommend that you report the unsafe product to the CSPC online as well as the manufacturer and retailer in writing. You may be surprised to learn that others have also reported the same product and can verify this by researching the CPSC injury data bank. Sadly, very few injuries from dangerous products are ever reported.

Continue reading "Dangerous Products You Probably Have in Your House Now" »