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It’s true that property owners in Florida owe a duty to ensure their grounds are safe for lawful guests.

However, those who are injured on property that is open to the public for free recreational purposes may have a tough time collecting. That’s because Florida’s Recreational Use Statute limits the liability of land owners who allow the public free use of land for recreation. The idea is to encourage those who own property to open it up for public access.

These protections also extend to government entities, like cities and counties, that parks and preserves for use by the public. There may be some situations in which the owner or third-parties may be liable, but it will depend on the circumstances.

Recently, in the case of Carlson v. Town of South Kingstown, a Rhode Island woman was denied compensation after review by the state supreme court. Continue reading →

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Recently, a hospital in the Central California city of Fresno was fined $86,000 for a medical error that almost killed a patient. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, medical staffers inadvertently left a towel inside his body after surgery. It stayed there for three months until the error was discovered.

The state report indicates patient was admitted to the hospital in April 2014 to undergo a surgery on his bladder and prostate. Everyone expects to feel a little rough after surgery, but the patient later told investigators he wasn’t getting better. In fact, as the weeks wore on, he got worse. He lost 43 pounds. His bowels weren’t working properly. He had no energy, no stamina. He later said, “I felt like I might not live.”

He returned to the doctor to report his growing list of symptoms. Doctors conducted a scan and found a large mass inside his body. He would need surgery. He feared it was cancer. However, what they discovered was a blue surgical towel that had been left behind during the earlier procedure.  Continue reading →

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Those who have suffered a violent criminal attack know how it can upend your whole life. The physical injuries can be devastating and the emotional scars may last long after the body has healed. 

The criminal justice system exists for the purpose of holding accountable those who have broken our laws, especially when that results in harm to others. Meanwhile, the civil justice system allows for victims to seek financial compensation for the losses they have sustained. In many such cases, it’s worthwhile to look beyond the person who committed the crime to determine whether there are other entities (usually the owner of the property where the attack occurred) who breached a duty to take reasonable measures to prevent such such an attack where it was foreseeable.

But how could a property owner possibly know someone would independently commit a criminal act? After all, no one can legally be expected to have psychic powers. However, the foreseeability test takes into account whether the property owner could have reasonably foreseen the attack based on a history of past similar crimes at the same location. A good example of this was recently seen in the case of Jenkins v. C.R.E.S. Mgmt. LLC, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  Continue reading →

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A bouncer at a popular Key West bar is suing former Backstreet Boy Nick Carter after the pop star allegedly attacked staffers and tried to choke the plaintiff for kicking him and his friend out of the establishment for being unruly and disrespectful.

According to The Daily Mail, the bouncer claims the singer physically assaulted him while he was escorting the pair out of the bar, Hog’s Breath Saloon. This was after he reportedly attempted to headbutt the manager of the bar after the staff refused to serve him or his friend any drinks, as they had arrived inebriated. He allegedly became irate and refused to leave after being asked to do so 10 times, staffers said.

Carter, who was recently the runner-up on the popular show, “Dancing With the Stars,” reportedly apologized for his actions, saying he was finding it difficult to “balance a healthy lifestyle” and he is “not perfect.” At the scene, where he was arrested for misdemeanor battery, Carter reportedly told the officers staff at the bar, “acted like Navy Seals.” Continue reading →

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In any injury lawsuit against the government, there are a number of legal protections afforded those entities that can make these cases challenging.

One of the strongest legal defenses for emergency responders is the public duty doctrine. It’s a principle of personal injury law that holds government owes its duty of care to the public at-large, not individuals. So individuals could only prevail in these injury cases if they could show some special relationship existed, and not simply that the agency had breached a duty to the general public (i.e., “a duty to all is a duty to no one”).

Florida has not recognized the public duty doctrine since 2001, following the passage of F.S. 768.28, which spells out the waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions.  Now, Illinois joins the growing number of states to abolish the public duty doctrine, after a divided decision in Coleman v. E. Joliet Fire Prot. Dist. Continue reading →

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Waivers of liability are contracts signed that release one person or business from responsibility for certain negligence that may cause harm to another.

These are often thrust in front of people who participate in recreational activities like parasailing, skydiving or rock wall climbing. However, they are increasingly being used by companies that aren’t necessarily offering a potentially dangerous service or activity. For example, many gyms require patrons to sign such waivers before they will allow them to become members.

That’s what plaintiff in Kelter v. PFPA did, three years before he was seriously injured when a piece of heavy equipment broke while he was using it. Continue reading →

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It’s been more than 20 years since a 79-year-old New Mexico woman was awarded millions by a jury after suffering severe burns from scalding coffee served by fast-food restaurant McDonald’s. The claim had been widely derided publicly as frivolous, though what many people didn’t understand was the severity of the woman’s injuries (requiring extensive skin grafts) and the fact the chain had been repeatedly warned that its brew was blisteringly hot. 

Now, another popular chain, Starbucks, has been on the receiving end of a number of hot coffee lawsuits. The results have been a mixed blend.

Most recently in South Florida, a man alleges he suffered severe burns when a barista at a drive-through in Pompano Beach did not make sure the lid was securely on the cup. The employee then reportedly failed to make sure plaintiff had a good handle on the cup before letting go, resulting in severe burns to his groin.  Continue reading →

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Many tourists come to Florida seeking adventure, and they find it in the form of deep sea fishing or personal water craft rides or parasailing or swamp boat rides. Those are just a few examples, and in virtually every case, participants are going to be asked to sign a liability waiver.

These waivers are intended to protect the interests of the business offering the service from legal action should one of the participants get injured. These waivers, also referred to as “exculpatory clauses,” won’t automatically shield a company from all claims, but there is a rebuttable presumption that the contracts are valid. That means the burden of proof is on plaintiff to prove why they aren’t.

Some reasons why a waiver might not be valid:

  • It goes against public policy;
  • It’s inherently unfair;
  • The language is ambiguous.

Continue reading →

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For years, the residents of a South Florida community tried to convince government officials and railroad authorities to fix the dilapidated railroad crossing on Southwest 137th Avenue in Miami. They wrote e-mails. They left voice messages. They sent paper correspondence.

Now, all of their complaints have been gathered as part of at least two lawsuits filed after the deaths of two young men and the serious injury of another who were involved in a crash at the site.

The sole survivor of the crash, the front seat passenger, would later tell police his friend was speeding, became momentarily distracted and then struck a bump on the railroad track before losing control of the car. The backseat passenger, just 17-years-old, was thrown from the back seat. He lived long enough for his single mother and two sisters to say their good-byes at the hospital. Continue reading →

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Florida has a major problem with hit-and-run accidents. Drivers who are involved in serious, injurious and even fatal crashes fail to take responsibility for their actions – and risk facing a minimum mandatory four years in prison – by fleeing the scene.

This presents a host of problems for injured victims. The first is that the failure to call for help or render aid results in precious time lost for emergency response that can mean the difference between life and death. Beyond that, survivors may have substantial medical bills, which are compounded by loss of wages and earning potential. Florida’s no-fault insurance typically pays for a small portion of that, but if the driver is not identified, the victims may have no choice but to pursue uninsured motorist coverage through their own insurer. This coverage isn’t mandatory in Florida, but this is one of the main reasons it’s recommended, especially because, as the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports, hit-and-run crashes spiked nearly 25 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Now, a recent case out of Port St. Lucie has sparked conversation about whether in-vehicle technology may be useful in preventing hit-and-run accidents or helping to catch perpetrators. According to news reports, a woman was driving a Ford truck when she allegedly rear-ended another driver in a Dodge minivan. But rather than stay at the scene, as required by F.S. 316.027, she allegedly took off. Meanwhile, the woman in the other vehicle was transported to a hospital with back injuries. Continue reading →

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