Comparative negligence is the legal theory that a plaintiff is at least partially to blame for his/ her own injuries. In some states, that fact alone can prohibit a person from collecting any damages whatsoever (pure contributory negligence). In other states, a plaintiff’s own negligence can’t be more than the…
Tragedy struck recently when a motorcyclist was killed in a Florida motorcycle accident in Melbourne, leaving behind to mourn him his pregnant 22-year-old wife and their 1-year-old daughter. Florida Today reports the 22-year-old welder had just finished work for the day and was on his way home when the crash…
A man is suing his former girlfriend’s father after a boating injury in which he suffered paralyzing injuries and is now a quadriplegic. According to news reports, the lawsuit (filed in New Hampshire by the 27-year-old) alleges he was spending time with his girlfriend at her father’s lake house, where…
UM/ UIM benefits (uninsured motorist/ underinsured motorist) are extended to insureds who are injured by someone without insurance or without enough insurance to cover their injuries. In a no-fault auto insurance state like Florida (see F.S. 627.7407), the first avenue of recovery for damages is one’s own personal injury protection…
Florida is far and away one of the most dangerous places for a stroll, at least if you’re walking amid motor vehicle traffic. Now, a recent report by the Governors Highway Traffic Safety Administration (GHSA) reveals it’s getting worse. In fact, last year was the deadliest year for pedestrians nationwide…
“Steer clear of the state of Florida,” the lead sentence of a recent Forbes.com article reads. The reason? Our traffic safety is atrocious, particularly on South Florida highways. Of those that had the most car accident fatalities in the last decade: Florida U.S. 1 – 1,079 deaths Florida U.S. 41…
In a ruling that will have a major impact on all Florida personal injury lawsuits, the Florida Supreme Court has rejected a more stringent standard of evidence known as the Daubert Standard, in favor of the less restrictive Frye Standard that it followed for years. Florida legislators in 2013 voted to alter…
A recent playground injury involving a child reached a state supreme court, which was tasked with considering whether sovereign immunity laws protected defendant school district from liability for allegedly defective equipment. Sovereign immunity is a legal principle handed down by the English that held the “sovereign” or government could not…
The Kentucky Supreme Court recently considered whether a state government has a responsibility to enforce vehicle weight restrictions on portions of its highway. The question arose in a case that resulted in the death of a school bus driver whose bus collided with a tractor-trailer on a narrow non-designated portion…
A crash on I-75 that led to catastrophic injuries for one North Fort Myers woman has now led to a careless driving citation for a St. Petersburg man. According to The News-Press, the 30-year-old victim, a mother and foster parent, stopped on the side of the highway to help another…