Florida Injury Attorney Blawg

Since 1990, Florida has maintained a statute that has come to be commonly referred to as the “Free Kill” law. The statute, section 768.21(8), is located in the damages portion of the Wrongful Death Act. The legislative intent of the Wrongful Death Act is set forth in section 768.17: It is the public policy of…

“Sine die,” the dropping of the handkerchief ceremony to signal the end of the legislative session in Florida, could not come soon enough this year for residents hoping for safer roads and highways. During the 2024 legislative session, which ran from January 9, 2024 to March 8, 2024, Republican legislators proposed a variety of bills…

Owners and occupiers of premises have a duty to warn invitees (e.g., shoppers in mall, residents of condominium) of latent or concealed perils of which they know or should know. Krol v. City of Orlando, 778 So. 2d 492 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). Conditions such as uneven floor levels and sidewalk curbs have been found…

Florida’s civil liability and workers’ compensation systems handle legal matters for people injured or who have died in accidents. The systems have some similarities and differences. The biggest differences are that the plaintiff must prove fault to recover under civil law, and recoveries for non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering) are not available in…

In Florida, Native American tribes operate popular business establishments. On occasion, patrons frequenting the establishments are hurt by dangerous conditions created through negligence. The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3; Article I, Section 8; The Fourteenth Amendment), treaties, and laws, authorize Native American tribes to govern themselves as sovereign nations within the United…

Republicans control all phases of lawmaking at the state level in Florida. This has been the case since the election of Jeb Bush as governor in 1998, complementing their majorities in the Florida House and Senate. Presently, they rule by supermajority in the Legislature, meaning they don’t have to negotiate with members of other parties…

For as long as our law firm has been handling Florida workers’ compensation cases, the amount injured workers’ attorneys may receive as a fee has always been a hot topic. The two main factors driving the conversation are the injured workers’ share of a recovery, typically through a settlement, and limiting litigation. While the Florida…

Florida motor vehicle insurance policies offer a variety of coverages. PIP and Property Damage — Liability are mandatory coverages. Others, like bodily injury and uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) are not. An uninsured vehicle is one that does not maintain bodily injury coverage or, like a hit-and-run phantom vehicle, cannot be identified. Interestingly, UM coverage may be…

Some injured workers are hurt so badly that they require attendant care. This benefit can take many forms, from active assistance with such things as eating and bathing, to what is called surveillance, or oversight. As written, Florida Statute 440.13(2)(b) seemingly places the full burden on the injured worker to provide the employer/carrier (E/C) with…

For the most part, Florida workers involved in industrial accidents have little control over which medical providers are authorized to treat them under the state’s workers’ compensation system. Control of the medical care is mostly held by the employers and their workers’ compensation insurance carriers (E/C). Section 440.13, Florida Statutes lays out the parameters regarding…