Pre-Jeb Bush, Florida construction subcontractors were held liable in tort for damages caused by their negligence when the party harmed was an employee of a subcontractor with whom legal vertical privity was not shared. This powerful threat caused subcontractors to pay heightened attention to workplace safety. When subcontractors fell short…
Most Florida employees injured at work will be limited to receiving compensation through the state’s workers’ compensation system as laid out in Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes. The main reason for this limitation is that employers and fellow-employees are immune from being sued for simple negligence. See F.S. 440.11.…
Every case is different. From accident to injuries, no two cases are ever exactly alike. That said, certain common elements do run through every case. From time to time I will be posting about some of the cases our firm has resolved. The common elements should become apparent in these…
A few months ago our law firm, working with the Domnick & Shevin, PL law firm, settled a difficult liability case against an insurance agency arising out of a catastrophic motorcycle crash. Our client had been hospitalized for two months. Medicaid paid his substantial hospital bill. After the case settled,…
Experienced personal injury attorneys consider many factors in judging how to manage their cases. While common elements are present from case to case, no two cases are ever completely alike. Both subjective and objective considerations must be taken into account to reach decisions most beneficial to client and attorney alike.…
Before Florida adopted a workers’ compensation system, in 1935, for workers injured on the job to recover medical expenses and lost wages, or be compensated for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, they had to prove that the accident resulted from negligence on the part of the employer or some…
In every serious personal injury case in Florida, the issue of who will pay the medical providers and how much always arises. Needless to say, providers want to recover as much as they can. Patients, of course, want to pay as little as possible out-of-pocket. How this plays out often…
Plaintiffs personal injury lawyers typically have preferences in which medical providers they use to treat and render expert opinions on such issues as causation, disability, and prognosis. This is often due to familiarity and confidence in the provider’s competence. It is sometimes dictated by financial considerations. Many people are uninsured…
Payments made by health insurance and Medicare must be repaid by the beneficiary of the payments from money recovered in the personal injury case for which the medical care was furnished. (Note: PIP, which is no-fault insurance for medical bills in car accidents, does not have to be reimbursed.) In…
For Florida accident victims and those who care for and about them, the tyrannical reign of Jeb [Bush] the Horrible (Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007) continues to haunt. Once upon a time in Florida, employees hurt at work could sue their employers in tort by proving that an…