Fort Myers injury lawyer

Small v. Sayre – Making Your Injury Lawsuit Appealable

December 16, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The goal of any civil injury litigation attorney is to either resolve the matter favorably for a client in a pre-trial settlement or to secure a winning verdict at trial. Unfortunately, law, as in life, is not always so clean-cut, and some cases prove more challenging than others. At Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, we believe in our cases and our clients and we will fight tirelessly to obtain fair compensation for their injuries.

However, we also recognize that in some situations, appealing part or all of a verdict may be in a client’s best interest. For this reason, it is imperative to make your injury lawsuit appealable. The legal war isn’t necessarily over when you receive an unfavorable trial court judgment. In some cases, you can appeal that finding. Doing so could result in a reversal, an order for a new trial or an order for increased damages. In order to get to that point, your case needs to be appealable.

What does this mean? In general, it includes:

Keeping the record clean by immediately correcting any misstatement by the court or the opposing counsel;
Taking remedial measures to clean up prejudicial evidence and preserve the evidence if it remains (i.e., filing a motion for mistrial if prejudicial evidence gets before a jury);
Preserve objections to the court’s imperfect jury instructions;
Preserve appellate arguments post-trial with careful post-trial motions (i.e., motions for judgment notwithstanding verdict, motions to modify/ correct/ reform judgment, motions for a new trial, etc.)

Elderly Couple Die in Fort Myers Crash on Way to Church

November 26, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

An elderly south Fort Myers couple died in a car accident as they pulled onto Summerlin Road from their RV resort community, on their way to church. The driver of the vehicle that struck them was also injured. Investigators have concluded the 89-year-old decedent driver was at-fault in the collision.

According to The News-Press, the crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. when the driver of a 2012 Toyota tried to make a left turn onto Summerlin Road from M-Street, the primary entrance/exit to Siesta Bay RV Resort. He apparently misjudged the time he had to safely clear oncoming traffic and pulled into the path of a driver operating a 2007 Infiniti. Both occupants of the Toyota, the driver and his 87-year-old wife of 60 years, were rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead right away. he died shortly thereafter. The Infiniti driver also had injuries, though is expected to make a recovery.

The collision is still under investigation, but authorities have said that speed and alcohol are not suspected to have been factors. Decedent driver’s brother called the crash a bad mistake. He said his brother didn’t see the other vehicle as it approached. Reporters with Wink News spoke to several residents at the resort, who say they have expressed concerns that the intersection of Summerlin and M Street isn’t safe. There is no traffic light that gives those exiting the neighborhood an opportunity to safely enter traffic, which zooms by at 45 mph (or more, depending on whether motorists are obeying the speed limit). Continue reading ›

Anderson v. Hilton Hotels Corp. – Attorney Fees in Florida Premises Liability Lawsuit

November 22, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Attorneys’ fees are often a concern of personal injury plaintiffs, or anyone needing professional legal help. But when it comes to personal injury or wrongful death cases, almost always there is a contingency fee arrangement, which means the client pays nothing upfront and the attorney is ultimately reimbursed a percentage of the damages awarded in a settlement or trial verdict. If the case is lost, the attorney isn’t paid.

There are some circumstances, however, in which attorneys’ fees might be paid by the opposing side. Per F.S. 768.79, plaintiffs who extend a settlement offer that is not accepted within 30 days may recover attorney’s fees if they prevail in trial and are awarded damages in excess of 25 percent of that settlement offer.

Plaintiff in Anderson v. Hilton Hotels Corp. was seriously injured when he was attacked by a gunman in a hotel parking lot. He later filed a lawsuit against the the hotel and three other defendants – including the management company, the investment firm and the security contractor – for premises liability/ negligent security for failing to keep the property safe for guests. The question in his case was whether settlement offers made to the separate entities should be aggregated before being compared to the final damages awarded. The Florida Supreme Court answered: No. Continue reading ›

Liability for Haunted House Injuries in Florida

October 31, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A haunted house injury lawsuit was recently settled for $125,000 after a California woman reportedly suffered serious injuries when a moving wall knocked her down onto a poorly-lit floor in an unlit location on site. Among her injuries: Severe fractures to one of her legs and soft tissue injuries to her back and spine.

The Oakland Press reported the woman filed her lawsuit last year, which was one year after the injury in October 2014. Plaintiff alleged operation of the haunted house rendered it both unsafe and defective. This in turn resulted in a substantial number of injuries to patrons. The alleged negligence of the site owner/ operator reportedly involved:

Employees moving walls;
Inadequate lighting on the floor;
Fall hazards.

Of course, patrons who enter haunted houses do inherently accept some risk. But the question becomes what level of risk was inherent and what responsibility did the owners/operators have to patrons? As paying customers on site, patrons are owed the highest duty of care by the owner/ operator. That means the site has to be reasonably safe and patrons have to be adequately warned if there are any conditions that aren’t safe. Continue reading ›

Target Shopper Stuck by Needle in Parking Lot Wins $4.6M

September 28, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Jurors recently awarded $4.6 million in damages to a woman who suffered personal injury after she was stuck by a needle in a Target shopping center parking lot.

Initially, the woman’s attorney offered to settle with the retail giant for $12,000. That offer was flatly rejected, so the South Carolina litigator took the case to trial – with great success. Although it’s probably the retail chain will appeal, if the award stands, it will be one of the largest personal injury verdicts in that region, according to the local clerk of courts.

According to USA Today, the incident happened in a store parking lot in May 2014. Plaintiff said she had just gotten out of her vehicle when she looked up to see her 8-year-old daughter picking up a hypodermic needle. Swiftly reacting, plaintiff swatted the needle away from her daughter. As she did so, the needle struck the palm of her right hand. Continue reading ›

Virtual Reality of Pokemon Go App Creates Real-World Liability Questions

July 15, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

To anyone looking on, it may have seemed like some kind of odd drug epidemic had swept South Florida. Dozens or even hundreds of people, wandering seemingly aimlessly around local parks, public libraries and college campuses.

Cape Coral Police Officer Ray Schilke first got wind of the phenomenon when he got a call of a suspicious person. The man was driving slowly through the park. “He looks like he’s watching people,” the caller told dispatch.

“That’s when things got a little bit hairy,” Schilke said in a now popular video. “He was playing Pokemon Go, and he was like 25-years-old.” Continue reading ›

New Safe Rental Car Act Now In Effect, Prohibits Use of Recalled Vehicles

July 4, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

It seems such a common-sense measure for rental car companies: Don’t rent out vehicles that have been recalled until they’ve been repaired.

But until June 1, 2016, there was no law stopped from them from doing so. Many rental car companies routinely rented to customers vehicles they knew were unsafe. Very few faced any consequences for it.

Then in 2004, two sisters, ages 20 and 24, picked up a rental car they assumed was safe. Little did they know, it had actually been recalled for leaking steering fluid. They were the fourth customers to rent the vehicle after the recall was announced. As they were driving, the steering fluid began to leak. The sister who was driving lost control of the car and slammed into a semi-truck before the car burst into flames, killing them both. Since then, their mother has been fighting to hold the rental car company accountable and to enact legislation that would ensure this never happened again. Continue reading ›

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 ›

Bill: End Mandatory Arbitration Blocking Court Access

May 23, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Mandatory arbitration agreements have become so commonplace, it’s often almost a given that people will enter them any time they:

Purchase a product;
Renting a car;
Seek admission into a nursing home;
Enter a facility/ venue.

These agreements serve to block access to a dispute resolution through the civil court system, instead requiring anyone with a problem to seek redress through a skewed arbitration system in which arbitrators view corporations as their “clients.” Continue reading ›

Limousine Service Sued for Crash Injury

May 13, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Prom and graduation season is upon us, which means many high school students will be donning tuxedos and gowns and heading out for a final bash.

Parents concerned about the possibility of drunk driving may splurge on a limousine service for their kids, just to be certain teens won’t be tempted to drive while impaired. But limousine services can sometimes be negligent too. When a limousine accident results in injury, our experienced auto accident lawyers can help.

In a recent case out of Illinois, a limousine service carrier is the target of at least one lawsuit and a federal regulator shut-down following a fatal crash in March. Continue reading ›