South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Appellate Court Refuses to Overturn Discovery Order Compelling Production of Social Media Photos in Florida Slip and Fall Case

Published on: January 12, 2015 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal has refused to overturn a unique discovery order in a premises liability action. In Nucci v. Target Corp., a woman allegedly slipped and fell on a foreign substance while shopping at a Florida department store in 2010. Following the incident, she filed a premises liability lawsuit against the store. In her complaint, the woman sought financial compensation for her resulting physical harm, pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, future impairment, and other damages.

Prior to taking the injured woman’s deposition, counsel for the store reviewed the injured woman’s public Facebook social media profile. During her deposition, the attorney asked the woman to provide him with access to the photos included in her Facebook account. At the time, the woman objected to the company’s request. Two days later, counsel for the store again reviewed the woman’s social media profile and discovered a number of photographs were deleted. After that, the store filed a motion to compel inspection of the woman’s Facebook account. The store also asked the woman to refrain from destroying any further information included in her social media account.

Southern District of Florida Refuses to Dismiss Negligence Claims Against Cruise Ship Over Shore Excursion Accident

Published on: January 8, 2015 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In Ash v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., 28 cruise ship passengers were reportedly injured in a bus crash in St. Maarten. Prior to the accident, each individual purchased tickets for a related excursion from a St. Maarten tour provider that contracted with the cruise ship company. The tour provider then contracted with the bus company to offer transportation between the ship and the onshore excursion for the passengers.

Following the bus accident, the injured passengers filed a lawsuit against the cruise ship owner, tour operator, and bus company in the Southern District of Florida’s admiralty court. In their complaint, the passengers accused the defendants of committing negligence and asserted several other related claims. The Florida court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against the foreign bus company for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the passengers filed an amended complaint. After that, the remaining defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit with the federal court. According to the two companies, the cruise ship passengers failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

Appeals Court Says Video Deposition Evidence May be Used During Closing Argument in Florida

Published on: January 5, 2015 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Florida’s First District has refused to order a new trial in a truck accident case. In Borden Dairy Co. of Alabama, LLC v. Kuhajda, a woman was apparently hurt in a Florida traffic collision that was caused by the driver of a 30-foot delivery truck. Following the accident, the woman filed a negligence lawsuit against the driver of the truck and his employer in state court. In her complaint, the woman sought financial compensation for the injuries she allegedly sustained in the motor vehicle crash.

The delivery truck driver’s videotaped deposition was admitted into evidence at trial. At the time, neither defendant objected to its inclusion. In addition, the driver testified before jurors that the collision occurred while he was turning left out of a parking lot across a divided highway. The man claimed that another car unexpectedly pulled out of a different parking lot and prevented him from continuing on his intended path. As a result, the driver stated the delivery truck was stopped with the trailer blocking each of the southbound lanes of the roadway when the accident occurred.

First District Appellate Court Affirms Decision Denying Florida Workers’ Compensation Benefits Over Employee Misrepresentation

Published on: December 30, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In Clark v. R&L Carriers, a semi-truck driver was allegedly injured on the job in two separate traffic collisions in 2012. According to the trucker, he suffered serious neck, back, and shoulder injuries in the two accidents. Following the crashes, the man’s employer authorized medical care for both incidents. Later, the employer received a copy of the man’s medical records that predated the 2012 collisions. In the healthcare records, the trucker apparently complained of injuries that were similar to those for which he sought compensation from his employer. Around the same time, the driver’s employer also learned that the man engaged in prior litigation over this harm in another state. As a result, the trucker’s employer refused to compensate him for any further benefits related to the 2012 tractor-trailer accidents, based on the truck driver’s alleged misrepresentation.

Following a hearing on the matter, a Florida Judge of Compensation Claims (“JCC”) ruled that the truck driver committed misrepresentation when he did not alert his physicians to his prior medical history. Because of this, the JCC held that the trucker’s workers’ compensation claims were barred under Florida law. In response, the worker asked Florida’s First District Court of Appeal to review the decision.

Appellate Court Rules Negligence Case Against Hospital is Not Subject to Florida Medical Malpractice Act

Published on: December 24, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Florida’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal has refused to grant a hospital’s petition for a writ of certiorari. In Holmes Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. Dumigan, a man was apparently injured by a drug that was used on him during a surgical procedure even though it was previously recalled. As a result of the hospital’s alleged failure to dispose of the recalled drug, the man and his wife filed a negligence and products liability action against the medical facility where his surgery was performed. After a trial court refused to grant the hospital’s motion to dismiss the case, the hospital asked Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal to review the lower court’s order.

According to the hospital’s petition for a writ of certiorari, the plaintiffs’ lawsuit was inappropriately characterized as a products liability and negligence action. The medical facility claimed that the statutory presuit notice requirements enumerated in the Florida Medical Malpractice Act (“FMMA”) instead applied to the case. Since the plaintiffs failed to comply with the FMMA’s notice requirements, the hospital argued that the trial court should have dismissed the case.

Florida Appeals Court Holds Auto Insurer is Not Liable for PIP Benefits Above the Statutory Maximum Absent Bad Faith

Published on: December 22, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In Geico Indemnity Co. v. Gables Ins. Recovery, Inc., a woman was hurt in a motor vehicle collision. Following the accident, she obtained medical treatment and assigned the personal injury protection (“PIP”) benefits provided by her car insurance company to the business that performed her x-rays. The company then assigned the woman’s PIP benefits to a medical insurer. After the medical insurer submitted a request for payment to the woman’s motor vehicle insurer, it received less than the total bill.

Next, the medical insurer filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the motor vehicle insurance company. According to the auto insurer, it paid the full benefits of $10,000 under the woman’s PIP policy to the plaintiff pursuant to Section 627.736(5)(a)2.f. of the Florida Statutes. The medical insurer argued that the PIP provider was required to pay 80 percent of the woman’s medical bills and filed a motion for summary disposition. The motor vehicle insurance company then filed a cross motion, stating all of the woman’s PIP benefits were exhausted. The trial court granted the medical insurer’s motion, and the PIP provider appealed the case to the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. After the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s order, the auto insurer filed an appeal with Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals.

Florida’s Fifth District Refuses to Consider Unpreserved Liability Issue in Car Accident Case

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

In Witherell v. Larimer, a young woman apparently struck a male pedestrian while driving her mother’s automobile. As a result, the man filed a personal injury lawsuit against the driver and her mother in a Florida court. At trial, both parties claimed the other was responsible for the injury accident. According to the man, the driver struck him because she failed to pay sufficient attention to the roadway. The motorist countered that the pedestrian contributed to the incident because he was under the influence of alcohol when he crossed the roadway.

After both the pedestrian and the driver presented expert evidence, jurors returned a verdict stating each party was 50 percent responsible for the injury accident. In addition, the jury awarded the man no noneconomic damages and almost $90,000 in past medical bills. The presiding judge and both parties agreed that the noneconomic damages award was inconsistent with the medical expenses awarded to the pedestrian and asked jurors to reconsider their decision. The jury then increased the man’s noneconomic damages award to $1, and the judge entered final judgment in the lawsuit.

Florida Appellate Court Reverses Directed Verdict in Favor of Tobacco Company in Negligence and Strict Liability Case

Published on: December 15, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In Whitney v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., a woman filed a strict liability and negligence lawsuit against a tobacco company in a Florida state court over the company’s allegedly defectively designed cigarettes. According to the woman, the design defects made her more apt to become addicted to cigarette smoking. As a result, the woman purportedly suffered lung cancer.

At trial, the woman presented a great deal of evidence to support her claims. As part of her case, the woman obtained testimony from an expert physician. The doctor testified under oath that the purported design defects included in the tobacco company’s product made it more likely for smokers to become addicted. The physician also claimed that the cigarettes at issue made it possible for carcinogen-containing smoke to enter deeper lung cavities than other types of tobacco products. According to the expert, this made it more likely that a smoker who used the product at issue would develop cancer. In addition, the doctor stated the cigarettes did not deliver on their promise to reduce health risks by lowering the amount of tar in the product.

Supreme Court of Florida Holds Deceased Worker’s Estate Cannot Recover Tort Judgment from Employer’s Insurance Company

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

In Morales v. Zenith Ins. Co., a Florida man was tragically killed in a workplace accident. Following the fatal incident, the decedent’s wife agreed to a workers’ compensation settlement with the man’s employer and the employer’s insurance company. The wife also signed a release stating the settlement was the sole remedy for which the insurer would provide coverage to the employer.

Prior to the workers’ compensation settlement, the man’s estate filed a wrongful death action against the man’s employer. As a result, a default judgment of nearly $10 million was entered in favor of the estate. After the employer’s insurer refused to pay the judgment, the estate filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the insurance company in a Florida court. The insurer removed the case to the Middle District of Florida and filed a motion for summary judgment. In its motion, the insurer argued that a workers’ compensation exclusion included in the employer’s policy barred the estate from suing the company. The federal court then granted the insurance company’s motion and entered judgment in its favor.

Florida Appeals Court Orders New Trial in Motorcycle Crash Case

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

Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial in a motorcycle collision case. In Shaver v. Carpenter, a motorcycle carrying a husband and wife was struck by an automobile in an intersection. Following the traffic wreck, the couple filed a negligence lawsuit against the driver who allegedly caused their crash injuries. As expected, the issue of fault was a main source of contention at trial. In the end, a jury found that the defendant motorist was 95 percent at fault for the couple’s accident harm. The jury also determined that the couple was five percent liable for the collision. In response to the jury’s award, the allegedly negligent motorist appealed the damages award.

On appeal, Florida’s Second District stated the damages award issued by the jury was tainted by inadmissible evidence. According to the court, a state trooper was erroneously permitted to offer testimony regarding which driver failed to yield the right of way. Although the allegedly at-fault driver admitted some level of culpability for the collision, the appellate court found that evidence related to which driver had the right of way was inconclusive. Despite the automobile driver’s objections, the lower court allowed the law enforcement officer to state the defendant driver violated the couple’s right of way. The Second District held that this ruling was in error based on the relevant case law.