Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Blog

In the case of Progressive American Insurance Company v. Nancy N. Pawelczyk, Case Number 2D18-1651 (Fla. 2d DCA May 15, 2019), Florida’s Second DCA held that a passenger in a rental vehicle was not insured for UM benefits because a temporary substitute auto was not considered...

In the case of Lazaro Fresnedo v. Porky’s Gym III, Inc., Case Number 3D17-1126 (Fla. 3rd DCA April 24, 2019), Florida’s Third DCA held that the pre-injury waiver and release form was not “clear and unequivocal” and was, therefore, void. Underlying...

In the case of Steven Paul Anderson v. Mary Mitchell, Case Number 2D18-2864 (Fla. 2d DCA April 5, 2019), Florida’s Second DCA held that Florida’s so-called “accident report privilege” is not a true privilege to prevent disclosure but is instead just a bar on...

In the case of Gomez v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Case Number 4D18-178 (Fla. 4th DCA March 20, 2019), Florida’s Fourth DCA reversed a summary judgment in favor of Walmart on liability for a manhole cover that was protruding by more than 1/4 inch in Walmart’s parking...

In the case of Ashley Rierson v. David Deveau, Case Number 3D18-0246 (Fla. 3rd DCA March 20, 2019), Florida’s Third DCA held that it was reversible error for lawyers to imply during closing argument that no traffic citation had been issued. Facts At Issue Rierson...

In the case of Guillermo Tabraue III, Esq. v. Doctors Hospital, Inc., Case Number 3D16-1661 (Fla. 3d DCA March 27, 2019), Florida’s Third DCA held that a hospital emergency room (staffed by independent contractors) does not have a non-delegable duty to provide non-negligent...

In the case of Jessica Conti v. James Auchter and Ashlee Auchter, Case Number 5D18-696 (Fla. 5th DCA March 15, 2019), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that losing on a proposal for settlement for the wife’s consortium claim results in a sanction for attorney fees and costs for...

In the case of Shawn Restal v. Bridget A. Nocera, et al., Case Numbers 5D17-2 and 5D17-1635 (Fla. 5th DCA March 8, 2019), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that the negligence of the rear driver in a rear-end collision must be the sole (or only) cause of the collision in order to grant...

In the case of Frank Bellezza v. James Menendez and Crary Buchanan, P.A., Case Number 4D17-3277 (Fla. 4th DCA March 6, 2019), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that “while letters of protection may be admitted to establish bias, any further inquiry regarding the ‘cozy...

In the case of Serenity Harper v. GEICO General Insurance Company, Case Number 2D17-4987 (Fla. 2nd DCA March 1, 2019), Florida’s Second DCA held that the 60-day time (see section 624.155, Fla. Stat.) to cure an insurer violation runs from the date of electronic submission of...

In the case of Steven Younkin v. Nathan Blackwelder, Case Number 5D18-3548 (Fla. 5th DCA February 22, 2019), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that the argument of “what is good for the goose is good for the gander” does not apply to Boecher discovery for a plaintiff. ...

In the case of Steven B. Katz et al. v. Frank, Weinberg & Black, PL, Case Number 4D18-1215 (Fla. 4th DCA January 30, 2019), a noncompliant agreement for approximately $500,000 in referral fees on a contingency fee case was considered void under Florida because the attorneys did...

In the case of Michelle Davis as personal representative of the Estate of Sandra Dale Essex v. Michael A. Karr, M.D., et al, Case Number 5D18-149 (Fla. 5th DCA January 25, 2019), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that pre-suit affidavits from an emergency room physician, a radiologist,...

In the case of Arch Insurance Company, v. Kubicki Draper, LLP, Case Number 4D17-2889 (Fla. 4th DCA January 23, 2019), the insurance company sought to hold the law firm it hired to defend its insured responsible for malpractice after the insurance company was “forced” to...

In the case of Ammar Al Batha v. Agency For Health Care Administration, Case Number 1D17-828 (Fla. 1st DCA January 14, 2019), Florida’s First DCA held that the estate of a Medicaid recipient has standing to challenge Medicaid’s lien rights after the death of the...

In the case of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Karl H. Wallace, Case Numbers 5D17-813 and 5D17-2852, (Fla. 5th DCA December 21 2018), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that a testifying radiologist’s annotations made to MRI films were not admissible into...

In the case of Lee Memorial Health System v. Progressive Select Insurance Company, the Florida Supreme Court held that Lee County’s hospital lien ordinance was unconstitutional as a “special law” improperly impairing private contracts. The LMHS Lien Law And How...

In the case of Rolando P. Ruiz v. Tenet Hialeah Healthsystem, Inc., Case Number SC17-1562 (Fla. December 20, 2018), a directed verdict in favor of a defendant doctor was reversed by the Florida Supreme Court because a directed verdict is improper unless all potential malpractice has...

In the case of Jesse Anthony Eckols v. 21st Century Centennial Insurance Company, Case Number 5D17-2904 (Fla. 5th DCA December 7, 2018), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that the UIM exclusion while riding a motorcycle in the plaintiff’s automobile policy was ambiguous and,...

In the case of Hayes Robertson Group, Inc. v. Timothy Christopher Cherry, Case Numbers 3D-18-106 and 3D17-2704 (Fla. 3rd DCA December 12, 2018) Florida’s Third DCA upheld a trial court’s exclusion of expert testimony regarding “habitual addiction” in a...