Miami Accident Lawyer Blog

July 31, 2014

Child Injured in Sumo Suit Raises Liability Questions

A Florida charter school is being sued by a student for personal injuries arising from a traumatic brain injury suffered during an organized and sanctioned school function featuring, of all things, Sumo Wrestling. The tragedy brings up questions about who is at fault when events such as these go wrong; our Miami injury attorneys may be able to provide valuable answers.

What Exactly Happened?

The event featured large, inflatable suits, which children (and adults) fit themselves into. The size of the suit is supposed to allow them to smash into each other in the same way that a sumo wrestler might, and also allows the user to tumble, roll around, and bounce off the floor and walls, presumably protected by the large inflatable “body” that they are fitted inside of. The activity is often used at carnivals or festivals, and can even be rented for private functions.

July 24, 2014

Falling in the Wrong Location Can Affect Your Right to Recover Damages

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you trip and fall on someone else’s property because a dangerous condition existed, such as, for example, a wet substance, the property owner should be liable for your injuries. At least, that’s the basic idea behind premises liability. But the ability to show a business owner is liable for your injuries may actually hinge on where the dangerous condition was, and whether you had permission to be in the area you fell. Our Miami premises liability attorneys are prepared to help you recover compensation for your injuries.

Premises Liability and Trespassing

We’ve all been in the situation where we are in a store, hospital, or someone’s house, and had full permission to be there. But that doesn’t mean you have permission to be just anywhere on on the premises. What if you are in, for example, a grocery store, and you fall and injure yourself in the stockroom? Were you allowed to be there? What if the door to the stock room is open? What if an employee expressly tells you to go into the stockroom to find an item? What if you go into the stockroom and then venture into the employee lounge and fall there?

July 17, 2014

Malpractice Suits Are Often About More Than Compensation

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

A recent article from Forbes discussed the topic of medical malpractice lawsuits, particularly, how the motivation in filing a malpractice lawsuit is not always about a monetary damage award. Although many areas of personal injury law have emotional aspects to them which go beyond monetary awards, medical malpractice lawsuits and the emotion involved in them can be especially motivated by more than simply a damage award. It is critical to secure the services of a skilled Miami malpractice attorney to succeed in your case.

Recent Case of Malpractice

The Forbes article discussed a daughter whose mother was in a hospital. The mother was not doing well, and the patient’s daughter called the treating doctor to change medications. She was met with a refusal to even respond, with the treating doctor saying that it was a weekend and he needed a break. The mother eventually did survive, but the daughter, upset with the standard of care, and wanting to effect a change, opted to file a formal complaint with the governing medical board as opposed to filing a lawsuit.

July 8, 2014

Florida Governor Approves Law Limiting Liability For Nursing Home Abuse

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Our Miami nursing home abuse attorneys have previously discussed unfortunate incidents in which elderly individuals were the victims of nursing home abuse and/or neglect. In August, we discussed a case in which a Florida jury awarded more than $1.1 billion to the son of a woman who had suffered abuse at the hands of a negligent Polk County nursing home. Apparently, that was not the first time the operators of that nursing home were under fire for such misconduct as a different Polk County jury awarded a $114 million verdict against the companies in another nursing home abuse case.

Falls Can Be a Sign of Nursing Home Abuse

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of injury death and the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma in adults over 65. Further, the CDC estimates that 20-30% of falls result in moderate to severe injuries such as lacerations, hip fractures, or head traumas, and are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries.

July 3, 2014

New Study Finds That Brain Injuries Increase With Bike-Sharing Programs

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Over the last year, our Miami personal injury lawyers have discussed the dangers associated with bicycling in Florida. Last September, 24-year-old bicyclist Jacob Landis was severely injured after being struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in the final leg of a cross-country cycling trip in Polk County, Florida. In October, a young couple, Rob Lemon and Hilary Michalak, died after being struck by a motorist while riding their tandem bike on the Memorial Causeway in Clearwater, Florida.

Florida a Dangerous Place for Cyclists

According to report by the NHTSA found that Florida’s bicyclist fatality rate consistently exceeded that of the rest of the United States and often ranked highest among the states. In 2011, Florida bicycle fatality rates were almost triple the national average, and, between 2010 and 2011, the bicycle fatality rate increased from 0.40 fatalities per 100,000 persons, to 0.63. In the same year, Florida made up only six percent of the U.S. population in 2011, but accounted for 17.4 percent of all U.S. bicycle fatalities.

June 24, 2014

Twin Toddlers Drown In Deerfield Beach Swimming Pool Accident

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

As our Miami injury attorneys have discussed before, although swimming can be a great way to relax on a hot summer day, it is important for people appreciate the risks associated with this activity, especially for children. These hazards have been highlighted by a recent incident in which twin toddlers drowned in a swimming pool accident at a Deerfield Beach apartment complex.

Tragic Accident Involving Twins

Harmani and Harmony West, both just two years old, drowned in the pool of Tivoli Park, the apartment complex where they lived with their mother. According to authorities, the girls were found floating in the pool by a couple visiting from North Carolina. Efforts were made to resuscitate the children, who were immediately taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. Preliminary investigation revealed that the pool area was gated, but the lock on the gate was broken, allowing the girls to access the pool area.

June 20, 2014

Florida Jury Awards $11 Million In Dram Shop Lawsuit

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last year, this blog discussed the unfortunate death of two Brevard County teens Rachel Price and Jamaree Cook, who were killed when Price’s vehicle collided with a pickup truck being operated an intoxicated driver. In response to that incident, our Florida car accident attorneys examined a State law allowing a person that has been injured or killed in a car accident caused by an intoxicated driver to recover punitive as well as compensatory damages.

That law, codified at Section 768.72 of The Florida Statutes, states that plaintiffs in civil actions are precluded from recovering punitive damages unless there is a “reasonable showing by evidence” that provides a “reasonable basis for recovery of such damages.” This standard is more specifically delineated in Florida’s pattern jury instructions which state that punitive damages may be warranted if a jury finds by the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant’s conduct that caused the injury to the plaintiff was:

Gross and flagrant as to show a reckless disregard of human life or of the safety of persons;

June 13, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Declares May Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared the month of May to be Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, in an effort to encourage motorists to be mindful of motorcyclists while simultaneously encouraging motorcycle safety. Our Miami motorcycle accident attorneys wish everyone in the state to exercise safety when going out for a ride.

According to NHTSA statistics, in 2012, 4,927 motorcyclists were killed in traffic crashes, a continued increase from 4,630 in 2011. The 2011 deaths accounted for 15 percent of the total highway fatalities that year, despite motorcyclists representing only 3 percent of all vehicles on America’s roads.

As this blog has discussed before, motorcycle accidents are particularly dangerous due to the limited amount of protection they provide to riders compared to more traditional modes of transportation such as cars and trucks. Motorcycles are also far less visible in traffic than cars, resulting in an increased risk accident. One report concluded that the risk of a motorcyclists’ likelihood of being killed in a traffic accident is sixteen times that of the driver of an automobile.

June 4, 2014

Report Concludes That Florida Is The Most Dangerous Place For Pedestrians

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Late last month, our Miami car accident attorneys discussed another unfortunate accident in which thirty-six year-old woman Keythe Perez was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. The incident marked the sixth pedestrian killed in Lee County since the beginning of the year, and the fifth in a little more than a month.

In response to the growing number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians, Smart Growth America, a national organization dedicated to researching ways in which to improve America’s neighborhoods, commissioned a study, entitled “Dangerous by Design,” to look at where pedestrian fatalities happen and who’s most at risk in every U.S. county, metro area, and state.

According to the report, in the decade from 2003 through 2012, 47,025 people died while walking on our streets, representing 12.3 percent of total traffic deaths. During the same period, 676,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic accidents, or one every approximately eight minutes.

May 30, 2014

Increasingly Warm Weather Leads To Higher Risk Of Swimming Accidents

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

As the weather continues to heat up, many Florida residents are heading to their local pools and beaches to cool off. Although swimming can be a great way to relax on a hot day, it is important that the risks associated with this activity are fully appreciated, and that anyone injured in a swimming accident contact a Miami personal injury attorney immediately.

The risks associated with swimming are especially high for children, especially when they are inadequately supervised or permitted to swim without appropriate safety equipment. According to statistics published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning is the second leading cause of death among children aged one to nineteen, with over a thousand such children drowning every year.

As this blog has discussed on several occasions, premises liability is a legal term that references a property owner’s duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. Owners and operators of private pools and breaches are no different, and owe certain duties to guests of their property.