|
Personal Injury Automobile liability coverage is the portion of your automobile insurance that protects you if another driver or a pedestrian makes a claim against you as a result of an automobile accident. Automobile accidents are an everyday occurrence. Despite the frequency of accidents, being injured in a collision can have serious effects on a victim’s life. Victims of automobile accidents often face high medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, severe injury, or even death. Even if you are not sure that the other driver was at fault, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Premises liability law puts responsibility on a property owner for some injuries suffered by other people on his/her property. It can include accidents that take place in the owner’s home, on the owner’s property, or while a person is at another’s place of business.
When a person dies due to the negligence of someone else, a wrongful death claim results. The rules for wrongful death insurance claims and wrongful death lawsuits are generally the same as for claims and lawsuits resulting from nonfatal injuries. There are, however, at least two important factors that are different: 1) If the deceased did not die immediately, then compensation for certain damages sustained by the deceased may be pursued by his/her estate, and 2) it must be determined which of the deceased person’s surviving relatives are entitled to receive compensation by way of a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.
Florida has a statute that defines the standard of care as that level of care, skill, and treatment that is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers under similar circumstances. In other words, the standard of care may sometimes be described as doing what a reasonably prudent doctor (or nurse, dentist, etc.) would do under the circumstances. In a malpractice trial, the judge tells the jury about this definition, and after hearing the evidence of what happened, the jury decides what they believe a reasonably prudent similar healthcare provider would have done under the circumstances. This decision by the jury is normally aided by the testimony of expert witnesses from both sides, who explain the medical issues during the trial. Dealing with medicine is not a black-and-white issue. It’s technical and complicated and it takes a team of educated and proven professionals to represent your side of the case. Each health care provider, including hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other providers must provide care at the level of the standard of care required by their field. When they fail to provide that level of care and it causes serious and permanent injury, a claim may be viable. These claims are subject to numerous rules and requirements that are not common to other types of serious injury claims and can involve a variety of medical specialties and subspecialties, including but not limited to obstetrics, emergency medicine, neurology, cardiology, oncology, and pediatrics. If a health care provider violates his or her standard of care, he or she can be responsible for the damages caused, including pain and suffering to the individual, loss of wages and medical bills, and in the event of the death of a loved one, the mental pain and suffering of the immediate family survivors.
Products liability refers to the liability of any or all parties along the chain of the manufacture of any product for damage caused by that product. This includes the manufacturer of component parts, an assembling manufacturer, the wholesaler and the retail store owner. Products containing inherent defects that cause harm to a user of the product are the subjects of products liability suits. There are three types of product defects that incur liability in manufacturers and suppliers: design defects, manufacturing defects, and defects in marketing. It is irrelevant whether the manufacturer or supplier exercised great care; if there is a defect in the product that causes harm, one or both of them can be held liable for it. Professional malpractice means that the professional failed to use the ordinary skill and care that would be used by other professionals in handling a similar problem or case under similar circumstances. The following elements are involved in determining malpractice: Duty (owed by the professional to act properly), Breach (the professional was negligent, made a mistake, or did not do what the professional agreed to do), Causation (this conduct caused damages), and Damages (losses suffered as a result). When an automobile driver runs a red light or speeds, the driver clearly has created a danger for other people on the highway and will be held liable if the dangerous driving results in an accident. In many malpractice cases, however, it is not as clear what the exercise of due care means. Often there are alternative ways to treat a patient or handle a legal issue. In a malpractice action, an expert in the field may have to testify about whether the conduct of the defendant (the professional) fell below what is expected of a professional in that field. It may also be have occurred in the absence of the allegedly improper conductdifficult to establish whether the conduct of the defendant caused the injury to the plaintiff (the party seeking damages). A medical patient’s health may have declined or a client in a lawsuit may have lost a case, regardless of whether the doctor or professional actually made an error. The plaintiff in a malpractice case must prove that the injury or loss would not. The Florida legislature enacted legislation (Florida Statutes, Chapter 400) that specifically provides for the development, establishment and enforcement of basic standards for the health, care, and treatment of persons in nursing homes and related health care facilities. Florida law requires that residents receive the necessary care and services that will enable them to reach and maintain their highest practicable level of physical, mental and social well-being. In addition, civil rights law mandates equal access in all nursing homes regardless of race, color or national origin. Many times a lawsuit must be filed to protect the resident's rights and to obtain compensation for the physical or mental pain and suffering and/or wrongful death. The action may be brought by the resident, a guardian, or any person or organization acting on behalf of the resident with the consent of the resident or guardian, or by the estate of a deceased resident when the cause of death resulted from the violation of the resident's rights.     |
Home 
Practice Areas
Practice Areas