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Florida Injury Attorney Blawg

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Florida Workers’ Compensation Wage Loss Benefits Until Age 75 (a/k/a, “PTD”)

Over the years, but especially since 1998, it has gotten progressively more difficult for workers injured on the job to be fairly compensated under Florida’s workers’ compensation system.  Republican governors (Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, Rick Scott) backed by Republican-dominated legislatures have made every effort to limit and eliminate workers’ rights. Occasionally, the First…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Thoughts on Maximizing Florida Workplace Accident Recoveries

While a recent Florida Supreme Court decision has leveled the playing field for injured workers in workers’ compensation cases — read Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Another Jeb Bush Law Bites the Dust — a better remedy can sometimes be achieved through the civil justice system under negligence law principles. Florida Statute 440.11 immunizes most…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Another Jeb Bush Law Bites the Dust

On April 28, 2016, the Florida Supreme Court announced its decision in Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Company, et al. The case involved a challenge to the constitutionality of Florida Statute 440.34, the law that prescribes the payment of fees to attorneys who represent injured workers. In 2009, Marvin Castellanos, then forty-six years old,…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Florida Uber Insurance Issues

Uber is an app-based transportation service company. The company arranges for service through private motor vehicle owners. Naturally, some Uber drivers cause accidents. However, Uber does not require its Florida drivers to maintain bodily injury (BI) liability insurance. (BI is a type of liability insurance which compensates for personal injuries and economic losses caused by an at-fault…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Does Florida Workers’ Compensation Statute 440.22 Ban Pre-Settlement Funding?

The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly. It can take years for personal injury and workers’ compensation cases to reach final resolution. In the interim, accident victims often experience extreme financial pressure. The pressure can force victims to compromise their case. An industry has developed to address the problem. Lawsuit funding companies loan money to victims with the…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Repetitive Trivial Trauma as Basis for Florida Workers’ Compensation Benefits

My first workers’ compensation trial involved having to prove that a herniated cervical spine intervertebral disc was work related. Our elderly female client had assembled mattresses in a warehouse for fifteen years. Once the assembly was complete, she was responsible for stacking them one on top of the other until she could reach no higher. The mattresses ranged…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Immunity

The day after Jeb Bush suspended his run for the Republican presidential nomination, I read a quote in the Miami Herald from a South Carolina voter expressing dismay because she believed Bush was a good man who cared about disabled people. My immediate thought was, this woman does not know Jeb Bush … or at…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Florida Personal Injury Cases and Hospital Price Gouging

Price gouging for medical services is the scourge of personal injury cases. Hospitals are the worst offenders. By ambulance from the accident scene to admissions for surgery, accident victims wind up in hospitals. The hospital charges are always staggering. The charges are phony, having no relationship to either costs or value. Average pricing at Florida…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Interplay Between the ADA and the Florida Workers’ Compensation Misrepresentation Defenses

The defense of Florida workers’ compensation claims under Martin v. Carpenter, 132 So.2d 400 (Fla. 1961) and Florida Statute 440.15(5)(a) are employer/carrier favorites. While similar, the defenses are not entirely alike. The case and statute deal with misrepresentations made by job seekers concerning medical history. Under Martin, applicants who lie about their medical history can be denied workers’ compensation benefits…

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Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. // Florida Jurisdiction for Out of State Workers’ Compensation Accidents

Can a worker injured outside the state of Florida be eligible for Florida workers’ compensation benefits? The answer lies in § 440.09(1)(d), Fla. Stat.: If an accident happens while the employee is employed elsewhere than in this state, which would entitle the employee or his or her dependents to compensation if it…

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