In a Florida car accident lawsuit, the injured party or parties must show that the injury alleged was caused by the accident. To assist with this, a general rule exists in Florida that a plaintiff is entitled to recover at least the medical expenses incurred for any reasonably necessary diagnostic testing. However, exceptions do exist, which are explored in a recent state appellate decision, Finkel v. Batista (No. 3D15-2509). In ... [Read More]

If you are in an auto accident, and the at-fault driver does not have insurance or enough insurance to cover your damages, you, as a policyholder, can look to your own car insurance for coverage under your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM) provisions. UM policies can help relieve the burden of medical expenses and lost wages, but only if all of the coverage available to you is actually paid. If an insurance ... [Read More]

Maximizing damages in personal injury cases can be more than negotiating and litigating with the at-fault party. If there are unpaid or underpaid medical bills, hospitals and other medical service providers can seek reimbursement from the injured person. Insurers may also seek reimbursement from the policy-holder or from another insurer, depending on how much was paid, if there were multiple insurers obligated to pay, and what was agreed upon in ... [Read More]

As previously discussed, nursing homes occasionally use Arbitration Agreements, which funnel liability disputes to an arbitrator instead of the state or federal civil court system. Recently, several opinions have been issued from Florida District Courts of Appeal that have ruled on whether or not a nursing home resident is bound by the arbitration agreement when she or he did not sign the agreement prior to her or his stay at the facility. ... [Read More]

If a family member goes into a nursing home, a lot of paperwork must be completed. This can be overwhelming, and one may lose track of everything signed. Several nursing homes require the signature of an arbitration agreement before the resident is admitted. An arbitration agreement is a contract between two parties who agree to see an arbitrator, who is usually picked by the facility, to settle any disputes arising ... [Read More]

The Florida legislature enacted the Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, which provides Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits to those injured in a car accident. The benefits under Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1) allow motorists injured in a car accident to receive up to $10,000 in medical and disability benefits if the injured person suffered from bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death from owning, maintaining, or using a motor vehicle. To receive the ... [Read More]

The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled on an issue in conflict between two District Courts of Appeal in Chirillo v. Granicz (No. SC14-898). Both district courts weighed which legal duty should be applied in wrongful death cases when a patient commits suicide while under the care of a physician or psychotherapist. In Florida, the first stage of an appeal after a circuit court trial is one of five district court of appeals. If these ... [Read More]

In all Florida personal injury cases, the jury must decide whether to believe some or all of the version of events put forth by the plaintiff, or some or all of the version of events put forth by the defendant. Formally, they are tasked with determining any genuine issues of material fact. Case law places this task firmly in the hands of a jury. Judges, on the other hand, are ... [Read More]

In Florida personal injury and car accident cases, there are always four elements for an injured person or persons to prove:  1) a duty created by law directing the at-fault party to act in a certain way, 2) a breach of that duty, 3) an injury resulting from that breach, and 4) damages incurred from the injury. Often, appellate cases assess an error concerning one of the first three elements. ... [Read More]

In Okeechobee Aerie v. Wilde, Nos. 4D14-2770 and 4D14-2771, the court of appeals reviewed an appeal stemming from an $11 million verdict awarded to a motorcyclist injured by a drunk driver. The driver had recently left a social club bar that served him alcohol and contributed to his heavy inebriation. The driver’s blood alcohol content was .26 at the time of the accident, and the testimony of servers during the trial ... [Read More]