Our law firm was recently hired by a military veteran who claims to have been infected with the liver disease Hepatitis C by equipment used to perform colonoscopies at the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in Miami, Florida. Last year the VA acknowledged contamination issues with endoscopic equipment used to perform…
Along with the right to vote, a free and vigorous jury system is a key element in the ability of Americans to control the type of society in which they live. Efforts by state and federal politicians at placing arbitrary caps on the amount of damages available to parties in…
Unlike prior PIP statutes that applied the “usual and customary” standard to determine allowable charges for medical services, Florida’s 2008 version (627.736), mostly mandates that allowable charges are 200% of prospective payments for the same services under Medicare Parts A & B. (Main exceptions: emergency transportation and emergency hospital services.)…
Florida Statues may allow PIP carriers to conduct medical examinations and perform paper reviews, but no authority, including the statute itself, grants PIP carriers license to reference those procedures as an “IME,” “Independent Medical Examination,” or a “Peer Review.” In short, PIP carriers have created the terms out of whole…
A well-established common law principle in Florida is that motor vehicles are “dangerous instrumentalities.” Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Anderson, 86 So. 629 (Fla. 1920). In 1941, the Florida Supreme Court held that because the use of a dangerous instrumentality involves such a high degree of risk of serious injury…
FRCP 1.720 and most court orders require parties to appear at mediation with “full authority” to settle without further consultation. See also Carbino v. Ward, 801 So.2d 1028 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) and Physicians Protective Trust Fund v. Overman, 636 So.2d 827 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). A hypothetical personal injury…
Parties and witnesses involved in legal proceedings should follow these basic rules when being deposed: Listen carefully and allow the attorney to complete each question before responding; If you do not understand a question, ask the attorney to repeat the question or rephrase it; Answer only the question asked and…