Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Blog

In the case of Jennifer Ripple v. CBS Corporation, Case Number 4D20-1939 (Fla. 4th DCA March 30, 2022), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that a plaintiff who married the decedent after exposure to asbestos was barred from damages as the surviving spouse and certified a conflict with...

In the case of Patrick Campbell v. Harper’s Air Inc., Case Number 3D21-0750 (Fla. 3d DCA January 19, 2022), Florida’s Third DCA held that a release of the driver that includes a release for “employers” also releases the employer at the time of the accident...

In the case of Ronnie Rondell v. Daniel Romano, et al, Case Number 2D20-2840 (Fla. 2d DCA January 5, 2022), Florida’s Second DCA held that a car wrecked before its actual sale to a new potential owner did not implicate the new owner under the dangerous instrumentality...

In the case of People’s Trust Insurance Company v. Progressive Express Insurance Company, Case Number 3D19-1952 (Fla. 3rd DCA December 8, 2021), Florida’s Third DCA held that a mobile crane used to lift a shed was not covered under an automobile insurance policy while...

In the cases of Brent Dodgen v. Kaitlyn Grijalva, Case Number SC19-1118 (Fla. October 14, 2021) and Steven Younkin v. Nathan Blackwelder, Case Number SC19-385 (Fla. October 14, 2021), the Florida Supreme Court upheld the Worley decision and held that the financial relationship...

In the case of Linda Friedel v. Elizabeth Edwards, Case Number 2D20-2233 (Fla. 2d DCA September 29, 2021), Florida’s Second DCA held that a lawsuit against the defendant was not a legal nullity where the defendant passed away shortly before the lawsuit was filed. Relevant...

In the case of Estate of Sweeney v. Gloria Washington, Case Numbers 2D20-1848 and 2D20-2520 (Fla. 2d DCA September 3, 2021), Florida’s Second DCA held that calculations for the “net judgment” on a proposal for settlement only includes costs that would have been...

In the case of Samantha Elaine Tsuji v. H. Bart Fleet, Case Number 1D20-901 (Fla. 1st DCA August 4, 2021), Florida’s First DCA held that sections 733.702(5) and 733.710(1) of Florida’s Probate Code barred claims brought after more than 2 years after the...

In the case of Alberta Ellison v. Randy Willoughby, Case Number 2D19-1961 (Fla. 2d DCA June 11, 2021), Florida’s Second DCA held that a tortfeasor does not get a setoff for bad faith on the part of the injured person’s insurance company. Facts of the...

In the case of Michael Anthony Mortellaro, as PR for the Estate of Gloria C. Cooper, v. Caribe Health Center, Inc., Case Number 2D19-4473 (Fla. 2d DCA May 26, 2021), Florida’s Second DCA held that failure to pay a settlement agreement on time resulted in a material breach and...

In the case of GEICO Indemnity Company v. Brian Walker, et al, Case Number 4D20-764 (Fla. 4th DCA May 12, 2021), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that a vehicle to which the driver had been given open permission without restriction to use was not covered because it was...

In the case of Estate of Walls v. Southern Owners, Case Number 1D20-1422, Fla. 1st DCA (March 31, 2021), Florida’s First DCA held that an escape clause in a not-for-profit’s corporate policy meant that no automobile liability coverage is provided under the...

In the case of Perry Hodges, Jr., et. al v. Aurora Cecelia Scarpati Ripalda, et. al, (Fla. 4th DCA March 24, 2021), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that a mid-air collision was a single occurrence and that only one policy limit applied to the aviation accident at the flight...

In the case of Flania Belt v. USAA Casualty Insurance Company, Case Number 4D20-339 (Fla. 4th DCA March 10, 2021), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that it was not error for the trial judge to instruct the jury that multiple impacts can constitute one accident if there is one...

In the case of Jean Carlos Salazar v. Miguel Rogelio Gomez, Case Number 3D19-1448 (Fla. 3rd DCA February 17, 2021), Florida’s Third DCA reinstated a verdict for the plaintiff after it had been set aside after a trial based on an inconsistent statement made by the...

In SC20-1490 (December 31, 2020), the Florida Supreme Court amended the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.510 to make it easier for judges to decide issues at a summary judgment hearing rather than a jury trial. The Old Rule v. The New Rule Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c) (prior to...

In the case of Gloria Cabrera v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Case Number 3D19-2301 (Fla. 3rd DCA December 16, 2020), Florida’s Third DCA held that it was error for a jury to award damages for past medical expenses but nothing for pain and suffering. Facts And Injury Ms....

In the case of Coccaro v. GEICO (Case Number 4D19-3665) and Brown-Peterkin v. Williamson (4D19-2950)(November 12, 2020), Florida’s Fourth DCA did not certify that a class action case against GEICO for electronic UM rejections that do not comply with Florida law. Importance...

In the case of Dominos Pizza, LLC v. Yvonne Wiederhold, as PR for the Estate of Richard Wiederhold, Case Number 5D19-2343 (Fla. 5th DCA October 23, 2020), Florida’s Fifth DCA affirmed the use of an “agency” jury instruction as it relates to the...

In the case of Cavanaugh v. Stryker Corporation, Case Number 4D19-523 (Fla. 4th DCA October 7, 2020), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that complex medical devices are subject to a “risk utility test” as opposed to a “consumer expectations test” for product...