Articles Posted in personal injuries

In 2011, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature targeted some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens by enacting legislation that curtailed the legal rights of Medicaid recipients. Specifically, it imposed a cap on the amount of noneconomic damages—such as pain and suffering—that Medicaid recipients may recover in medical negligence cases. The pertinent provisions of that legislation, codified…

Our firm has handled its share of catastrophic injury cases in both the workers’ compensation system and the civil law system (i.e., personal injury cases). Because the needs of those injured—both now and in the future—are critically important, we must address their immediate needs while also planning for the long term. While the underlying considerations…

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage – governed by section 627.727, Florida Statutes – is first-party insurance designed to compensate insureds for both economic damages (such as medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering) resulting from motor vehicle accidents caused by uninsured or underinsured drivers. Although every automobile insurer authorized to…

For those of us in Florida familiar with the constraints of the state’s sovereign immunity law, Florida Statute 768.28, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680, comes as a pleasant surprise. Under the state law, judgment damages against the state—or any of its agencies or subdivisions — are capped at $200,000 per…

Personal injury and workers’ compensation cases differ significantly in the remedies they offer and the parties they involve. It is not uncommon for an individual injured in the course of employment to also have a viable personal injury claim. Workers’ compensation cases are brought against the employer and its insurance carrier, whereas personal injury actions…

The competition to advance money to individuals injured in accidents is intense, driven by the prospect of a high return on investment. Numerous companies, including large national players, engage in this market, offering what is known as “non-recourse funding advances.” Because the only collateral is the injury claim itself—whether a workers’ compensation or personal injury…

In every negligence action for personal injury or wrongful death, the plaintiff must establish three core elements: (1) a duty owed by the defendant; (2) a breach of that duty; and (3) that the breach proximately caused the claimed damages. While duty and breach often dominate attention, proximate cause is the element that connects wrongdoing…

In Florida, owners and occupiers of property owe a duty to invitees—such as shoppers at a mall or residents of a condominium—to warn of latent or concealed dangers that they knew about or should have known about. Krol v. City of Orlando, 778 So. 2d 492 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). However, not all hazardous conditions…

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 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…