Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Traffic Deaths in Lee County Spike 42 Percent in 2015

September 25, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Lee County is on track this year to have the most traffic deaths reported since 2006. That year, there were 121 people in this county killed in auto accidents. So far this year, we’re up to at least 74 (higher when we count the recent Labor Day traffic death toll). Unless our trajectory slows considerably, we’re going to have some 110 traffic fatalities in 2015.

Already, the number of auto accident deaths in this county is 42 percent higher than it was during the first eight months of 2014, when there were 52 deaths. In fact, in all of 2014, there a total of 81 traffic deaths in Lee County. We’re dangerously close to hitting that mark, and we still have four more months left in the year.

Statewide, the number of fatal crashes has gone up 21 percent. Continue reading ›

Boating Wake Liability Results in $1 Million Settlement

September 22, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A boating accident lawsuit stemming from a crash resulting in the amputation of a 9-year-old girl’s thumb is likely to settle for $1 million, according to local news sources from Myrtle Beach.

According to MyrtleBeachOnline.com, the defendant in the case of Georgino v. Murrells Inlet Epiphany Inc. is the tourism leader of the popular South Carolina city. He also works as the managing partner of a resort management company there. The lawsuit was filed in federal South Carolina District Court.

The accident occurred in late May 2014. According to the girl’s mother, who is the plaintiff on her behalf, the child’s hand was resting on the side of her father’s boat. It was in the process of being moored and rafted alongside a number of other vessels situated in an inlet. The family was attending an event for wounded veterans.

Suddenly, according to the complaint, the wake caused by defendant’s yacht caused the girl’s father’s boat to slam into another vessel. The lawsuit alleges the yacht was being operated at a high rate of speed, very near to boats that were moored and rafted. Continue reading ›

Najarian v. Gonyeau – Complex Bicycle vs. Car Accident Lawsuit Underway

September 21, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

While a woman has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence following an incident in which her vehicle struck and killed a physician bicyclist, the victim’s husband has filed a civil lawsuit against the driver.

Although the cases are proceeding in different courts – one criminal, one civil – they are overlapping in ways that make the case rather complex.

Florida has the highest incidence of bicycle injuries and fatalities. Although this accident occurred in Vermont, there are elements of law that are applicable to bicycle accident cases in Florida. Continue reading ›

$5 Million Settlement for Attack at Florida Nightclub

September 20, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Headlines made it sound like a barroom brawl, the kind of thing a young man might expect to encounter on a night out. One stated, “Man Gets $5 Million in Miami Club Punch,” as if enduring a simple punch could easily result in such a substantial damage award.

The reality is that punch was unprovoked, at the hands of a bouncer who was much larger than the victim, a 22-year-old college student vacationing from Rhode Island to ring in the New Year. That punch resulted in his skull being cracked on the pavement. He spend three months in a coma. He nearly died. Now, he’s learning how to use the bathroom again. He can’t walk. He is totally reliant on others for basic tasks. His parents, of Morocco, have had to move to the U.S. while he undergoes exhaustive rehabilitation. His doctors say he will likely need medical care the rest of his life.

So for this, yes, there was a $5 million settlement agreement reached with the victim’s father (acting on his behalf) and the company that owns the now-defunct nightclub. This nightclub employed the bouncers, and it was alleged they were improperly trained. Continue reading ›

Jury Awards $4.8M to Victims of Road Rage Shooting

September 6, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Aggressive driving is a serious problem on U.S. roads. The American Safety Council reports 66 percent of all traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving and 37 percent of all aggressive driving incidents involve a firearm.

A jury in Georgia recently awarded $4.8 million to a family who endured a road rage attack in which a CEO fired a gun into their vehicle. Inside was a mother, father and three small children. The man later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and served six months in jail – something the traumatized family called “a slap on the wrist.” Continue reading ›

Porter v. Weiss – $1.75M Damage Award for Failure to Treat Fatal Heart Attack

September 4, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A jury has awarded $1.75 million to the widower of a nurse who suffered a massive heart attack that was not properly diagnosed by doctors at the hospital where she worked.

She was being treated for abdominal pain, but in fact, she was suffering from a very serious heart attack.

Plaintiffs attorneys in Porter v. Weiss say the case highlights a very serious medical issue for women, whose heart attack symptoms often manifest differently from those of men. Whereas most men suffer the more well-known pains in the chest and left arm, women may suffer from what seems to be a severe gastrointestinal problem. Continue reading ›

Bradley v. Ameristep, Inc. – Defective Product Lawsuit May Proceed

September 2, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Treestand ratchet straps are one of the leading causes of injury to hunters. A 2014 study published in the World Journal of Clinical Cases revealed tree stand falls were a persistent cause of neurological injury while hunting. The study period lasted eight years, and revealed this to be a significant problem in the hunting community.

Tree stands allow hunters to have better sight and increased protection. However, as the study noted, they can frequently result in injury when they aren’t properly used or when they aren’t properly instructed. The most common injury is head trauma and damage to the central nervous system.

In the recent case of Bradley v. Ameristep, Inc., plaintiff suffered serious injuries after falling off a tree stand. He later sued the manufacturer of the device, alleging strict product liability, negligent design and manufacture, failure to warn, loss of consortium and violations of state consumer protection laws. Continue reading ›

Uber Sued for Misrepresenting Driver Safety to Public

August 31, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Ride-sharing company Uber, which has usurped local taxi providers in larger cities, has an estimated 160,000 drivers in the U.S. The service promises its users that it conducts thorough background checks of these drivers so that patrons can be as safe as possible.

Now, in an amended complaint that is part of a civil lawsuit filed by two district attorneys offices in California, there is new evidence to refute such assertions by the company.

The lawsuits, filed by district attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles, say the background checks conducted by Uber in those two cities failed to uncover serious criminal records of 25 drivers, just in those two cities. Offenses of these drivers range from felony traffic convictions to sex offenses to murder. With this information, the lawsuit focuses primarily on reportedly misleading claims made to consumers, as opposed to any legal violation in Uber’s background check process. Continue reading ›

Hattiesburg Health & Rehab Center v. Brown – Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement

August 30, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Residential agreements are required by most – if not all – nursing home residents at the time of admission.

In some cases, these agreements simply lay out the financial obligation of resident seeking placement. However, an increasing number of homes are requiring residents and/or their representatives to sign arbitration agreements. These are essentially contracts that prohibit a resident from filing a lawsuit in court in the event of negligence or abuse resulting in harm to the resident. Instead, they are required to submit any claim to binding arbitration.

What many people don’t understand is that this is a forfeiture of a constitutional right. Although arbitration can yield favorable results to plaintiffs, a court of law is typically the best forum to weigh these complex cases. Plaintiffs tend to have a higher success rate in court and damages awarded are often significantly more substantial. Continue reading ›

Teenage Truckers Would be Allowed Under New Bill

August 29, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

If you are a 17-year-old driver in Florida, you are restricted via the state’s Graduated Drivers Licensing law to operation of that vehicle between the hours of 5 a.m. and 1 a.m., and at all other times must be accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21-years-old in the passenger seat or be traveling to and from work.

Novice drivers aren’t eligible for a full license before they reach 18. But now, if a bill moving its way through the U.S. Senate is successful, newly-licensed 18-year-olds will be considered qualified for a job on a big rig.

Federal law currently prohibits drivers under 21 from operating semi-trucks and tractor-trailers across state borders. Some states do allow 18-year-olds to operate these vehicles, but they can’t haul from state-to-state, which doesn’t make them good candidates for most long-haul trucking positions. Continue reading ›