Articles Posted in Miscellaneous

On December 31, 2014, an article published in the Business Section of the Miami Herald, illustrated with chilling clarity the dangers posed by so-called tort reform. In a nutshell, “tort reform” is the movement supported by right-wing interest groups to block and limit recoveries in personal injury cases. The propaganda disseminated to support these efforts…

Undermining a witness’ credibility can make the difference between winning or losing a case. A popular method of impeachment is by demonstrating differences in present and former testimony. This method is illustrated in this blog — Florida Personal Injury Law — No Substitute for Solid Pretrial Discovery The right to impeachment is not unlimited. Generally,…

Corporate America has campaigned for more than thirty years to brainwash average people into believing that America’s civil justice system is a bad thing. Sadly, the campaign has worked, fostering views contrary to one of the most fundamental principle on which America was founded: that the courts are to be a neutral forum in which…

Florida entities seek advance protection from their own negligence in two ways: exculpatory clauses and indemnity agreements. An exculpatory clause purports to deny an injured party the right to recover damages from a person negligently causing his injury. Kitchens of the Oceans, Inc. v. McGladrey & Pullen LLP, 832 So.2d 270 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002).…

Our client was a passenger in a Dodge Dakota truck owned and leased by Enterprise Leasing Company, when it overturned two to three times on the highway at high speed. The driver, who had rented the truck from Enterprise, had fallen asleep at the wheel. Our severely injured client was airlifted to Shands Hospital, in…

For two weeks in November of 2013, I had the privilege of participating in a uniquely American experience. I participated in a civil jury trial in Orlando, Florida (in the Orange County Courthouse, the same courthouse in which Casey Anthony was on trial for first degree murder in the death of her daughter). I was…

For those around the country who don’t know, Florida has just lost it’s 3rd or 4th commissioner of education in less than 3 years under Governor Rick Scott. The latest to resign held the same position in Indiana and was recruited by Scott for his right-wing bona fides, in particular, believing in the notion that…

In our experience of representing individuals with practically every type of injury, we have learned that few injuries are more common — second to back pain — painful, and debilitating than rotator cuff tears. The rotator cuff is made up of 4 tendons that cover the top of the humerus. A rotator cuff injury involves…

In every serious personal injury case in Florida, the issue of who will pay the medical providers and how much always arises. Needless to say, providers want to recover as much as they can. Patients, of course, want to pay as little as possible out-of-pocket. How this plays out often depends on who pays the…

Our previous blog addressed the procedure for satisfying Medicaid’s lien from money received in Florida personal injury cases from liable third parties.The present blog will focus on satisfying Medicare’s lien from third party proceeds. The leading case on the issue is Hadden v. United States, 661 F.3d 298 (6th Cir. 2011). Medicare and Medicaid are…