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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
An employee injured or killed in the course of his or her employment by the negligence or wrongful act of a third-party tortfeasor may receive workers’ compensation benefits and pursue a remedy by action at law against such third-party tortfeasor. (Where the employee has been killed, the third-party action will be handled through the…
The main object of a vehicle (e.g., car, truck, motorcycle, van) crash claim or lawsuit is to obtain full compensation for the person harmed by the negligence of another. The standard damage elements are pain & suffering, loss of income (past and future), past and future medical expenses, and vehicle damage repair or replacement. A crash…