Language in documents used to absolve parties from liability for their own negligence is disfavored by the courts. Nevertheless, under certain circumstances, such exculpatory clauses or pre-injury releases/waivers are enforceable in Florida. Pre-injury releases are used frequently in connection with activities considered risky, such as go-cart and off-road racing, high…
The newspaper article reproduced below, written in 2003, does an excellent job of illustrating the importance of having strong bad faith insurance laws designed to persuade insurance companies to settle cases for fair value rather force every case to trial. Florida’s bad faith laws impose a duty on insurance companies…
In Greenfield v. Daniels (November 24, 2010), the Florida Supreme Court decided that paternity of a child could be determined in the course of a wrongful death proceeding under Chapter 768, Fla. Statutes rather than in a paternity proceeding under Ch. 742, Fla. Stat. The Court’s decision disapproved the conflicting…
In my opinion, the most important Florida workers’ compensation case of all time is Aguilera v. Inservices, Inc., 905 So.2d 84 (Fla., 2005). Aguilera made it clear that workers’ compensation insurance carriers and adjusters are not immune from being sued for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress where…
At the urging of Governor Jeb Bush, Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature in 2002 passed a workers’ compensation bill designed to limit carrier-paid attorney’s fees to claimants’ attorneys. The measure was challenged in the courts by claimants (injured workers), who argued that it was unconstitutional (denied access to courts & equal protection)…
Under no circumstances may a civil action alleging medical malpractice/negligence be started in Florida more than seven years from the date of the incident or occurrence out of which the action accrued. This 7-year limitation is imposed by what is called a statute of repose, set forth in Florida Statute…
A statute of limitation is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets forth the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated. Most people are familiar with the concept. Far less familiar to the general public, and even to some…
Epidemiology is the study of patterns of health and illness and associated factors at the population level. Forensic (applying science to answer questions of interest to a legal system) epidemiology can be useful in personal injuries cases to prove causation of an injury. The personal injury claimant has the burden…
Companies and individuals in possession or control of real property have a nondelegable duty to keep that property in a reasonably safe condition. Liability for personal injuries caused by a breach of the duty cannot be avoided by hiring an independent contractor to maintain the property in a reasonably safe…
From time to time, I will post to my blog site the writings of other individuals on legal topics of interest to me. For those familiar with my own blogs, it is clear that I strongly oppose efforts to limit the authority of juries to render just verdicts. Particularly insidious,…