South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

State Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Claim Against Teacher in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Published on: February 2, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently published an opinion affirming a Georgia court of appeals’ decision to affirm a trial court’s grant of judgment to a defendant teacher, whose alleged negligence in failing to supervise her class resulted in the death of the plaintiff’s son. The defendant had allegedly left the classroom, and the defendant’s son was killed as a result of “horseplay” that occurred in her absence. With the most recent decision of the Georgia Supreme Court, the plaintiff will not be able to collect damages from the teacher for the claim against her in her individual capacity.`

The Plaintiff’s Son Dies After Another Student Crushes Him During “Horseplay”

The plaintiff in the case is the mother of a boy who died as a result of injuries that he sustained as a student in the defendant’s American Literature class at the defendant high school. According to the appellate court’s discussion of the underlying facts of the case, the teacher left the classroom for 30 minutes or more during and after the period of time when the plaintiff’s son sustained the injuries that ultimately took his life.

When asked by school administrators about what happened after the student’s death, the defendant first lied, stating that she was in her classroom the whole time. After the death of her son, the plaintiff filed a wrongful death claim against several defendants, including the teacher both in her official capacity as a teacher and in her individual capacity.

Court Reverses Grant of Immunity to City in Accident Case

Published on: February 1, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Ohio published an opinion upholding the reversal of a lower circuit court’s decision to dismiss a plaintiff’s claim against the city when he was involved in a car accident with another driver, who had run through a stop sign that was later determined not to be sufficiently visible. The lower court determined that the city was immune from liability for the plaintiff’s injuries because it was a municipal body that was immune under state law. The state supreme court found that an exception to municipal immunity should apply to the case, further ruling that the plaintiff’s claim against the city for allegedly failing to maintain the roadway in a safe condition should be remanded to the circuit court to proceed toward trial if a settlement was not reached.

Plaintiff Is Struck While Driving Through an Intersection

The plaintiff in the case is an Ohio man who alleged that in May 2011, he was involved in an accident when another driver failed to yield the right of way at an intersection and crashed into the plaintiff. An investigation after the accident determined the stop sign that signaled the other driver to stop and yield at the intersection was obstructed by tree branches and was not sufficiently visible to alert approaching drivers. After the crash, the plaintiff pursued a personal injury claim against the other driver and the city where the crash occurred, alleging that the negligent failure to trim the trees around the stop sign created liability for the plaintiff’s injuries.

Court Affirms Dismissal of Multiple Wrongful Death Cases Arising From One Incident

Published on: January 26, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The Supreme Court of Mississippi recently published a decision in which the court found a circuit court appropriately dismissed three wrongful death lawsuits that had been filed by a family member of a man who died while under the care of the defendant doctors and hospital. The three lawsuits were dismissed because they were filed after a separate lawsuit was filed against another doctor based on the same death, and state law only permits one wrongful death lawsuit to be pursued at a time for each death. As a result of the recent ruling, the woman’s claims against all of the defendants not included in her first lawsuit will be difficult or impossible to pursue.

The Plaintiff’s Loved One Allegedly Dies as a Result of Medical Negligence

The plaintiff in this case is a woman who lost a loved one in September 2013. The plaintiff alleged that her loved one’s death was a result of medical negligence and sought relief from the doctors who were caring for the man before his death, as well as the hospital where the man was being treated. Since the doctors were private parties employed by the state-run hospital, the woman followed different procedures and filed different lawsuits against each doctor, as well as two separate lawsuits against the state-run hospital.

Court Addresses Claim for Injuries Incurred in a High-Speed Police Chase

Published on: January 23, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently published a decision affirming a circuit court’s ruling to dismiss the plaintiff’s case against municipal law enforcement officers after she was seriously injured when a fleeing suspect crashed into her vehicle head-on as the officers pursued him in a high-speed chase. The woman claimed that the officers’ conduct was reckless and wanton and that they should not be entitled to immunity from her claim because of the unacceptable nature of their actions. The final ruling, while affirming the rejection of the plaintiff’s claim, serves to reduce the immunity granted to police officers from that given to them by the circuit court and the Ohio Court of Appeals by rejecting any immunity for officer conduct that is deemed reckless.

Fleeing Suspect Slams Head-On into Plaintiff’s Vehicle

The plaintiff in this case is a woman who alleged that she was innocently driving her car, following all of the traffic laws, when a speeding car driving on the wrong side of the road crashed into the front of her vehicle head-on. The speeding car was being driven by a man who was fleeing from the police, who had been pursuing him in a high-speed chase through the city on roads containing significant pedestrian traffic.

The plaintiff alleged that the act of pursuing the suspect through crowded city streets was done maliciously, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner, since it resulted in the suspect driving as fast as possible with disregard for civilian safety.

Appellate Court Reverses Lower Court’s Denial of Plaintiff’s Request to Extend Notice Deadline

Published on: January 19, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The New York Court of Appeals recently published an opinion that reversed a state lower court’s ruling on an issue arising within a case filed by a woman whose son was seriously injured when he was struck by a car while walking to school. The plaintiff’s claim against the defendant school district was initially dismissed because the plaintiff did not serve that defendant with a notice of claim within 90 days of the accident, as required by law. The plaintiff had reasons for missing the deadline and requested an extension, which was denied by the trial court. With the court’s finding earlier this year that the trial judge abused his discretion by refusing to extend the deadline, the plaintiff’s claim against the school district will return to the trial court and proceed toward a settlement or trial.

The Plaintiff’s Son Is Injured in a Devastating Accident

The plaintiff in the case of Newcomb v. Middle Country Central School District is a woman whose son was struck by a car as he walked to school one morning. The plaintiff pursued a negligence claim against the school and the city, as well as the state where the crash occurred. After the 90-day notice deadline had expired, the plaintiff discovered information that the school district had placed a sign near the scene of the accident that blocked visibility and may have been the cause of the accident, and the sign was removed shortly after the crash. Since the materials reasonably available to the plaintiff for the first 90 days following the accident did not include any reference to the sign, the plaintiff requested that she be allowed to add the school district to her complaint.

State High Court Reverses Ruling Against Plaintiff in Roadside Accident Lawsuit

Published on: January 16, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

A state appellate court recently published an opinion that allowed a plaintiff’s wrongful death case to proceed. Based on this latest ruling by the highest state court and its ultimate authority over questions of state law, the plaintiff may yet receive compensation for his negligence claim.The plaintiff in the case of Hain v. Jamison is the husband of a woman who was struck and killed by one of the defendants in a roadside accident that occurred one evening when the decedent exited her car on a rural road to assist a day-old calf owned by another of the defendants that had escaped its enclosure and was walking on the roadway. The plaintiff sued the other driver for negligence, as well as the owner of the farm that allowed the calf to escape.

The farm denied legal responsibility for the woman’s death, arguing that the negligent acts of the other driver and the decedent herself were intervening causes that prevented the farm from being liable for the death, even if a jury did find that the farm had negligently allowed the calf to escape.

State Appellate Court Reverses Jury Verdict, Granting Immunity to City in Wrongful Death Case

Published on: January 12, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

A panel of the California Court of Appeals recently published an opinion reversing a jury’s verdict in favor of the plaintiffs after a trial was held over a fatal auto-pedestrian accident that occurred in 2010. The jury had decided that the city was 100% responsible for the death of the plaintiffs’ loved one, a pedestrian who was hit in an intersection by a driver making a left turn. The city’s claim to be protected from liability by “design immunity” was rejected by the trial court because the city approved changes to the intersection where the accident occurred in 2004 but never followed through with the construction, leaving a gap in their immunity. Unfortunately for the plaintiff, the state court of appeals interpreted the law differently from the trial court, ultimately granting the city immunity from the plaintiff’s claim.The Jury Finds the City Liable After a 15-Day Trial

The plaintiffs in the case of Gonzalez v. City of Atwater are the surviving family members of a 72-year-old woman who was struck and killed in an intersection administered by the defendant while on foot in December 2010. The driver who hit the woman was making a left-hand turn into a shopping center and stated that she didn’t see the woman walking with the right of way across the crosswalk before she was hit. The plaintiffs sued both the driver and the city, alleging that the city had notice of the danger presented to pedestrians by that specific intersection and had approved modifications to the traffic lights to address the problem, but the changes were never put into effect.

Appellate Court Reverses Ruling in Favor of Defendant in Slip-and-Fall Case

Published on: January 9, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The Michigan Supreme Court recently published an opinion reversing an appellate court decision that had overturned a trial court’s granting of summary judgment to the defendant in a slip-and-fall lawsuit filed after the plaintiff fell outside the defendant’s restaurant on a snowy night. The high court determined that the trial court was initially correct to determine that to be awarded summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claim, the defendant did not need to affirmatively prove they did not have notice of the dangerous condition causing the plaintiff’s fall. Based on the most recent decision, the plaintiff will not be compensated for her injuries, regardless of whether the defendant actually knew of the hazard that caused her injuries.

The Plaintiff Slips on a Staircase Outside the Defendant’s Bar

The plaintiff in the case of Lowery v. Woody’s Diner was a woman who was having drinks with friends at the defendant’s bar on a snowy night when she fell in front of the restaurant. According to the facts discussed in the appellate opinion, the plaintiff fell and broke two bones while she was standing outside the restaurant having a cigarette with a friend.

After she was injured, the plaintiff filed a premises liability lawsuit against the defendant, alleging that the defendant failed to maintain safe premises by allowing hazardous conditions to develop, specifically a slippery staircase.

Plaintiff in Defective Tire Wrongful Death Case Will Not Have Evidence Excluded for Spoliation

Published on: January 4, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The plaintiff in a wrongful death case that had been filed after the death of her husband received some good news last month when an appellate court affirmed a district court’s ruling not to bar the plaintiff from introducing certain evidence at trial. Because of the recent appellate ruling, the case will be remanded to the district court to proceed toward a settlement or trial.

The Plaintiff’s Husband Dies from a Tragic Accident

The plaintiff in the case of Cooper v. Koch is a woman whose husband died in the intensive care unit of a hospital from injuries he suffered about three months before in a single-vehicle accident that was allegedly caused by a catastrophic tread separation involving tires made by the defendant. The vehicle driven by the plaintiff’s husband was totaled. It was towed from the scene of the accident by a towing company that was storing the vehicle for a daily fee. The plaintiff agreed to give the vehicle to a scrapyard after removing the blown tire to keep for evidence in the event of legal action against the defendant. The three other tires and remaining parts of the vehicle were broken up and scrapped or destroyed. At the time, the plaintiff had not filed a case against the defendant.

Court Affirms Judgment Against Plaintiff for Failing to Properly Join and Name All Defendants Before Statute of Limitations Expired

Published on: January 2, 2017 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently published an opinion affirming a judge’s decision to grant summary judgment to a defendant condominium association in a slip-and-fall lawsuit that was filed by a woman who was injured outside the condominium. The condo consisted of two connected units owned jointly by two couples and an unincorporated association they had formed. According to the appellate opinion, the plaintiff intended to sue both the individual owners and the association, but she failed to properly name the association in her original complaint. The plaintiff eventually amended the complaint with all of the correct parties over one year after the statute of limitations for her claim had expired.

The Plaintiff Claims Confusion with True Identity of the Defendant Prevented Her Timely Filing

In seeking leave to file the amended complaint, the plaintiff explained that she intended to sue the association as well as the owners, but her investigation was unable to determine the actual organization holding ownership of the complex when the original complaint was filed. The plaintiff used a fictitious name (XYZ Condo Association) until she could file an amended complaint with the actual party name included. Since she sought to amend the complaint over three years from the date of her injury, she requested that the statute of limitations be extended to allow the amended complaint to proceed as if it were filed when the initial complaint against XYZ Condo Association was filed.