injury attorney Orlando

Published on: September 10, 2018

Court: Marathon Runner Death Lawsuit Can Proceed

People who run 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons and marathon races know they have to build up their endurance – both muscular and cardio – in order to run the race safely. Marathon races especially can be grueling, and it’s understood that to some extent, when one chooses to participate, they are accepting an inherent risk of possible physical injury or illness. However, that does not absolve organizers of these races and communities where they are held from ensuring medical help is promptly available to anyone who may have suffered an unexpected health consequence in the course of participation.

Recently, an appellate court in California ruled a San Francisco family will be allowed to pursue legal action against the race organizer of a half marathon for failure to provide a medical doctor, ambulance or emergency medical equipment at the finish line.

According to court records, the 31-year-old participant suffered cardiac arrest after finishing the 13.1-mile park run. Numerous bystanders, including several fellow participants with medical training (three city firefighters) hurried to his aid while awaiting life-saving equipment, stored in a tent nearby. However, some 45 minutes after his collapsed, the runner died. Continue reading →

Published on: November 23, 2017

Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit Gets a Second Shot

By Dean Freeman

The National Floor Safety Institute (a non-profit dedicated to reduce slips, trips and falls through education, research and development of standards) reports falls account for more than 8 million hospital emergency room visits annually. Bone fractures occur in about 5 percent of all falls, which are a leading cause of missed time off work for laborers and a top cause of death among the elderly.

When one suffers a fall at a store or other place of business, the question of whether a claim for damages is viable will depend on numerous factors, including how obvious the hazard was to whether the store had “notice” (actual or constructive) of it. Slip-and-falls in particular can be tricky because of more stringent standards of proof passed by the legislature in 2010 and codified in F.S. 768.0755.

Recently, a slip-and-fall lawsuit out of Wyoming resulted in a plaintiff getting a second stab at pursuing her case, after a trial court had previously dismissed her claim for failure to state a genuine issue of material fact. The Wyoming Supreme Court disagreed and reversed, remanding the case back to the lower court for trial. That doesn’t mean plaintiff will necessarily win, but summary judgment (which is decided by a judge as a matter of law) is inappropriate for a case where there are unresolved matters of genuine material fact (which are to be decided by a jury).

The case underscores how complicated the simple matter of a fall can be, legally speaking. Continue reading →

Published on: November 1, 2016

Anderson v. Fitness International – Overcoming Liability Waivers by Proving Gross Negligence

By Dean Freeman

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 →