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We pride ourselves on having a dedicated team in handling personal injury,
wrongful death and products liability matters. We have successfully handled many
hundreds of cases involving automobile collisions, product defects, falls,
medical malpractice, nursing home abuse issues, shipboard claims as well as
claims involving motorcycles and other vehicles as well as marine vessels.
Our goal is to actively manage each case and keep each client informed of their
case status in essentially a family atmosphere. Our clients can expect to be
informed of the ramifications at each stage of the litigation process. We do not
operate a large practice (in terms of case volume) primarily so that we are able
to provide the time and attention necessary to handle each case as the important
matter that it is to each of our clients.
We always strive to bring each matter to the best resolution in the client's
interest, in the most cost effective manner, to maximize our client's recovery.
Accordingly, pre-suit resolution of each case, keeping in mind other factors, is
generally foremost in our consideration. Sometimes, however, the best
resolution, in our view, and that of the client, cannot be achieved pre-suit,
particularly against certain insurers and corporate defendants that can take
unyielding, and sometimes only thinly justified positions. In such instances,
where the injuries and other damages including lost wages and future wage loss
so justify, we are prepared to file suit, pursue litigation in an aggressive
manner, and pursue your case through trial. Of course, prior to trial ,there is
generally the opportunity to mediate each case before a neutral mediator, which
affords an additional opportunity to bring the case to a cost effective
settlement. By that time we may have already "geared up" to take the case to
trial, and that may be significant in the evaluation of a reasonable settlement.
Of course, each case belongs to the client, and ultimately, with our advice, the
client will be able to make a sound decision whether to resolve a case or
proceed to trial on the merits.
Each case has two elements: liability and damages. The merits of a case is
determined on the strength of each element. We look forward to the opportunity
to work with you to evaluate the merits of your case.
Our firm represents individuals involved in controversies alleging a wrong or
damage to another's person, rights, reputation, or property resulting from
events or activities such as automobile accidents, defective products,
infliction of emotional distress, intentional misconduct, and negligence.
Automobile Accidents
A person who carelessly operates a vehicle may be required to pay any damages
caused by that carelessness, either to other persons or to their property.
Generally, people who operate automobiles must exercise "reasonable care under
the circumstances." Failure to use reasonable care is the basis in most lawsuits
for damages caused by an automobile accident. A lawsuit may be brought against:
a driver by another driver who was injured in an accident
a pedestrian on the sidewalk
or
a passenger in the automobile
A driver may also be liable for an accident caused by intentional conduct or
reckless conduct. A driver who is reckless is one who drives unsafely, with
willful and wanton disregard for the probability that the driving may cause an
accident.
Automobile accidents often are caused by factors in addition to the carelessness
or recklessness of drivers.
If an automobile accident is caused by a defect in the automobile, the
automobile manufacturer or supplier may be responsible for the injuries caused
under the law of product liability. The person who improperly repaired the
automobile, resulting in an injury, may also be liable.
If an accident is caused by an intoxicated driver, a bar or social host may be
liable for serving an obviously intoxicated guest, who then drives and has an
accident causing injuries..
Filing an Accident Report
State laws require a person driving an automobile involved in an accident to
file an accident report if there is personal injury, a death, or a specified
amount of property damage. The number of days within which a report must be
filed and the amount of property damage triggering the requirement varies
greatly; from a requirement to file a report "immediately" to a 30-day
requirement, from as little as $200 of damage to as much as $1,000. Some states
also have laws requiring a person operating a vehicle involved in an accident to
remain at the scene of the accident and to report it to the authorities.
Automobile Insurance Laws
Most states have automobile insurance laws requiring the owner of a vehicle to
have a certain amount of insurance on the vehicle. The purpose of these laws is
to protect the interests of other drivers, who may be in an accident caused by
the person required to have the insurance. The required insurance helps to
assure that the injured person will receive compensation for any injuries caused
by the driver of the insured vehicle. In these states, drivers are usually
required to have an "insurance card", evidence of the required insurance, in
their possession when driving the car. Many states also require drivers to pay
for "uninsured motorist coverage," permitting a person injured by an uninsured
motorist to collect damages from their own insurance.
About one-third of the states have required automobile "No Fault" insurance
laws. Under these laws, insurance companies issue a policy to a driver, and that
policy pays for personal injury damages to the insured driver, the driver's
passengers, and any pedestrians injured by the insured driver regardless of who
caused the accident. The purpose of these laws is to compensate people for
injuries from automobile accidents without the need for a lawsuit.
Slip and Fall
"Slip and fall" is a term for personal injuries that are caused when a person
slips and falls on a floor, sidewalk, stair, or other surface. As a broad
general rule, if you are the owner of a house, a building, a parking lot, or
other premises, you are responsible for injuries resulting from a slip and fall
on the premises. An occupier of the premises, such as a tenant in an apartment
building or a storeowner who leases a store, may also be liable for injuries if
the occupier has control over the premises in which the injury occurred.
A "slip and fall" accident may be caused by:
an uneven floor
an unseen danger such as a hole covered up by a rug
poor lighting
a slippery floor surface
The specific circumstances surrounding a "slip and fall" accident are important
in determining who may be legally responsible for any injuries. For example, if
you are an invited guest on a property, the owner or the occupier who invites
you has the responsibility (a duty of care) to keep the premises safe, and to
warn you if there are any dangerous conditions that might cause you harm.
However, if you on a person's premises for a business purpose, the owner or
occupier may owe you a higher duty of care.
The situation is somewhat different if you are not invited onto someone else's
property and you are a trespasser. The "standard of care" that a property owner
owes to a trespasser is usually less than the standard of care that is owed to a
person who has permission to be on the property. There is a significant
exception to this lower standard of care in the case of children. The law
recognizes that children may not recognize potential danger in the same way that
adults do, and requires adults to take greater care to protect against harm to
children. For example, if you know that children play in your back yard, even
without your permission, you have a duty to take precautions preventing injury
to them from any condition that you may have created. This is especially true if
the condition that you have created is attractive to children. If a child is
injured by an attractive nuisance on your property, such as a swimming pool, you
may be liable for their injuries.
Specific laws governing the liability of employers often cover a "slip and fall"
accident occurring at a person's workplace. These laws include the federal
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and state workplace safety laws, which
impose a duty on employers to keep workplaces safe. Additionally, state workers
compensation laws usually govern lawsuits brought by employees against
employers. Under these "workers comp" laws, employers are held strictly liable
for injuries suffered by employees. In return for this strict liability, the
workers compensation statute limits the amount of damages that an employee can
recover..
Sometimes the government is responsible for keeping premises safe. For example,
the city is responsible for maintaining a public parking lot it owns. If you
slip on broken pavement in the city's parking lot, the city government may be
liable for your injuries. However, there are strict rules usually applying to
lawsuits brought against federal, state, and local governments.
"Slip and fall" lawsuits against the federal government are usually covered by
the Federal Tort Claims Act.
"Slip and fall" lawsuits against state and local governments are covered by
similar state "tort claims acts."
Often these statutes require lawsuits to be brought within a very short period
of time, and only after a written notice of the injury has been given to the
government.
Construction Accidents
Construction accidents occurring when a building construction project is under
way may involve injury to workers or to bystanders.
If an injury occurs to a bystander, the general law of personal injury applies,
and the person or persons who are at fault may be held responsible in a lawsuit
for the damages caused.
If a construction accident injures a worker, the law of employee injuries
applies between the worker and the worker's employer.
For example, if an injured worker is covered by their state's workers
compensation law, the worker must seek compensation under that law for injuries
that are caused by the fault of that worker's employer.
However, the harm caused to an injured employee of one employer may have been
caused by another employer at the same work site, or by another participant in
the construction process such as an architect or engineer. In such cases, the
injured employee may be able to sue the other parties responsible for the
injuries, without being limited by the workers compensation statute.
Whether a particular participant in the construction process may be liable for
harm done to an injured worker depends upon the duty owed by that participant to
the injured worker. To a large extent, the nature of those duties is determined
by the contracts among the various parties. For example, an architect is usually
not responsible for workplace safety, so the employee of a subcontractor cannot
hold the architect responsible for injuries resulting from an unsafe job site.
However, if the architect has agreed to be responsible for workplace safety, the
architect may be liable.
Even if a construction project participant is not liable to workers, either
because they are not employees or because there is no contractual duty to them,
liability may arise if the participant knows of an actual dangerous condition
and fails to give proper warning of the danger. Special rules usually apply as
well to especially dangerous activities involved in a construction project, such
as working with explosives or dangerous volatile substances.
The firm has handled numerous wrongful death cases in the areas of automotive
products liability, crashworthiness, and tire failure, among others. The
firm alsohandles products liability cases involving various consumer products
and pharmaceuticals.
Additional Information:
This is the year 2000 version of the Florida Wrongful Death statute. It is
offered for general information purposes, and should not be relied on without
reviewing your legal situation with a lawyer, and making sure you are using the
appropriate version of the relevant statute for your case. Other statutes may
also apply to your situation in Florida. Other states have different laws in
this area.
This statute specifies who the beneficiaries are, the manner of recovery and on
behalf of which beneficiaries recovery may be obtained.
This Statute applies To Florida Only
768.16 Wrongful Death Act. ---
Sections 768.16-768.27 may be cited as the "Florida Wrongful Death Act."
History: s. 1, ch. 72-35.
768.17 Legislative intent.-- It is the public policy of the state to shift the
losses resulting when wrongful death occurs from the survivors of the decedent
to the wrongdoer. Sections 768.16-768.27 are remedial and shall be liberally
construed.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35.
768.18 Definitions.-- As used in ss. 768.16-768.27:
"Survivors" means the decedent's spouse, children, parents, and, when partly or
wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services, any blood relatives
and adoptive brothers and sisters. It includes the child born out of wedlock of
a mother, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father unless the father
has recognized a responsibility for the child's support.
"Minor children" means children under 25 years of age, notwithstanding the age
of majority.
"Support" includes contributions in kind as well as money.
"Services" means tasks, usually of a household nature, regularly performed by
the decedent that will be a necessary expense to the survivors of the decedent.
These services may vary according to the identity of the decedent and survivor
and shall be determined under the particular facts of each case.
"Net accumulations" means the part of the decedent's expected net business or
salary income, including pension benefits, that the decedent probably would have
retained as savings and left as part of her or his estate if the decedent had
lived her or his normal life expectancy. "Net business or salary income" is the
part of the decedent's probable gross income after taxes, excluding income from
investments continuing beyond death, that remains after deducting the decedent's
personal expenses and support of survivors, excluding contributions in kind.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35; s. 66, ch. 77-121; s. 40, ch. 77-468; s. 1, ch.
81-183; s. 3, ch. 89-61; s. 1, ch. 90-14; s. 1167, ch. 97-102.
768.19 Right of action.-- When the death of a person is caused by the wrongful
act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person,
including those occurring on navigable waters, and the event would have entitled
the person injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not
ensued, the person or watercraft that would have been liable in damages if death
had not ensued shall be liable for damages as specified in this act
notwithstanding the death of the person injured, although death was caused under
circumstances constituting a felony.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35.
768.20 Parties.-- The action shall be brought by the decedent's personal
representative, who shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors
and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting
in death. When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for
the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of
death shall abate. The wrongdoer's personal representative shall be the
defendant if the wrongdoer dies before or pending the action. A defense that
would bar or reduce a survivor's recovery if she or he were the plaintiff may be
asserted against the survivor, but shall not affect the recovery of any other
survivor.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35; s. 1168, ch. 97-102.
768.21 Damages.-- All potential beneficiaries of a recovery for wrongful death,
including the decedent's estate, shall be identified in the complaint, and their
relationships to the decedent shall be alleged. Damages may be awarded as
follows:
Each survivor may recover the value of lost support and services from the date
of the decedent's injury to her or his death, with interest, and future loss of
support and services from the date of death and reduced to present value. In
evaluating loss of support and services, the survivor's relationship to the
decedent, the amount of the decedent's probable net income available for
distribution to the particular survivor, and the replacement value of the
decedent's services to the survivor may be considered. In computing the duration
of future losses, the joint life expectancies of the survivor and the decedent
and the period of minority, in the case of healthy minor children, may be
considered.
The surviving spouse may also recover for loss of the decedent's companionship
and protection and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury.
Minor children of the decedent, and all children of the decedent if there is no
surviving spouse, may also recover for lost parental companionship, instruction,
and guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury.
Each parent of a deceased minor child may also recover for mental pain and
suffering from the date of injury. Each parent of an adult child may also
recover for mental pain and suffering if there are no other survivors.
Medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent's injury or death may be
recovered by a survivor who has paid them.
The decedent's personal representative may recover for the decedent's estate the
following:
Loss of earnings of the deceased from the date of injury to the date of death,
less lost support of survivors excluding contributions in kind, with interest.
Loss of the prospective net accumulations of an estate, which might reasonably
have been expected but for the wrongful death, reduced to present money value,
may also be recovered:
If the decedent's survivors include a surviving spouse or lineal descendants;
or
If the decedent is not a minor child as defined in s. 768.18(2), there are no
lost support and services recoverable under subsection (1), and there is a
surviving parent.
Medical or funeral expenses due to the decedent's injury or death that have
become a charge against her or his estate or that were paid by or on behalf of
decedent, excluding amounts recoverable under subsection (5).
Evidence of remarriage of the decedent's spouse is admissible.
All awards for the decedent's estate are subject to the claims of creditors who
have complied with the requirements of probate law concerning claims.
The damages specified in subsection (3) shall not be recoverable by adult
children and the damages specified in subsection (4) shall not be recoverable by
parents of an adult child with respect to claims for medical malpractice as
defined by s. 766.106(1).
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35; s. 2, ch. 81-183; s. 1, ch. 85-260; s. 2, ch. 90-14;
s. 1169, ch. 97-102.
768.22 Form of verdict.-- The amounts awarded to each survivor and to the estate
shall be stated separately in the verdict.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35.
768.23 Protection of minors and incompetents.-- The court shall provide
protection for any amount awarded for the benefit of a minor child or an
incompetent pursuant to the Florida Guardianship Law.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35.
768.24 Death of a survivor before judgment.-- A survivor's death before final
judgment shall limit the survivor's recovery to lost support and services to the
date of his or her death. The personal representative shall pay the amount
recovered to the personal representative of the deceased survivor.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35; s. 1170, ch. 97-102.
768.25 Court approval of settlements.-- While an action under this act is
pending, no settlement as to amount or apportionment among the beneficiaries
which is objected to by any survivor or which affects a survivor who is a minor
or an incompetent shall be effective unless approved by the court.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35.
768.26 Litigation expenses.-- Attorneys' fees and other expenses of litigation
shall be paid by the personal representative and deducted from the awards to the
survivors and the estate in proportion to the amounts awarded to them, but
expenses incurred for the benefit of a particular survivor or the estate shall
be paid from their awards.
History.--s. 1, ch. 72-35.
Please also refer to our overviews of Medical Malpractice, Professional
Liability and Nursing Home Abuse law areas.
An employee who is injured on the job may bring a claim for lost wages or
medical treatment expenses against his or her employer and its workers'
compensation insurer. Many attorneys throughout the country specialize in
workers' compensation law. Common issues which attorneys confront include
defenses, fraud, workers' compensation subrogation and the appeals process. In
addition, questions sometimes arise regarding treatment of particular employees
such as federal employees, and state and municipal employees. An attorney who is
familiar with the workers' compensation system can be invaluable to either an
employee or employer/insurer in resolving these issues.
A combination of federal and state laws protect workers from injuries suffered
on the job. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requires
employers to comply with specific health and safety standards promulgated by the
federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as a general duty
to maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards to workers. Workers can
file complaints with OSHA and are protected from retaliation by their employers
if they do file charges or assist in the investigation by the government, but
workers cannot themselves bring court actions to enforce the OSHA law.
Worker Compensation Benefits
Workers injured on the job are entitled to Worker Compensation benefits, which
are available in somewhat variable schemes in all the states. All Worker
Compensation laws provide that workers will be compensated for injuries that
arise out of their employment. While there can be difficult questions whether a
particular injury, disease, or condition was caused by their jobs, the fault of
the employer or the employee in causing that injury is irrelevant. Benefits
typically reimburse the victim for medical costs and, up to some cap, much of
the wages lost due to temporary disability. Generally, there is a schedule of
benefits for permanent disabilities to compensate for the physical impairment or
loss of potential earning capacity.
Typically, an administrative agency, not the courts, decides whether a worker's
claim for benefits ought to be granted. There usually is review in the courts of
the decisions the Workers Compensation agency makes.
Construction Accidents
Construction accidents occurring when a building construction project is under
way may involve injury to workers or to bystanders.
If an injury occurs to a bystander, the general law of personal injury applies,
and the person or persons who are at fault may be held responsible in a lawsuit
for the damages caused.
If a construction accident injures a worker, the law of employee injuries
applies between the worker and the worker's employer.
For example, if an injured worker is covered by their state's workers
compensation law, the worker must seek compensation under that law for injuries
that are caused by the fault of that worker's employer.
However, the harm caused to an injured employee of one employer may have been
caused by another employer at the same work site, or by another participant in
the construction process such as an architect or engineer. In such cases, the
injured employee may be able to sue the other parties responsible for the
injuries, without being limited by the workers compensation statute.
Whether a particular participant in the construction process may be liable for
harm done to an injured worker depends upon the duty owed by that participant to
the injured worker. To a large extent, the nature of those duties is determined
by the contracts among the various parties. For example, an architect is usually
not responsible for workplace safety, so the employee of a subcontractor cannot
hold the architect responsible for injuries resulting from an unsafe job site.
However, if the architect has agreed to be responsible for workplace safety, the
architect may be liable.
Even if a construction project participant is not liable to workers, either
because they are not employees or because there is no contractual duty to them,
liability may arise if the participant knows of an actual dangerous condition
and fails to give proper warning of the danger. Special rules usually apply as
well to especially dangerous activities involved in a construction project, such
as working with explosives or dangerous volatile substances.
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