Articles Posted in personal injury

The State of Florida obligates employers to secure and provide workers’ compensation benefits to their employees, as mandated by section 440.10, Florida Statutes. Employers typically satisfy this obligation by maintaining an active workers’ compensation insurance policy that ensures coverage for compensable workplace injuries. Section 440.10(b) goes so far as to provide that where a “contractor…

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 law firm has written extensively about what has infamously become known as the “Free Kill” law.” More formally, the law is codified at section 768.21(8), Florida Statutes, a provision of Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, ss. 768.16-768.26. Florida’s Wrongful Death Act traces its origins to an English statute enacted in 1846 known as Lord Campbell’s Act. That landmark legislation…

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…

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…

Some legal wrongs give the aggrieved party more than one avenue of redress. A common example arises when an injured person must choose between pursuing a remedy under common law or seeking benefits under Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Law, Chapter 440, Florida Statutes. However, once a path is chosen and pursued past a certain threshold, the…

It is common for health and disability (lost wages) insurance carriers to pay benefits to their insureds who are injured due to someone else’s negligence. Many of these policies include reimbursement provisions allowing the insurer to recover payments from any personal injury settlement or judgment obtained by the insured. How Much Must Be Repaid? The…