Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Blog

In the case of Leonirez Heredia v. John Beach Associates, Inc., et al., Case Number 2D18-4127 (Fla. 2d DCA July 24, 2019), Florida’s Second DCA held that there was no horizontal privity for purposes of workers compensation immunity when the general contractor is the owner of...

In the case of Specialty Hospital-Gainesville, Inc., v. Charles Barth, Case Number 1D18-511 (Fla. 1st DCA July 15, 2019), Florida’s First DCA held that the comparative fault of a subsequent tortfeasor (and the use of Fabre or “empty chair” arguments) cannot be...

In the case of Antonio Bejarano v. City of Coral Gables, Case Number 3D17-2636 (Fla. 3rd DCA July 10, 2019), Florida’s Third DCA reversed a summary judgment in favor of the city regarding the placement of palm trees near a roadway so as to obstruct the view of...

In the case of Gurin Gold, LLC, et. al v. Charles Dixon, Case number 4D18-2156 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019), Florida’s Fourth DCA excluded the opinion of a doctor who reviewed MRI’s during trial for the first time and formed new opinions, long after the expiration of expert...

According to a press release from Johns Hopkins Medicine, medical errors are considered to be the third highest cause of death in the United States. The Study Patient safety experts with Johns Hopkins examined death records over an 8-year time frame and calculated that more...

In the case of Blanca De Cardenas Velazco v. President Supermarket No. 23, Inc., etc., Case Number 3D18-1115 (Fla. 3rd DCA July 10, 2019), Florida’s Third DCA issued a per curiam opinion reminding the parties that a slip and fall accident at a store requires some proof that a...

In the case of Heather Oberdorf v. Amazon.com, Inc., the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, PA held that Amazon can be held liable for third party product liability claims when it functions as a “marketplace for third-party products.” The Underlying...

As reported by PBS, the Transportation Department has proposed a relaxation of federal regulations regarding the maximum number of hours that a semi-truck driver can operate. What Are The Current Regulations? Current regulations place a total 14-hour on-duty time limit window...

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 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 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 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...

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...