Florida Injury Attorney Blawg

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…

Every personal injury plaintiff must plead and prove that the defendant owed and breached a duty of care and that the breach proximately (i.e., foreseeably and substantially) contributed to the specific injury suffered. These are the prima facie elements of a personal injury case. Whether a duty exists is a matter of law for the…

Courts and lawyers have turned the following legal principle — whether a party has a duty of care depends on the ability to exercise control — on its head. These cases and countless others state the principle: Metsker v. Carefree/Scott Fetzer Co. 90 So.3d 973, 977 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (“In a premises liability case,…

I have blogged here ad nauseam about the continual conflict between insurance companies and their insureds over claims. While carriers insist upon receiving premium payments timely, their all too common approach to the claims process is delay and deny. Carriers have at their disposal a bag of tools designed to effectuate this delay/deny business model.…

Vicarious liability has been recognized in Florida since 1920. Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Anderson, 80 Fla. 441, 86 So. 629 (1920). As applied to motor vehicles, the legal concept allows the owner of a vehicle to be held liable without fault for damages caused by the negligent operation of the vehicle by a consensual…

Motor vehicle bodily injury (BI) insurance compensates for economic and non-economic damages caused by the insured at-fault driver and vehicle owner. The amount available under any particular policy is capped by the coverage limits chosen by the insured. BI coverage is not mandatory in Florida. The insured must pay a premium for the coverage on…

In a decision demonstrating strong support of confidentiality provisions, even at the expense of family dynamics, in Gulliver Schools, Inc. v. Snay, the Third District Court of Appeal punished a father (the Plaintiff) for informing his college-age daughter that a settlement was reached with the Defendant in an emotional case. When his employment contract was…

Florida Statute 624.155 provides a civil remedy for persons damaged by an insurer’s failure to settle claims in good faith. The remedy can include an award of damages in excess of the insured’s policy limits, attorney’s fees and litigation costs. This threat is the spur that motivates insurance companies to handle claims properly. (Side note:…

In McCall v. United States of America, the Florida Supreme Court declared that the statutory cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases was unconstitutional. (In reaching this conclusion, the court determined that the numbers Governor Jeb Bush and his cronies presented to the Florida Legislature to demonstrate a medical malpractice crisis were cooked. In…

This link contains an overview of permit and license standards in Florida for drivers between the ages of 15 and 17. Florida Statute §322.09(1)(a) requires an authorized adult (e.g., parent or guardian) to sign and verify the minor’s application. In turn, §322.09(2) makes the adult jointly and severally liable for any damages caused by the…