Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

New Year's Eve can be a scary time for everyone. The fact that this year it falls on a Saturday night, and, as a Miami-Dade County drunk driver accident lawyer, I am very worried. A friend of mine is a doctor who does kidney biopsies for transplants. She recently told me that she is working this New Year's Eve because Jackson Memorial Hospital is expecting to need her on site for the anticipated number of patients needing emergency treatment following car, motorcycle and truck crashes

I have been a car crash lawyer in South Florida for over twenty years, and I know that most New Year's Eve car wrecks involve the use or misuse of alcohol and drugs. New Year's Eve is also the deadliest day of the year for pedestrians. Some are hit by drunk drivers; others simply fall down drunk and sustain head injuries. According to experts drunk walking is eight times more dangerous than every mile driven drunk. Shockingly, that means if you have to walk from a party to your home drunk, it is literally eight times more likely that you will die than if you had gotten behind the wheel of a car.

Our Monroe County Florida hit and run car wreck law firm recommends that this New Year's Eve our clients should avoid drinking altogether. But if they must revel make sure there is a designated driver who pledges to not drink at all.

There are a number of creative options besides calling a taxi or your mother to transport you home in most cities, including volunteers that provide the service for free. But if you are unable for any reason to obtain transportation home, simply call 911 and let them know your situation. It is far better than having them show up after an accident when it might be too late to save you or someone else. Miami has a number of free shuttle services available for South Beach party goers.

The National Institute of Health has a handy cocktail content calculator on its website to help figure out what the alcohol content is for mixed drinks. Depending on the recipe you can have one or two standard-sized drinks in a cocktail. The website contains some of the most common recipes used by bartenders today. It is important to note that all bars and restaurants are different in terms of their recipes and portions.

Unfortunately, Miami suffers from another New Year's Eve annual nightmare in the form of gunfire. For some reason, Miami-Dade residents are fond of discharging their firearms into the air on New Year's Eve. Miami Mayor, Tomas Regalado, and Police Chief, Manuel Orosa, have endorsed a "One Bullet Kills the Party" campaign to discourage Miamians from continuing this lethal tradition. It is both illegal and dangerous to discharge a weapon for a celebration.

Our Miami PI attorneys and staff wish you and your family a Safe and Happy New Year and we hope that you will decide to just stay home this year and watch Ryan Seacrest on television.

Continue reading "Miami's New Year's Eve Accident Nightmares " »

Florida's Fourth District Court of Appealleft little doubt who side they are on when they recently dismissed the claim of Charles Burns on behalf of the Estate of Enrique Casanovas for a Florida hospital's medical malpractice and wrongful death that occurred at Palms West Hospital.

Mr. Casanovas was taken to the Emergency Room of Palms West hospital complaining of abdominal pain and nausea and was vomiting blood. He was found to have high blood sugar and was in diabetic ketoacidosis. The ER doctor knew he needed to be seen immediately by a gastroenterologist; however there were none at the hospital.

Sadly, the hospital tried to contact every GI on staff, all of whom refused to come because Mr. Casanovas was uninsured. When no doctors came to Mr. Casanova's aid, the hospital was forced to have him transferred to North Broward Medical Center where he died.

His estate sued Palms West Hospital and alleged that they were negligent in allowing doctors on staff that would not come to the aid of an uninsured patient. Like most hospitals, Palms West had a contract with gastroenterologist to provide emergency room services and therefore had the obligation to provide those services to patients like Mr. Casanovas regardless of insurance. The Complaint alleged that the hospital knew that these GI docs would refuse to come if called on an uninsured patient but allowed them to stay on staff anyway.

The Complaint against the hospital was for negligent retention of these doctors and failure to ensure that the hospital had adequate and competent staff. The Estate did not comply with Florida's Medical Malpractice Act found in Florida Statute §766.203 and sued the hospital on standard negligence and malpractice theories. The trial court dismissed all of the counts for failure to comply with the presuit requirements of the Florida Malpractice Act but allowed the two remaining causes of action to proceed.

Palm West filed a petition for certiorari for failure to dismiss the remaining two counts and the Fourth District Court of Appeal accepted the petition for certiorari relief in that they felt that irreparably injury would occur if the case proceeded to trial. The Fourth reversed the trial court by finding that the remaining claims for rendering or failure to render medical services do in fact arise from the Florida Medical Malpractice Act and that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by not dismissing the entire law suit for not complying with the presuit requirements.

While not every injury that occurs in connection with medical care and treatment is subject to the Malpractice Act, our lawyers believe that when if at all possible, one should try to comply with the presuit requirements to avoid running the risk of having a case dismissed. As a Fort Lauderdale lawyer who sues doctors and hospitals for malpractice I am saddened by the Fourth District Court of Appeals ruling in this case, especially in light of Mr. Casanova's death and the callousness of both the hospital and the doctors who refused to come to his aid.

Continue reading "Florida's 4 DCA Allows Hospital To Escape Accountability Failure to Treat Uninsured Patient" »

I am practicing a motorcycle accident injury lawyer in Florida for over twenty years and I was less than thrilled to see that the USA Network recently announced their show, "Suits," will be returning next summer with all new episodes. The show centers around the offensive and idiotic premise that a high-powered lawyer named Harvey Spector decides to forgo hiring Ivy League law graduates in favor of a high school dropout con artist, Mike Ross, with the hopes of passing him off as his protege and associate.

Apparently Ross has super-human memory and is able to work at all hours of the night and day. That seems to be enough for Spector who misrepresents to his partners, judges, opposing counsel and clients that Ross is a licensed attorney.
The show is nothing more than frightening and dangerous to our system of justice. The reputation of lawyers has been rocked by scandal after scandal as former prominent members of the Bar, especially here in Florida, are currently behind bars for one thing or another. It undermines our credibility with juries who are already distrusting of lawyers and think that they are often playing by their own rules, manipulating juries with fancy suits and ten-dollar words.

Clients who watch this show also may come to question what their lawyers' true motivations are--since Harvey and Company stop at nothing to obtain the desired result, including practicing law without a license, lying, breaking and entering, and destroying evidence.

I wrote my book, "Make It Your Own Law Firm," because I wanted to provide law students a step-by-step guide on how to become a real lawyer. "Suits" provides a dangerous alternative by suggesting all one has to do is to buy a peak-label double-breasted Tom Ford suit and slick you hair back. The practice of law is difficult, time consuming and stressful. The rewards we find are in helping those in need after being involved in a Florida catastrophic accident or from the negligence of a careless doctor or hospital.

Our Miami injury attorneys often work long hours, nights and weekends. Our lawyers have four-year college educations, have graduated from accredited law schools and have taken and passed the Florida Bar examination. They also participate in doing pro-bono work for those who would otherwise not have access to the legal system. Bruce Shemrock and Brandon Stein both work tirelessly for Lawyers to the Rescue, a not-for-profit humanitarian initiative that provides free legal services to Miami's homeless community.

I urge all lawyers and law students to boycott this show as I can think of no more dangerous show on television today. For a more realistic look at the practice of law and the toll it takes on those who devote their lives to the pursuit of justice, watch "The Good Wife." I suggest asking both clients and juries if they watch "Suits" and whether they think that it accurately portrays lawyers and their motives. Lawyers' reputations are at an all time low, the last thing we need is 16 more one-hour episodes of the most dangerous show on television.

Continue reading "TV's Most Dangerous Show For Florida's Personal Injury Lawyers" »

As a South Miami lawyer who handles fatal car crashes, the year's end is time for me to reflect on the number of traffic fatalities in Florida and the United States. In 2010 the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that there were nearly 33,000 deaths. Most states have recently passed laws prohibiting the use of handheld cellphones while driving.

Nevada has taken a unique approach by making it legal to text as long as the driver is in a self-driving car. Clearly, Nevada is at the cutting edge with this legislation. I have been a lawyer suing drunk drivers in Florida for over twenty years and I think we should adopt the same law.

Google and its team of geniuses are working at bringing their vast resources to create technology that will provide cars with the minute details of roads and traffic that will anticipate stop lights, road blocks and intersections before the human eye or brain is able to react. Google's new technology utilizes specialized laser beams, radar and cameras. Google proposes to make the ultimate accident avoidance a computer rather than the distracted human brain.

According to a recent New York Times article, the Google self-driven cars have already traveled over 200,000 miles, criss-crossing Nevada and California's highways and cities. In fact, a Google car has driven the world's most "crooked street," San Francisco's famous Lombard Street, without an incident.

Google's lead engineer, Sebastian Thurn, foresees a world where cars will be summoned on demand, rather than choking our cities parking lots and garages. He also believes that the current European experiment of "platooning" should also be employed in the United States. Platooning is when cars utilize the technology long employed by the professional cycling peloton, the practice of drafting to save energy and fuel. Cars will follow behind each other in such a fashion that they almost touch, and, with Google's technology, they can be linked so that when one car brakes or accelerates, so will the following cars.

Our Pembroke Pines car crash law firm believes that self-driving cars will not only transform transportation and will help eliminate the types of catastrophic car and truck crashes kill people in Florida every year.

Continue reading "How Google Will Save Your Life In a Florida Car Crash" »

Florida's doctor loving governor Rick Scott has signed a new law that gives sovereign immunity protection to private university physicians who treat patients at public hospitals. This means that doctors who work for the University of Miami a private university and my Alma mater are given the same legal protection from medical malpractice law suits as though they were employed by the State of Florida.

In my opinion, as a lawyer who sues Florida doctors and hospitals, it is a dangerous and unnecessary layer of protection. Florida doctors already enjoy statutory caps on damages, a nearly impossible maze or presuit-requirements, a shortened statute of limitations and are permitted to practice medicine without medical malpractice insurance. Apparently those legal advantages were not enough for Governor Rick Scott, Florida's doctors, and UM President Donna E. Shalala.

I do not understand why private medical schools working with public teaching hospitals need to have sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity is found in Florida's Statute Section 768.28 and provides a limitation on the amount of damages an injured person can obtain from a "governmental agency." Florida's sovereign immunity statute limits the amount of money for damages to $200,000.00 per person or $300,000.00 per claim. That means that no matter what damage is caused, from a hospital bed sore or wrong-site surgery or death, the amount of a potential claim is limited.

Florida's Sovereign Immunity Statute was amended to now include teaching hospitals for private universities, like the University of Miami School of Medicine, when the teaching hospital is either owned or operated by the state, a county, municipality, a public health trust, a special taxing district, a governmental entity having health care responsibilities, or a not-for-profit entity that operates such facility as an agent of the state. ,

The teaching hospitals, the medical schools, or employees must now provide specific notice to each patient that the entity that runs the medical school that the provider is acting as an agent of the teaching hospital. In addition, they must advise patients that the only legal rights they may have for an injury or death suffered as the result of medical malpractice will be subject to sovereign immunity. This notice requirement may be met by posting the notice in a place conspicuous to all persons. I doubt that many patients will understand the significance of this change or will have a meaningful opportunity to find alternative care at a private hospital.

President Shalala stated that "teaching hospitals like ours get the rarest and most medically challenging cases ... and they need to be able to attract and retain the full spectrum of top specialists.That's the importance of this legislation for us.'' I hardly think this is a reason to provide them this unnecessary protection.

The savings in medical malpractice payouts by the University of Miami are expected to total over $20 million dollars. Yet to date, none of the savings have been passed on to Jackson Memorial Hospital. This has raised considerable criticism by Florida Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera who finds it odd that UM would not pass on some of this new- found money to cash-strapped Jackson Memorial Hospital who supported the passing of the bill.

In the end, our Dade-County hospital injury law firm believes both patients of Jackson Memorial Hospital and injured victims of medical malpractice caused by UM --or any protected doctors-- will suffer from this outrageous and unnecessary new law.

Continue reading "Florida's Governor Gives Doctors Additional Protection From Medical Malpractice " »

Florida's personal injury defense lawyers must have all gone to the same seminar and came back with a concerted effort to try to intimidate and harass Plaintiffs and their attorneys with the use and misuse of Rule 57.105 of the Florida Statutes. Section 57.105 is found in the Florida Statutes and serves to provide attorney's fees and sanctions against lawyers and their clients. I am a lawyer who sues Florida's hospitals for injured patients for over twenty years. I have never before seen the flurry of Rule 57.105 motions that I have witnessed in 2011. They have been misused and abused and meant for nothing more than a scare tactic to dissuade the zealous representation of the injured.

According Rule 57.105, it is appropriate to award sanctions in either of the following cases:

Frivolous Facts or Law

If a court finds that a lawyer or party "knowingly" brought a claim or defense that is unsupported by material facts or the then existing law then it can be argued that the claim or defense was frivolous. The court must specifically find by a preponderance of the evidence that the attorney knew that the claim was essentially baseless or that the law simply does not support the action.

Unreasonable Delay

In addition, a motion for 57.105 can be brought by any party at any time in a Civil proceeding in response to a pleading or discovery demand that is done primarily for the purpose of unreasonable delay. If the court finds that the opposing side's actions are frivolous it can award damages that include attorney's fees, and other sanctions as a result of the improper delay.

One exception to the rule is if the Court finds that the party making the argument subject to the motion for sanctions had done so with a "good faith" in an effort to extend or modify the then-existing state of the law or is trying to reverse existing law to establish new law. In order to try to protect parties, there is a 21 day "safe harbor" period where parties are notified of the intention to challenge a particular paper, pleading, claim or defense. This gives the accused an opportunity to reconsider his argument and withdraw the offensive pleading without the risk of having to pay sanctions and attorney's fees.

Our Broward County personal injury law firm believes that laws are meant to be followed but have to be challenged when they prevent justice from being served. For example, same-sex marriage is illegal in Florida. It deprives many partners of the loss of support and services when their significant others are injured or killed due to the carelessness of a Florida business owner, physician or hospital.

The Florida law that prohibits same-sex marriage is an example of a Florida law that should be challenged by plaintiff's lawyers in every applicable case. I believe that lawsuits should be filed on behalf of same-sex partners to force courts to address this issue as both unconstitutional and as a deprivation of due process and equal protection. As a Florida injury lawyer I encourage all lawyers to bend unjust laws until they break; challenging our legislature to provide equal justice for every single member of our society, rather than just protection for the few.

The Florida Supreme Court recently amended the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure regarding how mediations are conducted. I am a lawyer who helps car accident victims in Florida for nearly 20 years and I believe that a proper mediation is by far the best way to resolve disputes for both the injured victim and the insurance industry.

Meditations are a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution that allows parties to confidentially discuss resolving cases rather than battling issues out in front of a judge and jury. The new rules require the appearance of a party or the party's representative at mediation with the actual authority to resolve a claim. This will eliminate having lawyers call insurance adjusters who have not participated in the process for additional authority.

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.720 are now amended to adopt the Supreme Court's recommendations. Specifically, parties now have to physically appear at a mediation conference with the attorney of record. The insurance company must now send a representative who has the "full authority to settle" and is the "final decisions maker". If the party is a public corporation the party needs to send a representative to the mediation who can act on behalf of the corporation and settle the claim.

Now, parties are required to file with the Court 10 days before the mediation a "Certification of Authority" indicating who will appear at the mediation conference identifying the person or persons with the authority to resolve the claim. Failure to appear at a duly noticed mediation will result in sanctions. The Court will have the ability to sanction a party by imposing attorneys fees, costs and mediation costs for failure to send a person who has actual authority to resolve the case. This represents a huge improvement of the mediation process and should make resolving claims much more efficient.

Now if only we could force parties to attend mediation prior to filing a law suit for personal injuries or medical malpractice in Florida I believe that fewer cases would be tried to a jury, eliminating the mounting pressure on our over-taxed system of justice.

People get injured by slipping and falling in a Miami store or businesses every day. Many serious injuries can be avoided if Florida's business owners would simply take the time and invest the money to make their stores safer.

As a Florida supermarket trip and fall attorney, I have represented customers who have been injured in grocery stores, convenience stores, shopping malls and big-box retailers for over twenty years. Consistently, I have found that most of our clients have fallen because the business owner has not dedicated enough resources to customer safety. Some companies spend millions advertising each year but skimp when it comes to keeping customers safe.

Customer safety begins by creating the safest environment reasonably possible. Stores should have adequate lighting, clean and clear places to walk and non-slip surfaces. Many people in South Florida walk around in sandals and open-toed shoes. Knowing this, extra precautions should be used by store owners to make sure that anti-slip surfaces and anti-slip wax are used.

In addition, there should be a detailed inspection protocol for store aisles. Depending on the size of the store, employees should be assigned to inspect the floors for dangerous or slippery conditions on a routine basis. We recommend that floors should be observed several times per hour and a checklist form completed after each inspection.

Furthermore, spills should be properly cleaned and dried before customers are permitted access to the scene. Pop-up safety cones, like the Spill Safety Cone, are excellent products that provides a high-quality and cost-effective alternative to the leading high-priced safety cones currently on the market.

The Spill Safety Cone comes in two sizes: 20 inch & 30 inch. We recommend the 30 inch cone as it provides even greater visibility to distracted shoppers. The cone comes in a plastic storage sleeve with mounting hardware included. It is a strong, simple, device that is made of a high-quality, durable materials and can fit seamlessly into existing safety cone programs. Furthermore, since there is a low replacement cost, store owners should be more likely to use them.

We also recommend that any business owner with a large demographic of Spanish- speaking customers also use bilingual markers that have ANSI approved symbols. It is also essential that business owners training their employees how to inspect, clean and maintain the premises is essential to eliminate unnecessary slip and fall injuries.

Our North Miami Beach slip and fall injury lawyers are devoted to holding businesses responsible for injuries caused by failing to putting profits over customer safety.

Recently, I had the honor of being a guest on "Dr. Phil." The host of the show, Dr. Phil McGraw is probably the world's most famous mental health professional. He devoted an entire episode to botched plastic surgery.

I had an opportunity to discuss some of the more unusual cases I have encountered as a lawyer that has sues Florida plastic surgeons, hospitals and clinics for over twenty years. Most importantly we discussed how to avoid being a victim of plastic surgery malpractice.

In my opinion as a lawyer who represents patients injured by careless Florida surgeons the single most important factor in surviving plastic surgery is the selection of the doctor and making sure that the surgeon is Board Certified. After the tragic death of Kanye West's mother, Donda West, there has been a national focus on the risks of plastic surgery. Patients need to understand that not all doctors are alike. The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) certifies that its members are properly certified and trained.

There are many "fake boards" that claim to have the ability to certify doctors. Do not be fooled and do your homework before agreeing to undergo a procedure. Is your Surgeon Certified? Check here.

In order for a surgeon to be certified by the ABPS they must meet the following requirements:

They have earned a degree from an accredited medical school;
They have completed 3 years of general surgery;
They have completed 2-3 years of supervised residency in plastic surgery;
They have had at least 2 years of professional practice; and
They have passed rigorous written and oral exams (only about 70 percent of physicians who take the test pass it).

The ABPS is recognized and overseen by the American Board of Medical Specialties and sets high education and training standards. To find out if your doctor is board certified, check with the American Board of Medical Specialties and click here.

2. Check the surgeon's record.

Most states have information on their websites that will allow you to obtain details about a potential surgeon. Some states require you to request the information by mail. Pay close attention to any settlements or records of disciplinary action. Also make sure that your surgeon is licensed to practice medicine within the state. Do not assume that simply because the doctor has an office he is in fact licensed.

3. Does the surgeon has hospital privileges?

If they don't have hospital privileges, that is a red flag. Hospitals have complex privilege and staffing requirements that can provide an extra degree of confidence when selecting your doctor. Do not rely on the surgeon telling you he has privileges. Contact the hospital directly and confirm the status.

4. Interview the Doctor like you would hiring a nanny or baby sitter.

Ask the following:

How many times has the physician performed the procedure?
How long has the physician performed the procedure?
What other procedures does he/she perform?
Who will assist in the procedure? Their qualifications and training?
Are all involved licensed in good standing?
What is involved in the procedure? How is it performed?
Can I see multiple before and after photos of patients on whom you have performed this procedure?
Can you provide me with three to five reference patients on whom you've performed this procedure?
What are the exact breakdown of fees for this procedure?
Can I get advance copies of all forms I have to complete and sign prior to procedure?
Are you insured for malpractice?
Will the physician use sedation? If yes, what level of sedation will the physician use?
Who will administer and monitor the sedation?
How long will the procedure last?
How long will the sedation effects last?
How long will it take to recover in the facility before discharge?
Where will the surgery take place?
What are the emergency plans?
To which hospital would you be taken?
Will post-operative medicine be necessary?
Will there be noticeable scarring?
What realistic result can I expect?
Will the physician perform the procedure from the first cut to the last stitch?
What are the risks associated with this procedure?
What are the warning signs or concerns to watch for?
Do you do revisions and at what cost?

The best way to avoid a botched surgery is to make sure that you are in the hands of a competent and skilled doctor that has the background and experience to not only perform the surgery but to handle any complications that may arise during or after the surgery is over.

Since our Miami car accident lawyers have represented injury victims for over twenty years we understand that while some accidents are unavoidable the extent of the injuries often depends on the safety of the cars involved. Very often, the difference between a safe car and one that fails to meet national standards can mean the difference between simply walking away from an accident or being seriously injured or killed.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a not-for-profit group financed entirely by the insurance industry. As a Broward traffic accident lawyer, we study closely the recently released IIHS 2012 list of Top Safety Picks, with a record breaking 115 passenger vehicles receiving the distinction of being a Top Safety Pick. Utilizing the IIHS study will help drivers make better-informed selections about the cars they drive.

Crash-worthiness is the study of how well a particular car protects its occupants in a crash. The IIHS rates vehicles in four separate tests. High-speed front and side crashes, roll-overs and rear-enders. It also analyzes seat restraints and head rests to determine the probability of sustaining a neck or back injury in a rear-end crash.

For any vehicle to score a Top Safety Pick it has to have good ratings in all four tests. Our Broward County car crash lawyers cannot recommend that any of our clients drive mini-cars. Surprisingly there are only four mini-cars that were deemed to be safe enough to be a Top Safety Pick. The Mini Cooper which seems to be very popular on the streets of South Florida did well in front impact crashes but scored poorly in side impact and roll-over tests.

It may not be sexy, but Suburu with the most models receiving 2012 picks while BMW has the least. Honda was the manufacturer deemed to be "most improved" due to increases in roof strength in 2012. To find out how will your car did, click here.