- Patricia Doherty | July 31, 2007 11:45 AM |
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MiscellaneousDid you know that under the Florida Statutes a recovery for personal injuries is limited against a government agency? Under Florida's sovereign immunity statute the most a government agency will have to pay is $100,000.00 per an individual's claim. If a jury awards more than the cap on damages the injured party must petition the Legistlature to collect the rest of the award. Situations where...
- Patricia Doherty | July 30, 2007 10:55 AM |
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Medical MalpracticeA Tampa jury awarded a family $23.5 million dollars for the wrongful birth of their second child. The jury found a University of South Florida physician was negligent for giving the go ahead to the couple to have a second child even though the couple's first child had severe disabling birth defects. Had the doctor properly diagnosed this genetic disorder (Smith-Lemil-Opitz syndrome) in the...
- Mike Damaso | July 30, 2007 10:22 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsIt appears that justice was served last Thursday when a Jury in Polk County, Florida returned a verdict of nearly $45 million in a wrongful death and personal injury case. Last year, Morgan Bryant, 9, and Brittany Hooten, 8, were killed when the car they were riding in was struck practically head on by a large commercial truck. Morgan's mother, Carla, who was two months pregnant at the time of...
- Sandy Grinnell | July 26, 2007 5:09 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThis past weekend the Castleberry Food Company expanded its voluntary recall of canned meat products after 16 cans of chili sauce tested positive for botulinum toxin, the toxin resulting in botulism. FDA officials said the cans showed signs of swelling, a telltale indicator of botulism contamination. People were advised to throw away more than 90 types of canned chili, beef stew, corned beef...
- Sandy Grinnell | July 25, 2007 8:54 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned a rule set in place by the Bush Administration that allowed truckers to work longer hours, which increased the number of fatigue related truck accidents. The new rule had increased the average number of driving hours from approximately 8.5 hours per day to 11 hours per day.A panel of three judges ruled that the Federal...
- Ed Normand | July 24, 2007 4:04 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe manufacturer of Oxycontin pain medicine was fined over 600 million dollars for fraudulently representing to physicians that OxyContin was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications. In fact just the opposite was true as the drug is so addictive it has been compared to heroin. The statements resulted in sales of billions of dollars for the manufacturer of the...
- Sandy Grinnell | July 24, 2007 1:42 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsOne person was killed and three more injured in an early morning car crash involving three vehicles on I-4. One of the vehicles left the highway, went thru a guardrail and landed on a power pole below at the intersection of Wymore and Rogers. After being ejected from the vehicles, one of the injured was airlifted to ORMC and the other two went to ORMC and Florida Hospital via ambulance. Power...
- Sandy Grinnell | July 24, 2007 8:50 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe Rand Corp has issued the results of its study of drivers 65 and older. What they discovered is that the 65 and older group are only 33% more likely to cause auto accidents than younger drivers ages 18 to 25 and have only a slightly increased chance over those age 26 to 64.The study looked at auto accident results in 2001 and showed that 65 year olds, roughly 15% of the population, caused...
- Ed Normand | July 23, 2007 9:17 AM |
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MiscellaneousWell they are at it again. State Farm announced it is dropping coverage for more Florida residents. These policy holders are not being dumped because of something they did wrong. They did not make fraudulent insurance claims or make excessive claims under homeowners or hurricane insurance claims. They are being dumped so that State Farm can reduce its risk and keep only the most profitable...
- Sandy Grinnell | July 22, 2007 2:31 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall for approximately 1 million Easy-Bake Ovens. This defective product recall comes after the February repair campaign failed to prevent injuries.Hasbro, Inc., the maker of the Easy-Bake Oven, has reported to the CPSC that repairs suggested in February which were supposed to prevent children from getting their hands or fingers caught in...
- Ed Normand | July 21, 2007 9:00 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe American Association for Justice conducted a recent poll showing Americans are very concerned about corporate misconduct in causing personal injuries. Most Americans support a strong civil justice system to ensure that corporations are held responsible when they injure people as a result of negligence or other corporate misconduct. Survey results include that: Americans are nervous...
- Mike Damaso | July 20, 2007 7:21 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe New England Journal of Medicine published a study that indicated an increased cardiovascular risk associated with Avandia (rosiglitazone), a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. The study indicated an increase of about 40% in the risk of myocardial infarction among patients receiving Avandia as compared with those receiving either an alternative oral diabetes therapy, such as metformin, or...
- Council Wooten | July 20, 2007 3:42 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsGood Morning America today devoted several minutes to the topic of unsafe food. Apparently Congressional hearings are examining the issue. Imported food from China, and as well, the rest of the world, make up a large portion of America's food supply. Processing and inspection abroad and in this country have not guaranteed consumer safety. What can the mother and housewife do to protect her...
- Ed Normand | July 20, 2007 12:33 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsToday Governor Crist signed into legislation a new law to try to limit auto accidents in Florida. The law was pushed by consumer activist groups including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Florida Justice Association. Under this law motorists convicted of driving under the influence must have automobile bodily injury insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per incident,...
- Bruce Gibson | July 19, 2007 4:31 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsMADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) recently announced that alcohol-related traffic deaths are at an all time high since 1992 and has called upon Congress to hold immediate hearings to address solutions. According to NHTSA, alcohol-related traffic fatalities exceeded 17,900 for the year 2006, the highest number in 15 years. We all have known people who have lost a loved one in a car crash...
- Ed Normand | July 18, 2007 9:58 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe State of Florida recently had a special legislative session to lower premiums on homeowners insurance. It has not worked. Now many families are forced to go without insurance. Many companies are also cancelling insurance policies, legally and illegally. The result is that many homeowners are forced to insure solely with Citzens the state owned insurer of last resort. When it comes to...
- Ed Normand | July 18, 2007 9:11 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe State of Florida requires that the major theme parks in the State prepare and file "occurrence reports". The reports are filed with the Florida Bureau of Fair Ride Inspection. The parks are required to prepare the reports quarterly. This is a actually a sweetheart deal for the big three - Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal. This deal applies only to the Big Three theme parks but...
- Mike Damaso | July 17, 2007 8:52 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsThere was a senseless car v. train crash in Lakeland, Florida on Monday July 17, 2007, the took the lives of four people. It was described by one investigating officer as a "useless, senseless tragedy." An eyewitness observed the lights flashing and the bells ringing at the rail crossing as the safety gates lowered. The witness watched as a red sedan carrying four occupants risked making...
- Ed Normand | July 17, 2007 3:18 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTwo days ago we posted a blog entitled: "How Safe is Your Car in an Auto Accident?" In that blog we observed that death rates were highest in small vehicles and that SUV's caused high death rates in other vehicles they collide with. The point being that smaller the vehicle the less safe it is and that large trucks and SUV's are more dangerous to other vehicle occupants. Today, tragically,...
- Cindy Duque | July 16, 2007 11:17 AM |
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MiscellaneousMientras que nos preparamos para hacer frente a la estación del huracán en la Florida, las compañÃÂas de seguro han dejado a mucha gente sin opciones de seguro de los dueños de casa. Las compañÃÂas de seguros han decidido a no proporcionar seguro a los dueños de casa de la Florida o las tarifas han aumentado dramáticamente para los residentes de la Florida. ¿El Gobernador Charlie Crist y...
- Cindy Duque | July 16, 2007 10:56 AM |
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MiscellaneousAs we prepare to face hurricane season in Florida, many folks have been left without homeowners insurance options. Insurance companies have decided to no longer provide insurance to Florida homeowners or the rates have increased dramatically for Florida residents. Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida lawmakers are getting the big insurance savings they sought ? but not necessarily for homeowners. ...
- Ed Normand | July 16, 2007 8:59 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsMany Americans are concerned about the safety of the food and health and beauty products that they consume. These concerns are justified. It is terrifying to think of the number of unsafe products Made in China that have been recalled or rejected by U.S. government agencies. The list includes toothpaste, dog food, toys with lead paint, fish, juice with unsafe additives and on and on and on....
- Patricia Doherty | July 14, 2007 11:18 AM |
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Medical MalpracticeCheck out Eight Tips for a Safer Hospital Stay . These suggestions could make a hospital stay safer and prevent you and your family from being victims of hospital negligence or a doctor's malpractice.For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.
- Cindy Duque | July 14, 2007 10:39 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsFolks across the United States and the world are concerned about the cemicals used in common household products - like toothpaste. How do you make sure the product you are using won't poison your family? Well, for one things - you better stay on top of the news and product alerts! Due to recent concerns raised across the globe reagrding the safety of toothpaste made in China, the government...
- Ed Normand | July 14, 2007 9:58 AM |
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MiscellaneousThere are many things you can do to protect your family from injuries in a car accident. Some of them are obvious, drive within the speed limit, wear safety belts and do not drive under the influence of alcohol. But what do you do to protect your family from the other driver, the other guy who is a reckless or drunk driver? One way is to ensure that you are in as safe a vehicle as possible. ...
- Ed Normand | July 14, 2007 8:12 AM |
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Automobile Accidents"I probably will run for sheriff in Orlando or Fort Lauderdale, Fla.," Shaq said recently during an interview on the Live with Regis and Kelly television show. Shaq maintains a home in the Windermere section of Orlando and has long expressed an interest in law enforcement. Before a drunk driver gets behind the wheel or a road rager causes a car accident he should consider whether he wants...
- Patricia Doherty | July 12, 2007 9:57 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseThe most common reasons senior citizens require nursing home care are muscle weakness, known as sarcopenia, osteoporosis and dementia, like Alzheimer's disease. While there has been publicity on osteoporosis and dementia, Americans know very little about Sarcopenia - age related loss of muscle mass. To minimize muscle loss as you age participate in strength training, eat a healthy diet, low...
- Ed Normand | July 11, 2007 9:41 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)Sadly another lawsuit has been filed here in Central Florida related to another case of alleged clergy molestation or abuseThe mother of a Lake County boy who was sexually abused by his pastor has sued the clergyman, two area churches and two Baptist groups, maintaining they should have protected her son.The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages for the boy's continuing psychotherapy...
- Ed Normand | July 11, 2007 7:57 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsMore harmful toys have been added to the long list of harmful products made in China and imported to the United States. The list of defective products is a long one including items such as toothpaste, juice, tires and even counterfeit drugs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday announced three recalls that cover jewelry the agency said could cause lead poisoning, and a...
- Sandy Grinnell | July 09, 2007 4:48 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeThe California 2nd Disctrict Court of Appeals upheld the decision of a lower court which awarded a County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center patient $150,000 in pain and suffering. Although the California medical malpractice awards caps are $250,000, a 28 year-old male patient of Harbor-UCLA hospital was awarded $150,000 for the pain and suffering he sustained due to complications from an emergency...
- Ed Normand | July 08, 2007 10:18 AM |
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MiscellaneousWe hear a lot about tort reform and the supposed high cost of compensation for the injured but what we don't hear is that insurance rates are actually going down for accident related injuries. Alex Sink, Florida's Chief Financial Officer just ordered a 50 percent reduction in the Workers' Compensation Administration Trust Fund assessment rate. Since 2003 the rates have dropped about forty...
- Ed Normand | July 06, 2007 8:52 AM |
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MiscellaneousRemember the much ballyhooed special legislative session to lower insurance premiums for homeowners? Well it looks like the reduction will be short lived. Five insurance companies last week submitted requests to state insurance officials for premium increases from a statewide average of 14.9 percent to 41.9 percent. Now as I recall we did not get hit with any major storm in Florida last year....
- Ed Normand | July 05, 2007 8:25 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsAccording to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA): FOREIGN TIRE SALES (FTS) manufactured tires that did not have a gum strip or had an insufficient gum strip between the belts or other construction to keep the belts from separating. As a Consequence belts on tires manufactured with insufficient or no gum strips can separate from the tire causing the vehicle to crash at...
- Ed Normand | July 04, 2007 2:48 PM |
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MiscellaneousSometimes people settle cases on their own without the help of a lawyer. That is wonderful if it works. If you do this, be careful to make sure that the insurance adjuster or company you are negotiating with can be trusted. Sometimes non-lawyers can be taken advantage of when handling insurance claim disputes on their own. A lawsuit recently filed by a Miami Beach woman injured while...
- Ed Normand | July 03, 2007 10:13 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsAccording to recent press reports The Florida Bar has taken action against a number of lawyers who have obtained clients from the 1-800-ASK-GARY referral service. Ask Gary advertisements targeted auto accident victims inviting them to call the service where they were referred to various service providers including chiropractic and legal services. Much of the medical and chiropractic care is...