Articles Posted in Personal Injury

Insurance companies operating in Florida are under a legal duty to adjust claims in good faith to prevent their insureds from being subject to excess judgments (a court judgment in excess of a policy’s liability limit). A carrier that fails to act in good faith may be forced to satisfy an excess judgment as punishment…

The Medicare Secondary Payer Act of 1980 (“MSP”) — Link to the MSP Manual — was enacted to limit the financial burden on taxpayers for the medical expenses of Medicare beneficiaries whose medical needs are the primary responsibility of some other source. Until 2010, the MSP’s main focus was on workers’ compensation cases. (Florida’s workers’…

Medicaid will sometimes pay the medical expenses incurred by a person injured in an accident, albeit at rates substantially below the medical provider’s usual and customary charges. When Medicaid does pay, beneficiaries must reimburse Medicaid from third party payments for medical care. See section 409.910(11)(f), Florida Statutes (2013). The goal of the statute is to…

Florida employees injured at work may be able to bring a valid claim for damages against a third party. For purposes of this blog, a third party means an entity, including an individual, other than the employer or other entity entitled to workers’ compensation immunity. A third party case may exist if the work related…

Few personal injury lawyers have degrees in tax law or accounting. While having advanced knowledge of tax law is not a requisite to the proper handling of a personal injury case, having a basic understanding of potential tax consequences is. To perform up to par, the personal injury lawyer must know which elements of a…

Pre-Jeb Bush, Florida construction subcontractors were held liable in tort for damages caused by their negligence when the party harmed was an employee of a subcontractor with whom legal vertical privity was not shared. This powerful threat caused subcontractors to pay heightened attention to workplace safety. When subcontractors fell short of being reasonably safe and…

Most Florida employees injured at work will be limited to receiving compensation through the state’s workers’ compensation system as laid out in Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes. The main reason for this limitation is that employers and fellow-employees are immune from being sued for simple negligence. See F.S. 440.11. ‘”[S]imple negligence is that course…

Every case is different. From accident to injuries, no two cases are ever exactly alike. That said, certain common elements do run through every case. From time to time I will be posting about some of the cases our firm has resolved. The common elements should become apparent in these blogs. This first example involves…

A few months ago our law firm, working with the Domnick & Shevin, PL law firm, settled a difficult liability case against an insurance agency arising out of a catastrophic motorcycle crash. Our client had been hospitalized for two months. Medicaid paid his substantial hospital bill. After the case settled, Medicaid came to us demanding…

Experienced personal injury attorneys consider many factors in judging how to manage their cases. While common elements are present from case to case, no two cases are ever completely alike. Both subjective and objective considerations must be taken into account to reach decisions most beneficial to client and attorney alike. The decisions are always consequential.…