Personal Injury

P R A C T I C E A R E A S - P e r s o n a l I n j u r y

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.

Please also refer to our overviews of Medical Malpractice, Professional Liability and Nursing Home Abuse law areas.

OSHEROW, SHINER & ASSOCIATES, P.A., BOCA CORPORATE PLAZA, SUITE 650, 7900 GLADES ROAD, BOCA RATON, FLORIDA 33434
TELEPHONE: (561) 477-5054 FACSIMILE: (561) 477-3661 www.osherowlaw.com E-MAIL: mrosh@osherowlaw.com