Florida Injury Attorney Blawg

Prior to 1990, Florida employers had a common law qualified privilege to discuss current and former employees with prospective employers. The leading case was Nadar v. Galbreath, 462 So.2d 803 (Fla. 1984). For an employee to overcome the privilege, and thus hold the employer liable for defamation or intentional interference with a business relationship, proof…

Seamen injured on board vessels may be entitled to a wide array of economic and non-economic compensation from their employers and ship owners depending on the circumstances of each case. NO-FAULT BENEFITS Regardless of why a particular accident happens, every injured seaman is entitled to Maintenance & Cure benefits from his employer. These benefits are…

Doctor selection under the Defense Base Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) is crucial. It can make the difference between fairness and injustice. Through 42 U.S.C. 1651(a), the LHWCA is the substantive law for the Defense Base Act. Under the LHWCA, employers/insurance companies are required to provide injured workers with medical…

Arbitration has become the procedural remedy of choice for the business community in almost every type of civil dispute, from employment matters to nursing home negligence. Arbitration involves the resolution of civil disputes by a panel of costly private arbitrators rather than by government-paid judges and citizen jurors. If for no other reason than that…

Much was published in 2011 by The Miami Herald in its multi-part exposé, Neglected to Death – see this blog, Nursing Home/Assisted-Living Facility Negligence – Shame on Governor Scott and Florida Legislature, for links to some of the articles – with regard to the horrible conditions existing in many of Florida’s nursing homes. One of…

Passengers and seamen seeking to be compensated by vessel owners for personal injuries must show that the accident was caused by a condition onboard which makes the vessel unseaworthy. (Employees may also seek compensation against their employers under the Jones Act.) Unseaworthiness is a modified negligence-based system, rather than one of strict liability, meaning that…

Insurance companies make money by paying out less in claims than they receive in premiums. As long as premium rates are fairly regulated, healthy competition exists within the industry to keep rates in check, and carriers operate in good faith with regard to the claim process, there is nothing wrong with carriers making respectable profits.…

Two legislative sessions have passed since State Senator Chris Smith, a Democrat, whose District 29 encompasses parts of Broward and Palm counties, voted with Republicans to eliminate reasonable fees from the state’s workers’ compensation system for claimants’ attorneys. The purpose of the bill was to keep injured workers from being able to fight for their…

Millions of passengers travel annually on cruise ships sailing from Florida ports. Thankfully, most of the voyages are uneventful in terms of negative events. However, some passengers do suffer serious personal injuries and even death through the fault of the cruise ship companies. General Maritime Law governs cases involving cruise ship passengers, Everett v. Carnival…

As the 2012 Florida legislative session is about to begin, Corporate Florida is rolling out its guns to prepare for its annual assault on the civil justice system. Although packaged as an effort to benefit consumers, make no mistake that the true goal is to maximize corporate profits at the expense of people. Profits over…