Articles Posted in Personal Injury

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Anytime personal injury lawsuits are settled, there may be terms and conditions that must be read carefully. There are some situations wherein the language could prohibit any and all future claims against other potential defendants – and that may not be a scenario you want, depending on the circumstances. 

In a recent appellate case out of California, the language of an earlier settlement agreement became an issue in a subsequent personal injury lawsuit filed by a mechanic against a property owner. The question before the appellate court was whether plaintiff’s claim against these entities was barred because of a settlement with one defendant

Here’s what happened: In 2011, plaintiff, a mechanic, was hired by the auto sales company to figure out why a vehicle owned by the sales firm wouldn’t start. Unbeknownst to plaintiff, the towing company had recently towed the vehicle to the site and disconnected the transmission shift linkage when it did this. However, the towing company employee did not reconnect the shift linkage. Plaintiff said he put the vehicle in park and climbed underneath to troubleshoot. When he went to test the electrical connection to the starter, the vehicle ran over him and dragged him through the parking lot.

Plaintiff’s spine was crushed.  Continue reading →

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You were injured by someone else’s negligence. You hired an experienced injury lawyer. Defendant refused to settle so you took your case to trial. You won – and the jury has awarded you a sizable sum. Now you can put it all behind you – right? 

Not necessarily. In Florida civil lawsuits, the judge has the right to to order a remittitur. This is a ruling by a judge, usually based upon a motion from the defense to reduce or toss a jury verdict, that lowers the amount of damages awarded in a civil injury lawsuit. Typically, a remittitur is when the amount awarded is deemed “excessive” or unreasonable. If the motion for remittitur is granted, plaintiff has one of two options: Accept the reduced award or agree to undergo a new trial solely on the issue of damages.

In a recent case before Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals, one justice issued a dissenting opinion on the issue of remittitur, arguing, “Unless there is something that influences the jury outside the record, in my view, this verdict should stand.” He added, “The amount of damages in a civil case are well within the province of a jury, and a verdict is not excessive because it is above the amount the court considered a jury should have allowed.”  Continue reading →

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You may recall back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was an avalanche of litigation stemming from leaking breast implants. These silicone implants did not last as manufacturers promised they would, and there were also accusations that companies failed to warn consumers of the possible hazards caused by ruptured implants. These included pain and soreness, change in breast size or shape and may be connected to joint problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

All this led to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration banning manufacture of silicone breast implants for nearly 15 years. That ban was lifted in 2006, with the FDA agreeing to authorize just three companies to sell silicone implants in the U.S. Last year, the breast implant market generated about $635 million – and 8 out of 10 customers opted for silicone implants.

Now, one of those companies, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is the target of litigation that some are saying could be the “tip of the iceberg” for a new onslaught of personal injury claims. Continue reading →

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Cruises are a popular vacation option for those who want to relax, not worry too much about organizing the details. However, what many people don’t understand is that when they are on a cruise, they are in muddy legal territory in which they may have limited protections to pursue compensation if they suffer personal injury or loss of life.

Most cruise lines are shielded from certain claims of liability based on the waiver printed on the back of each passenger’s ticket. Boarding of the ship with that ticket is viewed as acceptance of the terms.

While cruise ship injury lawsuits can prove more challenging, these companies aren’t immune. There are a number of instances in which cruise lines can be held liable. A number of injury and wrongful death lawsuits recently filed in Florida are illustrative of the fact that it can still be worth it to pursue litigation. Continue reading →

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Jurors in Georgia awarded $5 million to a woman who suffered a paratransit van fall that caused her to lose her left arm and rendered her right arm useless. 

Deliberations lasted about 7 hours before finding the company that operated the non-emergency transport van was partially responsible for the 2012 accident that prompted the lawsuit, Smith v. Logisticare.

At the time of the incident, plaintiff was a left leg amputee and she was traveling in defendant’s van to get to a dialysis appointment. She reportedly was not properly secured into the van, and fell out of her wheelchair when the van hit a pot hole. Because she was not properly belted into position. Crush fractures suffered to her arms necessitated her left arm be removed and her right arm no longer functional.  Continue reading →

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Waivers of liability can be difficult to overcome in personal injury cases. Often, proof of simple, ordinary negligence will not be enough. Instead, what must be shown is proof of gross negligence.

Gross negligence occurs when there is some kind of blatant violation of or clear indifference to a legal duty toward the rights and protection of others. It’s a kind of flagrant and conscious disregard for the use of reasonable care. It doesn’t mean showing the accident/ injury was intentional, but rather showing an extreme lack of care that is likely to cause foreseeable, serious harm to someone else. In some cases, an assertion of gross negligence will support a recovery of punitive damages too, though there usually needs to be evidence of willful, wanton misconduct.

In the case of Anderson v. Fitness International LLC, the question was whether plaintiff had sufficiently proven gross negligence to overcome the protection that his signed waiver of liability had afforded the defense. A California appeals court ruled: No. Continue reading →

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A habit for fitness is supposed to be a good thing. However, an increasing number of brain injury cases are cropping up at gyms across the country, particularly involving falls from treadmills.

You may recall the headlines last year when Dave Goldberg, the 47-year-old chief executive of $2 billion company SurveyMonkey, died unexpectedly after falling off a treadmill on vacation. The husband of Facebook’s CEO Sheryl Sandberg, Goldberg suffered massive head injuries.

The case of 60-year-old Etelvina Jimenez was far less high-profile, though it was highlighted recently in the Sacramento Bee. In 2011, Jimenez reportedly fainted while on a treadmill at a 24 Hour Fitness location. She fell backward and hit her head on equipment, suffering numerous skull fractures. Although the facility may not have been able to prevent her fainting or protect her from all injuries, improper placement of other equipment too close to the rear of the treadmill is a real problem at many facilities, who try to pack as many pieces of equipment as they can into a space – despite manufacturer instructions. Continue reading →

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When a person is injured as a result of the negligence of another who owed them a duty of care, that individual usually has the right to pursue compensation under Florida law. That part is pretty well-known. What is less understood is that certain loved ones of the person injured may also pursue their own claim for damages under a type of compensation called “loss of consortium.” 

A claim for loss of consortium alleges damages suffered by a loved one of a person who has been injured or killed as a result of a defendant’s negligent, intentional or otherwise wrongful act. Loss of consortium claims vary widely from state-to-state, with some imposing strict limitations on who has the right to a loss of consortium claim. Typically, it’s filed by one’s spouse, and asserts the loss of “normal marital relations,” which can be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but also for loss of companionship. The exact measure of this kind of loss is speculative, which is why only an experienced injury attorney should handle such claims. Proving damages often requires delving into the strength of the bond and the closeness of the relationship.

In Florida, unlike in some other states, the law allows for claims of loss of consortium brought by others besides one’s spouse. Specifically, parents may sue for loss of consortium of a child and children may sue for loss of consortium of a parent. Rights to these claims are found in several statutes, including F.S. 768.21.  Continue reading →

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Vacationers and thrill-seekers know that Florida, with its seemingly endless coastline, is the perfect location for parasailing. Summer is when the activity really takes off.

While it can be an amazing experience, the problem, as noted by a special investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is that it is largely unregulated. In fact, serious parasailing accidents are mostly the result of faulty equipment.

It’s estimated that each year, approximately 5 million people across the U.S. participate in parasailing. The safety of each of these trips is dependent almost solely on the skill of the operator and the condition of the equipment, there are:

  • No federal guidelines or regulations that set specific training or certification for parasailing operators;
  • No federal mandate for inspection of parasailing equipment;
  • No requirement that operators halt operations during unsafe weather.

Continue reading →

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Hot air balloon rides, which have been around since 1783, are thrilling, romantic and even relaxing. They can also potentially be dangerous, particularly when the operator has limited experience. 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recorded 775 hot air balloon accidents between 1964 and 2014, with 70 of those involving fatalities. Of those who died, 16 occurred between 2002 and 2012. Although the agency stresses that hot air ballooning is relatively safe, there have been a number of deadly incidents in recent years that raise concern. Consider, for example, the hot air balloon that caught fire mid-air over Egypt, killing 19 of the 21 people on board.

The recent case of Roberts v. T.H.E. Insurance Co. was, thankfully, not a fatal hot air balloon accident case. In fact, the plaintiff wasn’t even in the balloon at the time of the accident. However, she did reportedly suffer injuries when the operator, taking his chances with tethered rides on a windy day, didn’t properly affix the tethers, according to court records. When the wind kicked up, the basket came barreling toward plaintiff, knocking her over and causing her to suffer injury.  Continue reading →

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