South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Missed Cancer Diagnosis in Florida? It Could be Grounds for Medical Malpractice Claim

March 15, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A missed cancer diagnosis can have serious and irreparable consequences for patients and their families. As South Florida medical malpractice attorneys know, most cancer is identified based on the totality of one’s symptoms combined with results of radiology imaging tests, such as MRIs, CTs and PETs.

Failure to make a correct and timely diagnosis in circumstances wherein one might expect a reasonable, prudent healthcare professional in the same situation to do so may be deemed medical malpractice, particularly when it results in worsened prognosis or necessitates more intensive treatments than would have otherwise been needed.

In pursuing a medical malpractice claim for a missed cancer diagnosis, it’s often the case that more than one defendant can be held liable. Sometimes, that’s because more than one health care professional made a mistake; other times, it is by virtue of the defendant’s relationship with the negligent party that they can be found liable. For instance, plaintiffs can assert vicarious liability against the employer of an individual health care provider who was negligent – even if the employer did nothing wrong. This is based on a liability theory known as respondeat superior, Latin for “let the master answer.” Continue reading

Florida Wrongful Death Claims Often Paid by Homeowner Insurance

March 8, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A state supreme court in the Midwest recently affirmed an insurance subrogation claim brought by a homeowner’s insurer against a commercial liability insurer following an accidental shooting death at a farmhouse property insured by two policies. The decision by the Iowa Supreme Court noted the commercial liability insurer’s obligation to cover the wrongful death claim on the basis of premises liability for having a dangerous condition on the property. personal injury attorney

As our Palm Beach wrongful death lawyers can explain, it’s not unusual to make claims against homeowner insurance policies, given that homes are where so many potential hazards exist – from aggressive dogs to slippery floor to untended pools. If a person gets hurt on private residential property, a homeowner’s insurance policy (often required for any who still owe a balance on their mortgage) will provide coverage – up to the policy limit.

Homeowner insurance claims often will not cover damages for injuries that were intentionally caused, such as those inflicted by a criminal assault. The exception would be claims for third-party liability, where the property owner/insured was liable for something like inadequate security or some other theory of premises liability.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that over a four-year period, almost 6 percent of insured homeowners filed a claim, and about 0.13 percent were for liability, with the average payout for those being about $17,000 ($23,000 for cases involving bodily injury). Claims involving wrongful death will likely have much larger payouts. Florida ranks No. 3 in terms of the average homeowner insurance premiums. Continue reading

Florida Medical Malpractice Attorney Ryan Fogg Wins $3.6M for Plaintiff in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

February 27, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Halberg & Fogg PLLC South Florida injury law firm partner Ryan Fogg recently won a $3.6 million medical malpractice arbitration award on behalf of a Cocoa Beach man for the wrongful death of his wife, the result of medical malpractice at Cape Canaveral Hospital in Brevard County. The court-approved arbitration award followed four years of litigation, for which our team has been tirelessly committed to obtaining accountability and compensation for our client. West Palm Beach Medical Malpractice Attorney Ryan Fogg

It began with a common ailment: Back pain. Decedent, a 60-year-old woman, sought relief from a doctor, receiving four spinal injections at the facility over the course of three months in spring 2012.

As West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney Ryan Fogg later explained to Florida Today, decedent was back in the hospital less than two weeks after that last injection – this time in the emergency room, suffering agonizing pain. Continue reading

Justices Resurrect Nursing Home Fall Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Death

February 22, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Falls are a leading cause of death among older Americans, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and South Florida injury attorneys know nursing home residents are especially susceptible. They’re more likely to be immobile or require significant assistance in moving just to complete basic tasks and functions. They are more likely to be in poorer health to start with, and in turn may have a more difficult time recovering. nursing home falls West Palm Beach

None of this, however, should be understood to mean that nursing home falls are inevitable or that nursing home staff is not responsible to take adequate prevention measures. In fact, nursing home operators have a responsibility to make sure patients don’t fall. That’s because the likelihood of falls as a result of certain conditions/failure to meet care standards is known. The fact that such a fall can result in serious injury? That’s known too. Complications from falls are known to lead to pain, functional impairment, disability and death among nursing home residents. For this reason, Florida nursing home injury attorneys can assert that falls and resulting injuries in a nursing home setting are a foreseeable consequence of things like:

Inadequate staffing of nursing homes.
Inadequate training of staffers.
Inadequate supervision of nursing home staff.
Failure to provide the proper resources necessary.

Even if the nursing home itself was not negligent in causing a nursing home fall, the entity can still be held vicariously liable if any of its staffers were. There is an old Latin legal concept we still use today in Florida known as as respondeat superior, which means “let the master answer.” In other words, if the employee was negligent in the course of carrying out his or her job, the employer can be found liable also. Continue reading

Do I Need an Expert to Prove My Florida Car Accident Injury Claim?

February 19, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In any Palm Beach County car accident lawsuit, there are several baseline criteria plaintiffs must meet to prevail. Minimally, they need evidence tending to show the other driver – who owed a duty of reasonable care to other road users – in some way breached this duty (either by violating traffic laws or making a judgment call a reasonable person in his/her same situation most likely would not). They must further show this breach of duty was the cause of the injuries they’re alleging. In some instances, that last part is pretty straightforward. The person wasn’t injured before the crash, now they are and the itemized list of those injuries is clearly documented in medical records and backed by witnesses. West Palm Beach car accident lawyer

However, there are some South Florida car accident cases wherein proving causation is much trickier. There can be disputes over whether defendant’s negligence actually caused the crash as well as whether the crash actually caused plaintiff’s injury. Insurers will seize on whatever excuse they can to dispute causation and avoid paying.

Types of Expert Witnesses Called in a Florida Car Accident Claim

Unlimited Alcohol, Poor Platform Construction, Blamed in Florida Injury Lawsuit

February 6, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Bars, festivals, nightclubs, concerts and cruises are required to use reasonable care in ensuring the safety of patrons – particularly if they are serving substantial or unlimited quantities of alcohol – in order to prevent South Florida injuries and wrongful deaths. South Florida festival injury lawyer

According to The News-Herald, a man filed a Florida injury lawsuit recently alleges a no-limit alcohol policy for unlimited alcohol policies for VIP guests. Among the most dangerous practices: Offering unlimited amounts of “free” alcohol. This, plaintiff alleges, resulted in his falling off the balcony at a Panama City Beach business owner and sustaining serious injury.

Although there was railing on the multi-level platform, there was no railing on the stairs that flanked either side of it. When he was asked by a security employee to sit down on the step, he complied – but lost his balance ended up falling from the stairs, sustaining serious and permanent injury.

Reasons to Hire a South Florida Injury Lawyer With Experience

January 30, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

When you are reeling from a personal injury in Florida, the materials on your cast may hardly even be dry before you are hit with a barrage of paperwork from doctors, police and insurance companies. None of those entities or individuals, however, is looking out for your best interest, making sure your rights are protected and that you aren’t saddled with a financial burden you don’t deserve. Whether your injury resulted from a work accident, car accident, slip-and-fall or some other incident, it will behoove you to hire a South Florida injury lawyer with experience, as opposed to one just starting out. South Florida injury attorney

There have been numerous reports the last handful of years about the fact that there are too many law students and too few legal jobs, with the American Bar Association reporting schools are continuing to raise tuition and produce twice as many graduates as the job market has to absorb. We mention this to say that while there is plenty of bright young talent in the legal profession, there are also a fair amount starting out – even in the first few years – who may not have much if any experience in handling the kind of case on which you require assistance. There are also attorneys who take many different kinds of cases – from personal injury to criminal defense to business law – just to make ends meet. But that doesn’t help you with a Florida work injury claim where the rules for workers’ compensation benefits and third-party liability claims are very specific. You can have greater confidence in the experience of attorneys who can point you to proof of success in past cases.

Personal injury attorneys in Florida are paid on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay a fee for attorney services upfront. Instead, you pay a portion of whatever is recovered (if anything is recovered) either from a settlement or jury verdict. Continue reading

Judge: Police Had No Duty to Protect Florida Students From Campus Shooter

January 21, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A personal injury lawsuit filed by 15 high school students, survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has been dismissed by a federal judge who ruled six defendants, including the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, a school deputy, a campus monitor and the Broward School District, owed no duty of care to protect the students from the gunman. Nothing in the state constitution or statute imposes a general duty on police officers or other government officials to protect people from harm – even when they know it will occur. This duty is limited to those who are “in custody” of police, which as our Broward County injury lawyers can explain has been narrowly interpreted by courts to mean those situations wherein a person has lost his/ her freedom to move freely or seek assistance on their own. It doesn’t apply to students in school, particularly the older they are. personal injury attorney

In total, 17 students and staff members were killed in the six-minute attack and 17 others were injured.

The outcome was indeed disappointing for many in Parkland and throughout Florida because it undercuts a core belief so many have about police and school services: That the public – especially schoolchildren – have the right to expect police will protect them. That is simply not true. The few exceptions that have been carved out, as noted by legal scholars quoted in The New York Times, are situations where, for instance, a crossing guard is assigned specifically to protect a child from crossing the street and instead gets distracted by their smartphone. In the eyes of the law, that crossing guard may have a special relationship to that specific child. It’s only when this special relationship has been established or when the officer has done something to enhance the risk of harm that the officer and/ or the employer can be held liable under the state’s negligence laws. Continue reading

Florida Supreme Court: Anesthesiologist May Be Partially Liable, Even if Errors Not Prime Cause of Patient Death

January 14, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A divided Florida Supreme Court ruled that even if a doctor’s mistake isn’t the primary cause of death, Florida medical malpractice laws nonetheless allow that doctor to be liable for his or her part in it if the failure/ misconduct substantially contributed to it – thus reversing an appellate court decision in a doctor’s favor. Dissenting justices didn’t argue with the conclusion by the majority, but instead insisted the court shouldn’t have taken up the case in the first place because it didn’t assert a conflict between two lower courts.

The family has already been awarded $7.5 million from the two surgeons in the case, and this ruling may entitle them to additional damages from another defendant.

Naples medical malpractice lawyers know this decision clarifying that a physician’s malpractice need not be the main reason a patient died in order for him/ her to be liable will be welcome news for current and future claimants in medical negligence claims, especially those wherein the primary cause of death is in sharp dispute.

Surge in Female Motorcyclists Underscores Gender-Specific Motorcycle Safety Concerns

January 7, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Recent data from the Motorcycle Industry Council reveals more women are operating motorcycles than ever before – and the trend shows no sign of slowing. And while West Palm Beach motorcycle accident lawyers know women tend to be safer riders, there are also some crash injury risks that tend to be specific to/ more common among female operators and passengers.

USA Today reported that in 1998, just 8 percent of motorcycle owners were women. By 2018, that figure more than doubled to 19 percent. The Drive reveals the majority of female motorcycle riders skewed younger, with women comprising 26 percent of Millenial-age riders and 22 percent of Gen Xers. The median age of female motorcyclists is 39, compared to 48 for men. Women appear mostly interested in cruisers (34 percent) followed by scooters (33 percent) and then sport bikes (10 percent). All-female motorcycle clubs have even grown increasingly popular.

Increasing gender equality in motorcycling overall has made the transport mode safer, given MIC’s assertions that female riders are 60 percent more likely to take safety courses and 14 percent more likely to wear a helmet than men and less likely to drive drunk or speed. Further, the more people in general there are on motorcycles, the safer all motorcyclists are because the greater the odds other will look twice, having become accustomed to sharing the road with them.

Types of Injuries Sustained by Women in South Florida Motorcycle Accidents Continue reading