Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Six Concussion Lawsuits Against Colleges, NCAA

June 22, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Half a dozen concussion lawsuits have been filed against colleges and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), claiming negligence for the handling of their sports-related head injuries.

According to The New York Times, this marks the latest effort by former college athletes who are seeking financial compensation for what they say are the lasting effects they suffered as a result of undiagnosed and improperly treated concussions. The lawsuits name Penn State, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Georgia, Oregon and Utah, as well as three major football conferences: the Southeastern Conference, the Big Ten and Pacific-12.

These lawsuits follow a proposed federal class action settlement covering all collegiate athletes who suffered concussion-related head injuries and the NCAA. However, that settlement, later approved by a federal judge, only included updated safety protocols – no actual payments made to former players. It did include setting aside $70 million for medical screenings of former college athletes. Continue reading ›

Maree v. Neuwirth – Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Complicated by Organizational Structure

June 20, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The organizational structure of nursing homes and long-term care centers throughout the country has created challenges for nursing home negligence lawyers seeking to hold these companies and staffers accountable for abuse and neglect of the elderly.

It used to be that in most cases of nursing home abuse or neglect, plaintiffs could be relatively certain that a lawsuit naming the facility and/or its staffers would generally cover all possible defendants. What we are seeing more frequently is a situation where nursing homes use complex management structures that obscure the entities responsible for delivering care. They often set up a number of sub-companies that de-centralize ownership and separate real estate ownership from operations, etc. All that can make it difficult for residents and their families to seek compensation from the appropriate parties through litigation.

That was an issue that cropped up in the case of Maree v. Neuwirth, recently before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Continue reading ›

Car Accident Victim Awarded $1.2M From Own Auto Insurance Company

June 17, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A car accident victim in New Jersey has just been awarded $1.2 million from her own insurance company after fighting for years following a 2013 crash with an uninsured driver.

Why would one need to battle their own insurer?

It’s especially common in Florida, a no-fault state when it comes to insurance. That means the first $10,000 paid out to car accident victims is through personal injury protection (PIP) benefits. PIP benefits cover 80 percent of your reasonable medical expenses related to the accident, 60 percent of wage losses and $5,000 for death benefits. When you are seriously injured, your damages are inevitably going to exceed that.

Also in Florida, 25 percent of drivers do not have insurance. That is 1 in every 4 motorists you pass on the road. Even those who do carry insurance are only required to maintain $20,000 in bodily injury liability insurance. That is probably not even going to scratch the surface of your medical bills in a bad wreck. So what option do you have at that point? Uninsured/ Underinsured Motorist Coverage (also sometimes written UM/ UIM coverage). Continue reading ›

Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg – Injured Workers Win Big Before Florida Supreme Court

June 15, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The Florida Supreme Court has struck down a 2003 legislative change to state workers’ compensation law arbitrarily cutting off temporary total disability benefits after 104 weeks, opting instead to reinstate the previous law, which allowed such benefits to be paid out for a maximum of five years.

The ruling was a huge victory for injured workers in Florida, who have been victimized by numerous efforts to whittle away their workers’ compensation protections.

Of course, that has not been a trend unique to Florida, as a recent ProPublica investigation revealed. Workers’ compensation is supposed to be a “grand bargain” between workers and their employers. It’s original intention was to reduce civil litigation between workers and their bosses by prohibiting the worker from filing an injury lawsuit against the company in exchange for expedient, no-fault benefits to cover medical bills and lost wages. But increasingly, lobbyists have successfully pressed for legislation that has tipped the scales more heavily in favor of the employers, leaving many workers struggling.

That’s why the decision in Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg was such an important one. It was actually the second of great importance before the court in as many months. Continue reading ›

NHTSA: Florida Pedestrian Accidents Up 17 Percent

June 13, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Pedestrian accidents occur almost every other day in Florida. According to new research form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Florida pedestrian accidents spiked by more than 17 percent at last count, up to 588 in 2014.

The latest report, released last month, reveals too that pedestrian accidents are comprising a bigger than ever percentage of overall traffic fatalities in the Sunshine State – 20.8 percent in 2013 versus 23.6 percent in 2014. Other early data from 2015 suggests pedestrian deaths nationally climbed by another 10 percent, which, if proven accurate, would bring the uptick to 27 percent in just three years. This is despite the fact that overall traffic deaths have been trending downward in recent years.

A pedestrian accident in Estero recently resulted in the death of 55-year-old man who was struck while crossing U.S. 41 from the SunMart gas station near Commons Way. The 31-year-old driver was reportedly not cited in the crash. In April, a 23-year-old man was struck and killed in a Fort Myers pedestrian accident on Laredo Avenue. Charges against the 17-year-old driver are pending. And in March, a pedestrian was struck by two cars while crossing Daniels Parkway near Gateway Boulevard. He later died of his injuries. Continue reading ›

Cefaratti v. Aranow – Surgical Sponge Left in Patient Prompts Injury Lawsuit

June 10, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

In 2013, USA Today published a startling statistic: Twelve times every single day, surgeons sew up a patient with surgical sponges and other supplies mistakenly still inside. In some cases, patients become very ill as a result. Some do not survive.

But discovering the exact source of internal pain (usually abdominal) is often a process. Although in some cases, these “retained surgical items” include clamps, forceps or other hardware, they are most often the gauzy sponges doctors use during surgery. The incidents are referred to in the medical community as “never events,” as they are simply never supposed to happen.

And yet, it’s an ongoing problem. Consider the recent Connecticut Supreme Court case of Cefaratti v. Aranow. Central to this case was the question of the statute of limitations and whether the “continuing course of treatment” extended the timeline plaintiff had to file her claim. Continue reading ›

Fatal Motorcycle Accidents in Florida Up 23 Percent

June 8, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The number of people killed in Florida motorcycle accidents is on the rise.

Florida reported that from 2014 to 2015, the number of people killed on motorcycles went from 449 to 554. That’s a more than 23 percent increase, according to early statistics gleaned from accident reports across the state.

Despite only accounting for 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the state, they account for 19 percent of those involved in deadly crashes. That is deeply troubling to our Fort Myers motorcycle safety advocates, who have for decades fought for the rights and well-being of riders. Continue reading ›

FWC: Florida Boating Accidents Up in 2015

June 6, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Boating in Florida was more dangerous last year, with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reporting the number of boating accidents statewide shot up by 23 percent compared to the prior year..

Lee County was singled out as one of the most dangerous cites, ranking No. 4 behind Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward counties for having the most accidents on the water – 48 for the year.

There was one death reported in Lee County as a result of a boating accident last year, and also 20 injuries. Statewide, there were 737 boating accidents – far more than 634 reported in 2014. However, it is worth noting that between 2011 and 2013, the average number of collisions was 727. That is to say that 2014 saw a marked decrease in the number of boating accidents we typically see statewide. We had hoped this would signal a downward trend, but the final 2015 figures show that is not the case. Continue reading ›

Kotlyer v. Metro Casualty Insurance Co. – Florida Car Accident Default Judgment Improper

June 4, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal recently weighed the issue of whether it was proper to grant default judgment against the owner of a vehicle in a car accident lawsuit when there had not yet been a determination on the liability of the alleged negligent driver.

The court’s answer: No.

Beyond that, the court determined the insurance company seeking subrogation in this action, Kotlyer v. Metro Casualty Insurance Co., had wrongly characterized the damages as “liquidated” when in fact they were “unliquidated.” The reason that matters is that courts can’t issue a default judgment without a hearing on unliquidated damages because a hearing is required to determine the exact amount. No hearing had been granted in this case before the judgment was rendered.

A default judgment is a binding judgment in favor of one party on the basis of some failure to take action by the other party. In most cases, default judgment is issued when one party fails to respond or appear before a court of law. Continue reading ›

Florida Texting and Driving Law Lacks Leverage

June 2, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

It’s common knowledge that distracted driving is dangerous. Yet that doesn’t seem to deter Floridians from injuring and killing each while distracted by smart phones or other technology.

A recent analysis by The Palm Beach Post found that between 2012 and 2015, the number of distracted driving crashes in that county spiked 30 percent. That’s according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It’s worth pointing out that those distracted driving accidents are only the ones about which we know. Almost certainly, the numbers are much higher because distraction at the time of impact is not easily measured or often reported.

“No one is going to tell (the cops), ‘Hey, I was on the phone,’ or ‘I was texting and driving and caused that crash.’ That’s not going to happen,” said Florida Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton. Slosberg and some of his colleagues have been pressing for a tougher Florida texting and driving law that might serve as an effective deterrent. Continue reading ›