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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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Earlier this year, the family of a 6-year-old Apopka boy received the news that is a parent’s worst nightmare: Their son had been killed. He had been riding his bike in an Orange County neighborhood one Sunday afternoon in January when a 50-year-old driver struck him. The boy had been riding in the street and then, for reasons unclear, rode out into the street. 

Bicycle accident fatalities are a major problem in Florida – and it’s not just children who are losing their lives, though they do account for about a fifth of the total. However, the average age of bicycle crash victims between 2006 and 2015 rose from 41 to 45.

Recent figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate there were a total of 808 bicycle deaths in 2015, accounting for 2.3 percent of all traffic deaths throughout the year. That’s an 12.3 percent increase over 2014, when there were 726 bicyclists killed, accounting for 2 percent of all traffic deaths.  Continue reading →

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The Daytona Beach Journal offered up some great news last month when it reported the number of bicycle deaths during the 76th annual Daytona Bike Week had fallen to historic lows this year. Officials told news reporters this had to do with a number of factors, including lower attendance, beefed up law enforcement patrols and increased awareness among industry groups. 

Still, it wasn’t all positive. Two people still died and three were injured in separate accidents. But when you look at the fact nearly 500 people died in motorcycle accidents in Flagler and Volusia Counties between 2005 and 2015 and that almost a third of those happened at one of the region’s two major biking events – Bike Week and Biketoberfest – this year’s two deaths is far fewer than we’re used to seeing. It’s still two too many.

What’s more, Florida is nowhere near rid of its motorcycle accident risks. As The Orlando Sentinel reported, a recent study by AAA indicated that Florida once again leads the nation in motorcycle accident deaths.  Worse, there were 606 motorcyclists killed in this state in 2015, which marks a stunning 30 percent increase in just a single year – from 2014.  Continue reading →

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The overall number of traffic accidents and roadway deaths is climbing. This in itself is troubling. But our trucking accident lawyers in Orlando are especially concerned about the uptick in crashes involving large trucks. 

These vehicles are massive. The damage they cause is substantial. Though they may occur less frequently than crashes involving smaller passenger cars, that’s really only because there are statistically fewer of them than smaller cars. When large trucks are involved in a crash, the injuries tend to be more severe. Fatalities are more likely.

Recently just outside of Orlando, one person died and another was left severely injured following a dump truck crash resulting in a fuel leak on a Thursday morning. The large truck was driven by a 56-year-old who made a U-turn at Fort Jefferson Boulevard from South Goldenrod Road. According to the highway patrol, a 30-year-old driver of a passenger vehicle, who had a 33-year-old passenger with him, was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision. He slammed into the dump truck. Both passenger vehicle occupants were rushed to the hospital, where the driver died.  Continue reading →

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The majority of slip-and-fall lawsuits in Florida are settled prior to trial. Many commercial premises liability policies provide millions in coverage, and sometimes companies want to just settle and move on. But of course, the dynamics are different with every case, and your slip-and-fall attorney needs to be prepared to take a case to trial if necessary. 

In a recent case before the Mississippi Supreme Court, plaintiff in a slip-and-fall case was actually seeking a second trial, after the first ended in a verdict favorable to defendant. The question for the court was whether the fact that a convicted felon served on that jury should prompt a second trial. Among the many rights felons lose upon conviction is the right to serve on a jury.

The trial court agreed that this alone was enough to warrant a a new trial. However, the state supreme court disagreed and reversed that order. Continue reading →

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A defective sidewalk was reportedly to blame for injuries suffered by a California man who encountered an uneven slab that launched him some 30 feet from his bicycle. 

Now, according to the San Diego Union Tribune, city leaders have agreed to settle his personal injury claim for nearly $5 million. That’s a substantial sum considering previous defective sidewalk claims against the city have ranged in payouts between $75,000 and $235,000. The severity of injuries the man suffered as a result of the bicycle accident no doubt played a significant part in the city’s decision to settle, rather than take their chances at trial. The last time the city gambled on a trial involving a case of poor maintenance of city property (in that case, it was a dead tree), jurors awarded the victim, who was paralyzed, a $7.6 million verdict.

City officials originally called plaintiff’s injuries “minor” and “trivial.” Apparently after more closely reviewing the evidence, they had second thoughts of that characterization. Continue reading →

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In most medical malpractice lawsuits, plaintiffs have to prove “but-for” causation. What this means is but for the negligence of the medical professional, plaintiff would not have suffered an adverse outcome. 

However, this burden of proof would leave those who already had terminal conditions or residual chances of survival or existing serious illnesses with little or no chance of recourse for their doctor’s medical negligence. Enter the “loss of chance” doctrine. It’s generally used in medical malpractice lawsuits involving a plaintiff who can’t prove “but for” causation because he or she was likely to die from the condition even before the doctor was negligent. In these cases, the doctor’s negligence usually involves the failure to diagnose or treat, which causes plaintiff a loss of chance to survive or have a more optimal outcome.

In a recent case before the Washington Supreme Court, justices were asked to review two questions in a “loss-of-chance” medical malpractice lawsuit:

  • Should the court use a “but for” or “substantial factor” standard of causation in these types of claims;
  • Should evidence relating to contributory negligence be excluded based on plaintiff’s failure to follow a physician’s orders.

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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Parents of an Oklahoma boy have filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of their young son, alleging he suffered a brain injury while at day care.

Of course, our injury lawyers know that kids are prone to getting hurt. They can be clumsy. They don’t always pay close attention to where they are walking or climbing or running. They often fail to appreciate the danger in every day situations. But that’s all common knowledge, and that’s precisely why a company running a daycare has the responsibility to keep a watchful eye. They have a duty to make sure their staffers are fully vetted, properly trained and carefully watched. They have a responsibility to make sure they hire enough staffers in ratio to the number of children in their care and that appropriate action is taken to prevent accidents, injuries and illnesses that are foreseeable.

Plaintiffs in these cases need to show that the child’s injuries were the result of negligence, which means the daycare facility and/ or staffers failed to exercise due care to prevent a foreseeable injury. Accidents that involve falls from playground equipment, illnesses caused by unsanitary conditions or slipping on some substance that wasn’t quickly cleaned – these are all incidents that were probably foreseeable. Similarly, a child injured by a daycare worker with a violent criminal background or a lack of basic experience would also be a foreseeable injury. Continue reading →

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