South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

What Happens If You Don’t Settle With All Defendants in a Florida Personal Injury Case?

Published on: January 17, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Sometimes settlement with one defendant in a case is appropriate while settlement with another defendant cannot be reached. In those cases, a plaintiff can proceed to trial against one of the defendants while settling with the other and dismissing him or her. One concern a plaintiff may have in such a case is whether the remaining defendant can blame the other defendant when the case goes to trial.

In a recent case, the Florida District Court of Appeal considered the issue of whether a defendant could introduce evidence that one of the witnesses had previously been a defendant in the case, too. The case arose out of a three-car crash at an intersection.

An injured driver sued the other drivers and the owners of the vehicles they had ben driving. Before trial, the injured plaintiff settled her claim against one driver and the owner of the car he had been driving. She proceeded to trial against the other defendants. The plaintiff filed a motion before trial trying to prevent the introduction of any evidence regarding the dismissed driver’s earlier appearance in the suit and the settlement.

Evidence of Drug Use in Florida Wrongful Death Cases

Published on: January 14, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Tragically, many car accident fatalities occur because of drug or alcohol intoxication. Under what circumstances does evidence of drug or alcohol intoxication stay out of a trial proceeding? A recent case illustrates how a defendant can keep evidence of intoxication from the jury by admitting liability.

The case arose when a city employee was standing at the rear of a city vehicle parked in a median area of the road, and was hit by a truck driver who crashed into him. The employee died immediately.

The deceased’s representative sued the other driver for wrongful death and asked the court for compensatory damages for the man’s widow and both compensatory and punitive damages for the estate. The final judgment against the other driver was more than $6 million. The other driver/defendant appealed.

Notice to Multiple Defendants in Florida Medical Malpractice Cases

Published on: January 10, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Medical malpractice cases in Florida can be complicated and it’s important to retain an attorney with experience to help make sure you meet all the requirements, including the notice requirement. In a recent case, a married couple challenged the trial court’s order granting summary judgment to a doctor and radiologist in their medical malpractice case. The case arose when the wife was taken to the hospital because of pain and vomiting.

In the ER, multiple tests were performed, including a CT scan. A doctor in Switzerland read the scan and prepared a report for the hospital indicating the scan was unremarkable. Nonetheless, the wife was admitted to the hospital and a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) was performed.

The MRA results showed a filing defect in an artery. Emboli were suspected. Different personnel found problems on the CT scan not found by the Swiss doctor. An hour later, surgeons operated on the wife to remove a blood clot.

Privacy Concerns During the Discovery Phase

Published on: January 8, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

If you are thinking about filing a personal injury lawsuit in Florida, you may be wondering what happens after the complaint is filed. Unlike what happens in legal dramas seen on television, personal injury lawsuits can take a long time to be resolved.

During the course of the lawsuit, after a complaint is filed, the lawyers engage in a process called “discovery.” The discovery phase of the lawsuit allows both parties to ask each other questions, seeking out relevant information or information that could be relevant at trial to prove their case. Some forms of discovery are: interrogatories, requests for admission, requests for production, subpoenas, and depositions.

Interrogatories are questions one side asks the other. The answers must be signed under oath. If one party objects and fails to produce answers, the other party can file a motion to compel the answers. The court will determine whether the first party’s objections are appropriate.

Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations in Florida

Published on: January 3, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Under section 95.11(4)(b) of the Florida Statutes, a plaintiff must bring his or her action for medical malpractice within 2 years from the time of the incident that gave rise to the lawsuit or within 2 years from the time the incident was discovered if due diligence were exercised. In a recent case, a plaintiff appealed a final judgment in favor of a doctor and hospital. The court had granted summary judgment in their favor on the basis of a statute of limitations defense.

The doctor performed hip replacement surgery on the plaintiff in 2004. The next day the plaintiff told the doctor that his leg was numb and he had a foot drop. The doctor and staff told him these symptoms would go away after physical therapy. The plaintiff continued treatment with the doctor, but his symptoms didn’t improve.

In 2005, the plaintiff went to see a neurologist who advised him he had a permanent neurological deficit. In 2007, the plaintiff filed a notice of intent as required by statute and then the malpractice action.

Admissibility of Videotape in Florida Personal Injury Trials

Published on: December 27, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The widespread use and inexpensive nature of technology offers evidence for trials today that would not have been available earlier in history. Videotape is one type of technology that has impacted personal injury trials. In a recent case, a plaintiff challenged a trial court’s judgment in favor of the defendant Geico Casualty Company on the basis of videotape evidence.

The plaintiff brought the case after his back was hurt while traveling on a bus that got into an accident. The plaintiff required treatment and multiple surgeries. He sued the driver of the other vehicle as well as Geico, his underinsured motorist carrier.

The plaintiff claimed a permanent physical injury plus $250,000 in past medical expenses. Because his injury was permanent, he argued he deserved future medical expenses. Geico countered that the plaintiff had a pre-existing degenerative condition and argued that he didn’t need all of his surgeries and procedures.

Is There Liability for Freak Accidents in Florida?

Published on: December 24, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In a 2010 case, the appellate court considered whether summary judgment was proper in a wrongful death lawsuit. The case arose when a man drowned while a floating dock was being installed at property owned by Walt Disney World. He was employed by a water sports concession located at a Disney resort. His company contracted with a plumbing and heating company to install a floating dock system to facilitate personal watercraft rentals.

The water sports concession wasn’t familiar with assembly of a floating dock system. Accordingly, a plumbing company employee agreed to oversee the installation and show the water sports employees how to do it.

The man agreed to have delivery of certain sections to the resort. The entire dock could have been assembled on dry land, but not all of the pieces arrived at the same time. The plumbing supervisor and water sports employees assembled those parts that were available. A Disney ferry put it out on the lake. The plumbing supervisor’s plan was to add the two missing sections with a special tool that wouldn’t require anybody to go in the water.

Amending a Medical Negligence Complaint in Florida

Published on: December 20, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In a recent case, a mother sued several medical professionals both on behalf of herself and her deceased 21-year-old daughter’s estate. She alleged that the medical professionals were negligent after her daughter died of MRSA lobular necrotizing pneumonia.

The defendants filed a motion asking the lower court to take judicial notice of a circuit court’s shelter orders in which there was found probable cause to remove the deceased’s children’s from her care. The shelter orders also found abuse of alcohol and drugs, failure to submit to drug testing and domestic violence. The mother objected on the grounds that the orders included inadmissible hearsay and character evidence.

The medical professionals argued that the daughter’s system had been affected by alcohol and hydrocodone that combined with the pneumonia to impair her breathing ability and resulted in death. At trial, its expert witness testified that she died of pneumonia complicated by aspiration and intoxication.

Statute of Repose in Florida Tobacco Personal Injury Cases

Published on: December 17, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

What is a “statute of repose?” In Florida, a statute of repose creates strict time limitations for a claimant to bring a claim against defendants. The right to bring that claim can be completely extinguished after a specific period based on the statute of repose. The limitation runs from the date of a discrete act by the defendant regardless of when the actual cause of action accrues. This is different than a statute of limitations period that starts to run only after a cause of action accrues.

Tobacco companies sued for concealment can use a statute of repose defense. This defense allows it to argue that a plaintiff’s claims are barred where the plaintiff has not relied upon statements made by the defendant after May 5, 1982. In any case that is considered the progeny of Engle, Florida’s 12-year statute of repose as to fraud-related claims is measured from the date of the original Engle complaint. Engle was a class action that was later decertified creating thousands of “progeny” cases. Plaintiffs in the progeny cases can use the Engle jury’s findings that tobacco companies lied about dangers of smoking.

In a recent reconsideration of an earlier ruling in an Engle progeny case, a Florida District Court of Appeals ruled on an appeal of a plaintiff verdict in a personal injury and wrongful death (smoking) claim against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Medical Negligence on Cruise Ships That Depart From Florida

Published on: December 13, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Florida’s large tourism industry gives rise to interesting legal questions regarding personal jurisdiction over cruise line defendants who have been negligent. Personal jurisdiction refers to whether the court has power over the parties in a particular lawsuit. If a court does not have personal jurisdiction, its rulings and orders can’t be enforced upon that person or entity.

Can a defendant be held responsible in Florida courts if he or she simply works on a boat that departs from Florida? The answer to this question can impact ship doctors, as well as other ship personnel. A recent case illustrates the answer.

In the case, a couple took a seven-night cruise on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. She went to the ship’s doctor as the boat neared Haiti for treatment of serious abdominal pain. The ship’s nurse and doctor saw her. She was treated for gastritis, but she worsened. She got off the ship in Mexico and went to the hospital where she got an abdominal surgery. She was treated for sepsis and multiple organ failure. She also experienced a cerebral hemorrhage.