In Bellevue v. Frenchy’s South Beach Cafe, Inc., So.3d , 38 FLW D2537 (Fla. 2nd DCA 12-4-2013), the 2nd DCA held that the trial judge was wrong in keeping evidence of the following prior incidents, some of which dated back four-and-a-half years before the subject incident, from the jury’s consideration…
Many people, including some personal injury lawyers, believe that UM insurance always provides coverage when the insured is not at fault and there is no other insurance to cover the losses. This is wrong. When the driver of an uninsured or underinsured (UIM) vehicle causes an accident, UM/UIM should kick…
Insurance companies operating in Florida are under a legal duty to adjust claims in good faith to prevent their insureds from being subject to excess judgments (a court judgment in excess of a policy’s liability limit). A carrier that fails to act in good faith may be forced to satisfy…
While it’s bad enough that the employer/carrier (“E/C”) get to hand pick the injured worker’s treating doctors, Section 440.13(9)(c) Florida Statutes (2013) gives them a free shot at defeating opinions they oppose. My recent experience demonstrates the point. In pertinent part, Section 440.13(9)(c) provides: If there is disagreement in the…
Florida law requires every owner or registrant of an operable personal use motor vehicle to maintain Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage – Liability insurance. See Florida Statute 627.733 Required security. While other types of coverage are available under the standard Florida motor vehicle insurance policy, these are the only two that are mandatory. While premiums are charged for the…
Herniated intervertebral discs can have significant medical and legal consequences. The symptoms of a herniated disc can range from minor pain all the way up to unbearable, unremitting pain, paresthesia, and numbness. Treatment options include palliative medicine, physical therapy, epidural injections, and surgery. Each of these option can be costly…
Understanding Florida motor vehicle insurance law can be puzzling. The various coverage options include Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Bodily Injury (BI), Comprehensive/Collision, Property Damage Liability, and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM). Presently, only PIP and Property Damage Liability are mandatory in Florida. Neither of these coverages compensates the victim of an accident…
Parties to legal actions should always assume that their social media (e.g., Facebook; Twitter) postings will be discovered (discovery is allowed by FRCP 1.350; Discovery of Facebook Content in Florida Cases, 31 No. 2 Trial Advoc. Q 14 (Spring 2012)) and used against them by the other side if helpful.…
Florida workers severely injured at work sometimes qualify for both workers’ compensation permanent total disability benefits (PTD) (F.S. 440.15(1)) and social security disability benefits (SSD) (42 U.S.C. s. 423). The Florida workers’ compensation system, codified in Chapter 440 of Florida’s statutes, sets forth the responsibilities of employers and their workers’…
Florida entities seek advance protection from their own negligence in two ways: exculpatory clauses and indemnity agreements. An exculpatory clause purports to deny an injured party the right to recover damages from a person negligently causing his injury. Kitchens of the Oceans, Inc. v. McGladrey & Pullen LLP, 832 So.2d…